Photo of the Week: Red Lab Coat Day 2016

MS Research Australia's "Red Lab Coat Day" raises awareness and funds for multiple sclerosis research. The Petratos lab in Central Clinical School has a grant from them and is participating in the day. L-R on this photo: Mr Speros Thomas (PhD student), Mrs Amani Alrehaili (PhD student), Dr Steven Petratos (Lab group leader), Mrs Maya Bakhuraysah, Dr Jae Young Lee, Miss Erica Kim (PhD student), Ms Kylie Magee (Lab manager), Ms Melissa Beimond (Honours). See more:

• About the research at: www.med.monash.edu.au/medicine/alfred/research/petratos-group.html
• MS Research Australia's research projects: www.msra.org.au/research
• Photo gallery of the 2016 Red Lab Coat Day group
• Follow @MSResearchAust with hashtags #RedLabCoatDay and #KissGoodbyeToMS

Forthcoming CCS events: Seminars, public events, general notices

Jessica Anania

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 Graduate Research Student 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 this coming week: 2-6 May 2016

Tue	►	3-May	11:00	PhD Confirmation Seminar : Ms Minhee Suh Halemba
	►	3-May	11:30	PhD Mid-Candidature Seminar : Ms Ashlee Conway
Wed	►	4-May	11:30	PhD Mid Candidature Seminar : Ms Jessica Claire Anania
Thu	►	5-May	12:00	Cutting Edge Journal Club

Forthcoming events

• 12 Oct 2016 CCS Public Lecture: Innovative systems for improving trauma injury treatment

29 April 2016: Day of Immunology 'Heroes and Villains'

2015 Day of Immunology GTAC school
student experience. Maria Demaria from
Monash's Dept of Immunology supervising

Today is the Day of Immunology, which is a day to celebrate immunology, and also inform the general public about the importance of the immune system, and our research.  This year the theme is 'Heroes and Villains'.  

The day will be celebrated with a range of events, including discovery tours, school workshops at GTAC, and a public lecture at the Peter Doherty Institute at 6pm which will be chaired and hosted by David Tarlinton, and will feature talks by Su Heinzel, Maria Liaskos and Dale Godfrey.

In addition, the Vaccination Cafe will be running tomorrow from 10:30am to 2:30pm at the Melbourne Town Hall, Swanston Room.  We will be providing free vaccines for season influenza and pertussis (whooping cough).  Bookings can be made online, or can be taken at the venue.  If you or your friends and family are interested in participating, please come along to any or all of these events, and take part in celebrating immunology.

More information can be found on the following site: http://www.dayofimmunology.org.au

Recent CCS publications: Week ending 29 April 2016

MSHC has published the first study conducted in Australian
MSM investigating associations between sexual behaviours
and different methods of meeting partners

Recent publications for CCS affiliated authors:

Chow EP, Cornelisse VJ, Read TR, Hocking JS, Walker S, Chen MY, Bradshaw CS, Fairley CK. Risk Practices in the Era of Smartphone Apps for Meeting Partners: A cross-sectional study among men who have sex with men in Melbourne, Australia. AIDS Patient Care STDS. 2016 Apr; 30:151-4.
doi: 10.1089/apc.2015.0344.

Introduction to surgical research - new short course

Mr James Lee is convening a new short course, "Introduction to surgical research", starting in June 2016. The course is designed for:

• Early postgraduate research students
• SET trainees
• Pre-SET trainees
• Interns and Residents
• Medical Students – Year 3+ / BMedSci / Honours students recommended (1st and 2nd years please enquire)
• Link: www.med.monash.edu.au/surgery/alfred/teaching/sc-intro-surgery.html

Congratulations to Karen Alt, Tiffany Khong and Ioanna Savvidou for Platform Access Grant success!

Dr Karen Alt

Dr Tiffany Khong

Dr Ioanna Savvidou

Congratulations to Drs Karen Alt, Tiffany Khong and Ioanna Savvidou who have won Faculty Platform Access Grant (PAG) funding in 2016 for their project titled, "Validation of a novel beta-catenin inhibitor in a myeloma-induced bone disease utilising molecular imaging platforms". 

Multiple Myeloma (MM) is the second most common hematologic malignancy accounting for 13% of hematologic cancers. Despite the introduction of new therapeutic modalities, relapse is inevitable due to the emergence of drug resistance. Thus, it is important to identify and validate new therapeutic agents that target alternative pathways that contribute to the pathogenesis and progression of MM. This new treatment approach will be evaluated by using molecular imaging for monitoring anti-myeloma therapeutic effect in vivo.

Congratulations to Simone Peters on earning her PhD!

Congratulations to Simone Peters, Department of Gastroenterology, on her successful completion of her PhD. Her thesis is titled: "Exploring the link between mental health and functional gastrointestinal disorders" and was ratified by the Graduate Research Steering Committee on Tuesday 19 April 2016.  Her supervisors were Dr Jane Muir, Prof Peter Gibson, Dr Susan Shepherd and Dr Gregory Yelland.

“With a personal history of coeliac disease, exploring the link between mental health and gastrointestinal disease has always been of great interest,” Ms Peters said.

Participants/blood donors sought for study on blood clotting

At the Australian Centre for Blood Diseases (ACBD), the Hamilton lab group is studying the processes involved in the formation of blood clots, and are seeking participants for their research.

While blood clots normally form to prevent excessive bleeding following an injury, the same processes are involved in the formation of harmful clots that may block blood vessels, causing heart attacks or strokes. A better understanding of how clots form will not only increase our knowledge of blood clot formation in healthy individuals and individuals with cardiovascular disease, but may lead to new preventive and therapeutic drugs for heart attacks and strokes.

Participants sought: Pain in the brain

Participants sought: Pain in the brain

This research study is exploring changes in the brain in people who suffer from chronic low back pain. We are seeking female volunteers between 20 and 40 years of age who are right handed and currently experiencing low back pain.

MMO's 15 May 'Transfusions' Concert, featuring Beethoven's 5th symphony

Following our very successful Charity Chamber Concert, it is our great pleasure to personally invite you to the orchestra's Autumn Concert, Transfusions! The details are as follows, and may also be found on the attached concert flyer:

Date, time: Sunday 15 May, 5pm

Location: Sir Zelman Cowen School of Music Auditorium, 55 Scenic Boulevard, Monash University Clayton Campus

We would love to see you at the orchestra's first major performance of 2016! As is strongly hinted, the (in)famous Beethoven's Fifth Symphony will be featured.

http://www.monashmedorchestra.org.au/concerts/key-dates

Community notice: Flutracking is about to kick off again for 2016!

Video embedded within the page www.flutracking.net/?inv2f

Flutracking is about to kick off again for 2016!

Thank you so much for helping us track the flu last year - you helped us increase monitoring Australia-wide with 1 in every 900 Australians participating in Flutracking in 2015!

In 2016 we would really like to recruit another 3000 participants, so...

Please ask your friends and family to join by forwarding the following link:

• http://www.flutracking.net/?inv2f

Please share this story to all the other big-hearted community-minded people you know who would be willing to give 10 seconds per week to help us track flu and receive a weekly flu report and flu map in return! See more at:

• http://www.flutracking.net/?inv2f
• http://www.flutracking.net

You can also tell your friends about us at

• http://www.facebook.com/Flutracking

PS. The influenza vaccine is now available.

The Flutracking Team
flutracking@flutracking.net
Phone: (02) 4924 6477

Perspectives: 'Anti-immunisation movie Vaxxed is a platform for its maker, not its message'

Sarah Gill writes a critique of the new film 'Vaxxed' by Andrew Wakefield (of MMR-autism notoriety). She says, "Don't be fooled – Wakefield's story is not the tale of a man wronged by powerful corporations or the medical establishment, which, in fact, closed ranks to protect him. It's the story of a physician who set out to cast doubt on vaccine safety before he'd even gathered the evidence, and he did so not for the public good, but for private gain."

Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/comment/antiimmunisation-movie-vaxxed-is-a-platform-for-its-maker-not-its-message-20160425-goetem.html