Photo of the week: PhD graduate Devy Deliyanti

Dr Devy Deliyanti and Professor Jennifer Wilkinson-Berka
with Devy's PhD thesis, completed in 2014.

Devy Deliyanti started with Professor Jennifer Wilkinson-Berka as an Honours student. She continued as a PhD student, supervised by Prof Wilkinson-Berka. She finished her thesis, on "An evaluation of aldosterone's pathogenic role in the ischemic and diabetic retina" and graduated last year. Now Devy is continuing as a post-doctoral research officer in Prof Wilkinson-Berka's lab, continuing to study the mechanisms of diabetic retinopathy.
See more:

• The lab: www.med.monash.edu.au/immunology/research/vascular-bio-lab.html
• Photo gallery: Google plus link
• More CCS photo albums on Google plus
• CCS photo index in the CCS Intranet (Monash login only)

Forthcoming CCS events: PhD seminars, public events, general notices

Shauna French, ACBD PhD student, at
the 2014 CCS postgraduate symposium

Central Clinical School has regular seminar series and postgraduate presentations. All event notices are maintained on the CCS Events calendar.  CCS staff & students can see details of both public and local events (including professional development courses, trade fairs and HDR calendars) and deadlines, at the Intranet's Announcements page.  Various Departments have their own calendars, see CCS seminar index: www.med.monash.edu.au/cecs/events/seminars.html

What's on for next week (13-17 April)

Mon Apr 13 12:30 PM ► Psychiatry Professorial Grand Round
                       2:30 PM ► PhD Mid-candidature milestone review - Mr Rodney Anderson
Tue Apr 14 11:00 AM ► Confirmation of PhD Candidature - Ms Shauna French
                   11:30 AM ► PhD Pre-submission review seminar - Ms Sara Mokhtar
                     4:00 PM ► PhD Confirmation of candidature - Mr Annas Al-Sharea
Fri Apr 17          ► Deadline 17 Mar: Outside Study Programme (OSP)

Into the Future

• 22 April Faculty postgraduate expo - features overview of Translational Research new PhD and Graduate Certificate.
• 24 April Trivia Night hosted by Monash Alfred Psychiatry research centre 
• 13, 20 May Mind Your Family: Upskilling Health Practitioners on Family Violence

$5.4M Wellcome Trust grant for blood disorder therapeutic development

CCS researchers involved in understanding the biology
underpinning the therapeutic development.
L-R: Dr Fiona Brown, Dr Stefan Sonderegger, A/Prof David
Curtis, Prof Stephen Jane, Ms Loretta Cerutti.
Absent: Dr Emma Toulmin

$5.4 million funding will allow Monash researchers to develop novel approaches to treat major blood disorders, by switching on a form of haemoglobin normally only utilised by babies before birth.

Tissue engineering for treatment of burn wounds: Phase 1 clinical trial running

L-R: In the Skin Tissue Culture Laboratory, Mr Dion Martinus
(Quality Officer), Ms Heather Cleland (Director, Burns Unit)
and Dr Shiva Akbarzadeh (Senior Research Fellow)

The Alfred Skin Tissue Culture Laboratory pursues a translational research program directed towards the investigation and development of tissue engineered products for wound healing.

A phase 1 clinical trial evaluating the use of cultured keratinocytes as an adjunctive therapy for patients with severe burns commenced recruitment in 2014. To date, five patients have been recruited.

Optimising paediatric traumatic brain injury (TBI) outcomes

Dr Phil Lewis's research interest is how
the brain regulates blood flow

Dr Philip Lewis completed his PhD during 2014, in which he studied the regulation of blood flow in the brain. Often after traumatic brain injury (TBI), this regulation mechanism is disrupted. As a result, during episodes of low blood pressure the brain cannot prevent a drop in flow. Conversely, during high blood pressure episodes the brain swells as the non-reactive blood vessels stretch. His thesis examined how this mechanism works, and the development of techniques for measuring its deterioration.

Molecular pathways for skin formation

Michael Cangkrama, who has recently
completed his PhD on skin formation

The skin is the body’s largest organ. It forms in utero and is maintained throughout adult life. However, the womb is a more stable and regulated place than the more complex terrestrial environment, and skin function in an embryo and an adult is very different.

What are the molecular mechanisms contributing to the development, regulation and maintenance of the skin structure in utero and post-natally? Why are they different? It comes down to highly conserved genes, largely unchanged from fruit fly to human. These three genes (in mammals) are members of a family of transcription factors known as the Grainy head-like (Grhl) transcription factors that play a role in organ (including skin) development and barrier repair after tissue damage. Grhl1 and 3 are both highly expressed in skin.

Measurement of disability-free survival after surgery

Dr Mark Shulman, lead author

Dr Mark Shulman is an Alfred anaesthetist and lead author of a new study which followed up more than 500 patients for one year after surgery to track their recovery using a World Health Organization (WHO) measure of disability. The ultimate goal of their research and follow-on studies is to give patients more personally tailored information regarding not only immediate risks and benefits of the surgery, but how well they might recover from surgery in the longer term.

Alfred HealthLink newsletter 2015 Autumn issue: TBI, Asthma, Anaesthesia, Bipolar & more

Alfred Health produces a regular newsletter, back issues of which are housed at: www.alfred.org.au/News.aspx?ID=469.

The current issue's highlights include:

• Asthma breakthrough (Prof Bruce Thompson, Department of Allergy, Immunology and Respiratory medicine)
• Monitoring healthy recovery after surgery (Dr Mark Shulman, Department of Anaesthesia and Perioperative Medicine)
• Brain imaging, bipolar and family (Dr Tamsyn van Rheenen, MAPrc)
• Global effort in brain injury research (Prof Jamie Cooper)

Enquiries to Public Affairs team at Alfred Health on 03 9076 2266 or publicaffairs@alfred.org.au

Monash University Low FODMAP Diet: Are all spelt products low in FODMAPs?

Spelt is an ancient form of wheat. The Monash University FODMAP analysis of spelt has revealed that spelt flour tends to be lower in total FODMAPs than modern wheat. See the entire article by Dr Jane Muir at:

Monash University Low FODMAP Diet: Are all spelt products low in FODMAPs?

Congratulations to Prof Robyn O'Hehir FThorSoc, new Fellow of the Thoracic Society of Australia and New Zealand

Congratulations to Professor Robyn O'Hehir FThorSoc, who has been awarded the Fellow status of the Thoracic Society of Australia and New Zealand on 28 March 2015 . The status is awarded to Thoracic Society members who demonstrate exceptional contributions to the field of respiratory health in Australia or New Zealand. Professor O'Hehir's outstanding clinical and research achievements in the field has earned her the Fellow status.

Professor Jayashri Kulkarni selected for top women’s mental health presidency

Congratulations to Professor Jayashri Kulkarni, Director of the Monash Alfred Psychiatry research centre, who has been elected the next President of the International Association for Women’s Mental Health (IAWMH). Established in 2001, the association’s aim is to improve the mental health of women throughout the world. Prof Kulkarni will be advocating for women’s mental health globally and will have influence in making policy recommendations to the United Nations.
See more: monash.edu/news/show/professor-selected-for-top-womens-mental-health-presidency

Healthy participants sought: Linking sensory and social difficulties in Autism Spectrum Disorder

Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) experience difficulties in processing social information, such as complex facial expressions. In addition, individuals with ASD demonstrate abnormal processing of sensory information, often reporting hypo- and/or hyper-reactivity to sensory stimuli. This study aims to explore the relationship between these social and sensory processing difficulties in ASD.

We are looking for healthy volunteers, aged 18-50 years, to act as controls. Volunteers will be required to attend the Monash Alfred Psychiatry Research Centre (located on St Kilda Rd) for a single four-hour session. During the session, activities designed to assess sensory processing and empathy will be completed.

Contact: kimberley.meates@monash.edu
See more: ccs-clin-trials.med.monash.edu.au/trials/linking-sensory-and-social-difficulties-autism-spectrum-disorder