The imperative to act on obesity

Source: OECD 2015. How we compare: Australia's obesity levels
The 10 OECD nations with the most overweight and obese people 

by Paul Zimmet
Dana McCauley makes a very important contribution with her analysis of the failure the Federal and State governments to act decisively on obesity ("While politicians refuse to act, Australia becomes more overweight", The Age,18/12/2019) despite numerous reports and strategies produced over the last few decades.

Concerted action is long overdue - the time to start for a positive impact on Australia’s current health was 20 years ago. In 2009, the Preventative Health Task Force of which I was a member, produced the report “Australia: The Healthiest Country by 2020”.

Photo of the week: CCLabs group

CCLabs group. Back row: Andrew Doherty (Electronics Engineer); Aquiles da Silva (Full Stack Web Developer); Chaminda Galagedara (Finance and Operations Manager); Amitesh Gaurav (Embedded Engineer).
Front row: Dr Chew Ling Linda Lau (Chief Scientific Officer/Laboratory Head); Dr Hon Weng Chong (CEO); Andy Kitchen (Head of AI (Artificial Intelligence)); Michela Benedetti (Software Engineer)

We welcome Dr Hon Weng Chong and his team from the start up Victoria biotechnology company, CCLabs, who have been embedded with our Department of Neuroscience from 8 October 2018 for an initial period of six months. CCLabs are developing innovative neuroinformatics technology (Biocomputing) based on neuronal cultures. The work that CClabs is doing is closely aligned with research developing in our Department of Neuroscience using electrophysiology of iPS derived neuronal stem cells and neuronal cultures and to better understand epileptogenic brain networks, and to screen for novel therapies. As the researchers from CClabs will be alongside our research groups, we anticipate mutual advantage from research, collaboration and infrastructure leverage opportunities that this will provide.

Please welcome Hong and his team to our Department and School. 

What's on at CCS 17-20 Dec 2018

Have a good holiday

This is the final week of Central Clinical School (CCS) operation before University close down on Friday 21 December 2018. So the main event for this week is that for University staff, the School is closed on Friday.

We wish everyone a safe and happy Christmas and New Year break. First day back from the close down is Wednesday 2 January 2019.

Recent CCS publications: 7-14 December

Newly promoted, A/Prof Eric Chow
is featured twice in this
week's publications. 

Recent publications for Central Clinical School affiliated authors in the following departments. Note, browse down this entry for complete publications list. Linked headings for each section are to the departments' home pages.

• Diabetes 
• Infectious Diseases
• Neuroscience
• Melbourne Sexual Health Centre

Getting inside the RAGE

All the RAGE: L-R Ms Alex Dimiropoulos, Dr Raelene Pickering,
Dr Chris Tikellis, Dr Carlos Rosado, Professor Merlin Thomas, 
Ms Maria Alejandra Zuniga-Gutierrez

Monash researchers have discovered a new way to block the effects of RAGE. No, not the angry (incredible hulk) kind of rage. But it may be just as important.

The Receptor for Advanced Glycation End-products (known as RAGE) is an important player in many diseases, from atherosclerosis and diabetes to cancer and neurodegenerative disease.

High percentage of newly diagnosed epilepsy patients go untreated

Lead author, Dr Zhibin Chen,
Neuroscience Department,
CCS, Monash. 

A collaborative study between Monash University and Western Australia has highlighted that, despite the wide availability of anti-epileptic drugs, almost one third of patients who are newly diagnosed with epilepsy do not receive immediate treatment.

The study was recently presented at the 2018 American Epilepsy Society where Dr Chen was interviewed for an online publication, Medscape.

Read the full interview here: https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/905942?src=wnl_edit_tpal&uac=92129FR&impID=1821041&faf=1

Congratulations to our CASS Foundation grant winners!

Dr Ting-Yi Wang

Dr Jess Borger

Congratulations to Dr Jess Borger and Dr Ting-Yi Wang (pictured), who have won CASS Foundation grants.

Dr Ting-Yi Wang is a Research Fellow at the Australian Centre of Blood Diseases. She has been awarded a $55,000 grant by the CASS Foundation for her research project, titled "Antibody directed cell targeting for the treatment of stroke".

Dr Jess Borger is a Research Fellow in the Department of Immunology and Pathology, and has likewise been awarded a $55,000 grant for her research project, "Designing superior killers for cancer immunotherapy".

See more:
Ting-Yi Want: research.monash.edu/en/persons/ting-yi-wang
Jess Borger: research.monash.edu/en/persons/jessica-borger

Congratulations to Nik Kocovski and Benedict Costello on higher degree completions!

Dr Benedict Costello

Mr Nik Kocovski

Congratulations to our recently completed graduate research students, Mr Nikolce Kokovski and Dr Benedict Costello!

Nik Kocovski completed a Master of Philosophy and his thesis was titled "Therapeutic Monoclonal Antibodies to Snake Venom". Nik was supervised by Professor David Tarlinton (Department of Immunology and Pathology), Dr Steven Rockman (University of Melbourne) and Prof Andrew Lew (WEHI).

Dr Benedict Costello completed a PhD through the Baker Institute and his thesis was titled, "Non-Invasive Assessment of Central Haemodynamics and Cardiac Performance". He was supervised by  Professor Andrew Taylor and Dr James Hare.

Thanks to all our blood donors!

Your blood at work in the lab.
A/Prof Justin Hamilton & colleague

To our valued blood donors,

Our Heartfelt thanks to you all for your continued support this year!

We hope that 2018 has been a fulfilling year for you.  It certainly has been for us, largely due to you – our valued blood donors, who allow our continued push to improve the diagnosis and treatment of blood-based diseases.  Much of our work at the Australian Centre for Blood Diseases is vitally dependent on the use of freshly collected human blood.  Which means every time you generously come in and donate, you have supported our Centre’s scientists to continue our fight against some of the most prevalent diseases in our communities.

So, from all of us here, a huge thanks for this essential contribution to our research effort.

Congratulations to our NHMRC project grant recipients!

A/Prof Kat Holt

Congratulations to our 2018 National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) project grant recipients in Central Clinical School (CCS), see table below.

Monash University as a whole has been awarded almost $76 million in the latest round of NHMRC funding.

Novel test may transform stroke treatment

Profs Rob Medcalf (left) & Geoffrey Cloud (right)
are lead investigators on improving stroke treatment

Series about National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Project Grant recipients in Central Clinical School (CCS) starting in 2019

by Anne Crawford

Stroke is one of Australia’s biggest killers and a leading cause of disability. Australians are struck down by stroke at a rate of one person every nine minutes, mostly by acute ischaemic stroke (AIS) when blood flow to the brain is interrupted by a clot.

Project casts net wide to tackle hospital bug spread

Dr Andrew Stewardson

Series about National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Project Grant recipients in Central Clinical School (CCS) starting in 2019

by Anne Crawford

The spread of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in the Australian healthcare system is a major public health concern. Yet despite the fact that this spread occurs between hospitals, as well as within them, infection control has traditionally been considered something to be handled by individual institutions.

Scientists probe links between anti-depressant drugs and epilepsy onset

A/Prof Nigel Jones in the lab

Series about National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Project Grant recipients in Central Clinical School (CCS) starting in 2019

Associate Professor Nigel Jones has been awarded two NHMRC grants for projects investigating:
antidepressants in epilepsy and brain waves in schizophrenia.

by Anne Crawford

A Monash University researcher has been funded more than $1million over four years to investigate the possibility that anti-depressant drugs contribute to the onset of epilepsy in people with traumatic brain injury (TBI).

Funding drives new directions in oxidative stress research for diabetes and heart disease

Professor Karin Jandeleit-Dahm
has won two NHMRC project grants

Series about National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Project Grant recipients in Central Clinical School (CCS) starting in 2019

Professor Karin Jandeleit-Dahm was awarded two project grants for research on:

• Targeting Nox5 to prevent atherosclerosis and aneurysm formation
• Lipoxins protect against diabetes associated atherosclerosis.

by Anne Crawford

Scientists take new approach to tackle chemo-evading blood cancer

Professor David Curtis works on acute
leukaemia

Series about National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Project Grant recipients in Central Clinical School (CCS) starting in 2019

by Anne Crawford

Acute leukaemia is an unusually lethal cancer. Despite achieving complete remission after intensive chemotherapy, 80% of patients will be dead within five years of diagnosis.

Professor David Curtis, clinical haematologist and head of blood cancer research at the Australian Centre for Blood Diseases (ACBD) at Monash University's Central Clinical School, is investigating the mechanisms behind the cancer’s ability to resist chemotherapy.

Monash study to better inform pregnant women with MS

Dr Vilija Jokubaitis is working on
multiple sclerosis in pregnancy

Series about National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Project Grant recipients in Central Clinical School (CCS) starting in 2019

by Anne Crawford

Planning a family can be a hard decision at the best of times; add to that having Multiple Sclerosis (MS) and it can be fraught. A Monash University researcher in the Department of Neuroscience at Central Clinical School is investigating the impact of pregnancy on disease outcomes in women with MS to generate information that will both deepen understanding of the disease and which can be used by clinicians to assist patients.

Dr Vilija Jokubaitis will be able to further her current research into MS, prognosis and pregnancy thanks to a $470,000 grant from the NHMRC.

Funds to help scientists probe mysteries of plasma cells

Professor David Tarlinton in the lab
with a student

Series about National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Project Grant recipients in Central Clinical School (CCS) starting in 2019

by Anne Crawford

Professor David Tarlinton’s NHMRC grant will fund research that tackles some of the fundamental questions of B-cell immunology; questions about the cells that produce the antibodies that protect us from infection.

The four-year grant will support new studies by Professor Tarlinton, who heads the Department of Immunology and Pathology at Central Clinical School, into plasma cell survival, investigating various aspects of the cell’s lifespan.

World-first trials to test new blood cancer treatment for elderly

A/Prof Andrew Wei investigates AML

Series about National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Project Grant recipients in Central Clinical School (CCS) starting in 2019

by Anne Crawford

Acute Myeloid Leukaemia (AML) is a rapidly fatal blood cancer which, despite improvements gained through intensive chemotherapy, has a five-year survival rate in adults of around 25%. Elderly patients however have a median survival rate of less than six months.

Associate Professor Andrew Wei has been awarded a four-year $1.07M NHMRC project grant to conduct research improving outcomes for elderly people with AML.

Photo of the week: 2018 D.S. Rosengarten Surgical Trainee Research Prize

L-R: Professor Jonathan Serpell, Director of General Surgery, Alfred Health, Dr Yazmin Johari (2018 DS Rosengarten Prize winner), Mrs Candice Rosengarten and Professor Wendy Brown, Head of Surgery, Central Clinical School at the prize presentation. The event took place on Saturday, 1 December 2018.

Dr Yazmin Johari presented on: Matched Comparison of Laparoscopic Adjustable Gastric Banding verses Sleeve Gastrectomy.

See more:

• about the event: www.monash.edu/medicine/ccs/surgery-alfred/prizes/rosengarten
• program booklet: www.monash.edu/medicine/ccs/surgery-alfred/prizes/rosengarten/2018-Abstract-Booklet.pdf
• photo gallery: https://photos.app.goo.gl/CriFz7sHTWxnLTpB6

What's on at CCS 10-14 Dec 2018

Amy Searle at the recent CCS graduate
research symposium. She is giving her
PhD mid-candidature presentation at
2 pm, Thursday 13 Dec

Central Clinical School (CCS) has regular seminar series and postgraduate presentations. Event notices are posted on the CCS Events calendar.

CCS staff and 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 CCS intranet's Announcements page.

See CCS seminar index: 
www.monash.edu/medicine/ccs/headlines/events-calendar

Recent CCS publications: 1-6 December 2018

Head of Neuroscience,
Professor Terry O'Brien had three
papers published this week.

Recent publications for Central Clinical School affiliated authors in the following departments. Note, browse down this entry for complete publications list. Linked headings for each section are to the departments' home pages.

• Diabetes
• Gastroenterology 
• Immunology and Pathology
• Infectious Diseases
• Monash Alfred Psychiatry research centre
• Neuroscience
• Surgery

Recent developments and highlights in biomarkers in allergic diseases and asthma

Drug hypersensitivity phenotypes excerpted from Fig. 5

Professor Robyn O'Hehir, Head of the Department of Respiratory Allergy & Clinical Immunology (Research) at Central Clinical School and Associate Professor Mark Hew, Head of Allergy, Asthma and Clinical Immunology at The Alfred are authors on a review article which explores the potential of precision medicine in allergy and asthma.

The authors, Eguiluz-Gracia et al., argue that there is a need to predict the response to specific therapies and the outcome of drug and food provocations. In their comprehensive review they have highlighted recent discoveries and advances in the identification and clinical applicability of valid biomarkers for asthma and allergic diseases.

View or download article: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/all.13628

How higher resolution images can pinpoint problems

Professor Meng Law

Healthcare providers around the world can unlock the power of precision medicine for better care and lower cost. Harvard Business Review Analytics Services (HBR) published a new whitepaper for executives and leaders in healthcare on how to expand precision medicine and scale it up to an organizational level. The paper profiles Professor Meng Law, who has recently joined the Department of Neuroscience.

Professor Law has been able to diagnose and treat people effectively using scans from a 7T MRI (The "T" stands for Tesla, a unit of measure for magnetic fields. Standard MRIs are either 1.5 or 3T.)

Reference: Expanding Precision Medicine: The path to higher-value care

Research heartland to combat diabetes and obesity

Aussies love their sugary drinks, and the Obesity
 Epidemic in Australia report recommends a sugar
 tax be applied to soft drinks. Image: Shutterstock

This week a Commonwealth government Select Committee into the Obesity Epidemic in Australia has published its final report (see 5 Dec SMH news article on same).

A recent international study suggested that obesity has overtaken malnourishment as a leading global health problem, and that Australia is one of the most overweight nations on earth. In fact, more than 63% of Australians are now overweight or obese.

Congratulations to Dr Sarah Rotstein on inaugural Teacher Innovation & Impact Award!

Dr Sarah Rotstein (left) receiving her award
 from Professor Robyn Slattery

The inaugural Teacher Innovation and Impact (TII) award was won by Dr Sarah Rotstein of the Monash Alfred Psychiatry research centre.

The TII award recognizes the innovations educators are making in their teaching practice and delivery that have a positive impact on the student learning experience.

Dr Rotstein developed an innovative approach to teaching the correct terminology to be used in the Mental State Examinations (MSE). Rather than ask psychology students to simply memorize the terminology Dr Rotstein created a fun and engaging approach known as ‘Phenomenology Charades’.

Professor Robyn Slattery, Director of non-medical education at Central Clinical School, created the award to inspire all CCS educators, both medical and non-medical, to innovate, measure the impact of their innovation and of course, apply for the award in 2019!

Congratulations to multiple CCS winners on Nutrition Society awards!

Matt Snelson (left) and Daniel So (right) with their NSA awards

CCS departments of Gastroenterology and Diabetes researchers and PhD students attended the Nutrition Society of Australia’s Annual Scientific Meeting held in Canberra held 28-30 November 2018 and won various awards.

Congratuations to Steven Petratos on MS Research Australia grant win!

Congratulations to Dr Steven Petratos (pictured), who has been awarded a $25,000 Incubator Grant from MS Research Australia for his research project, titled "Development of small molecules for neuroprotection and repair during progressive multiple sclerosis".

See more about Dr Petratos' research at:
www.monash.edu/medicine/ccs/neuroscience/research/petratos-group

Photo of the week: Drs Akram Zamani and Evelyn Tsantikos win seed grant funding!

Congratulations to Dr Akram Zamani (left) and Dr Evelyn Tsantikos (right), who are recipients of the AMREP 2018 Collaborative Seed grant award for their research project, "A new player in microglial activation driving inflammation and pathology in traumatic brain injury [TBI]."

TBI is a complex and poorly-understood pathology with long-term consequences, affecting the lives of children and young people well into adulthood. Identifying disease pathways that can provide scope for improved treatments is of utmost necessity and importance. This study will focus on how microglia - cells which provide the first and main form of active immune defence - act in the normal brain, and the researchers will then examine howthese cells respond to a brain injury.

Dr Zamani is a Postdoctoral Research fellow in Dr Bridgette Semple's Pediatric Neurotrauma Group, Department of Neuroscience; and Dr Tsantikos is a Research Officer in Associate Professor Margaret Hibb's Leukocyte Signalling Laboratory, which studies signalling pathways that play a role in immune system development, function and disease. Find out more about the AMREP collaborative seed grants: www.monash.edu/medicine/ccs/research/emcr/seed-grants

What's on at CCS 3-7 Dec 2018

Dr Keith Potent presenting at the
recent CCS GR symposium. He is 
giving his PhD confirmation talk at
10.30 am on Monday 3 Dec 2018

Central Clinical School (CCS) has regular seminar series and postgraduate presentations. Event notices are posted on the CCS Events calendar.

CCS staff and 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 CCS intranet's Announcements page.

See CCS seminar index:  www.monash.edu/medicine/ccs/headlines/events-calendar

What's on at CCS 3-7 Dec 2018

Mon	03/12/2018	►	10:30	PhD Confirmation Milestone: Dr Keith Potent
Thur	06/12/2018	►	12:00	Alfred Grand Rounds
Fri	07/12/2018	►	11:00	PhD Mid Candidature Milestone: Rania Hashad

Recent CCS publications: 25-30 November 2018

Mr James Lee was published this 
week in the World Journal of Surgery

Recent publications for Central Clinical School affiliated authors in the following departments. Note, browse down this entry for complete publications list. Linked headings for each section are to the departments' home pages.

• Australian Centre for Blood Diseases (ACBD)
• Allergy, Immunology and Respiratory Medicine (AIRMed)
• Anaesthesia 
• Immunology and Pathology
• MAPrc
• Neuroscience
• Surgery

World first study of infant and newborn airways microbiome throws light on origins of asthma

Professor Ben Marsland

A world first study of the bacteria living in the lower respiratory tract of “healthy” newborns and young babies has shown that bacterial communities form within the first 2 months post-natally, and that these bacteria interact with the immune system in ways that could potentially influence its development.

The study, led by Professor Ben Marsland, a veski Innovation Fellow in the Department of Immunology and Pathology at Central Clinical School, Monash University, is published today in the journal Cell Host and Microbe.

Funding boost to make Melbourne a leading hub for HIV cure research

Dr James McMahon

Eight Melbourne research teams have received grants totalling $646,000 from the Melbourne HIV Cure Consortium (MHCC), a collaborative research effort aiming to accelerate efforts to find a cure for HIV.

The recipients include Dr James McMahon, Head of The Alfred’s Department of Infectious Diseases Clinical Research Unit, who received a grant to expand a clinical trial to find rare infected cells in people on HIV treatment using a radioactive label followed by an MRI.

Successful ARC grant for Australia's first Magnetic Particle Imaging facility

"What you see is what you've got". In MPI (far left), SPIO tracers
are bright, not dark, and can be accurately quantified.
Main advantages of MPI over other imaging modalities:
(A) no background signal similar to PET but without the use of radiation,
(B) no tissue signal attenuation as seen with fluorescence imaging, and
(C) no image artefacts as seen in MRI. Image derived from Zheng et al

In the most recent round of Australian Research Council (ARC) grants Monash University was the most successful institution in Victoria.

Professor Terry O'Brien, Head of the Department of Neuroscience and Associate Professor Christoph Hagemeyer, head of the NanoBiotechnology Laboratory at the Australian Centre for Blood Diseases at the Central Clinical School are Chief Investigators on an $898,450 LEIF grant to establish the first Magnetic Particle Imaging (MPI) facility in Australia. The lead investigator is Professor Gary Egan, Director of  Monash Biomedical Imaging.

Repairing a brain damaged by Multiple Sclerosis

Dr Steven Petratos at a Red Lab Coat 
Day, raising awareness of MS research

Congratulations to Dr Steven Petratos, who has won a Bethlehem Griffiths Research Foundation grant of $48,956 for his proposal, "Developing a novel drug for progressive MS". Dr Petratos has a research group in the Department of Neuroscience, Central Clinical School, working on targeting molecules involved in brain and spinal cord damage caused by Multiple sclerosis (MS).

Prof Merlin Thomas wins 2019 Millennium Research Award for Type 2 Diabetes research

Professor Merlin Thomas

Professor Merlin Thomas has been awarded the prestigious Diabetes Australia Research Program (DARP) 2019 Millennium Research Award - Type 2 Diabetes. Prof Thomas's research group is in the Department of Diabetes, Central Clinical School, Monash University.

The award will support research into a new inhibitor which could help prevent and treat diabetes-related complications including heart attack, stroke or limb amputation. 

Congratulations to Alex Huang on his PhD award!

Congratulations to Dr Alex Huang (pictured), who has completed his PhD thesis! It is entitled, "Investigations of  novel treatment strategies in atherosclerosis and thrombosis". Alex is a cardiologist at Alfred Health.

Alex was supervised by Professors Karlheinz Peter (Baker Institute) and Alex Bobik (Baker and School of Clinical Sciences, Monash).

Diabetes in the news: Paul Zimmet interview with Channel News Asia

Channel News Asia interview with Prof
Paul Zimmet.

Professor Paul Zimmet, Department of Diabetes at Central Clinical School, presented at the Singapore Ministerial Conference on Diabetes, held 26-27 November 2018, and was interviewed about the global epidemic of diabetes by Channel News Asia. In the interview Prof Zimmet answered the following questions:

• How serious is the diabetes situation worldwide?
• What are the implications of that on the way we're managing diabetes?
• We understand that by 2030, insulin will be beyond the reach of 41 million of the adults with type 2 diabetes who will need it worldwide. How critical is that problem, and how can we address that?
• Back to the roots of diabetes - we understand that genes might play a role in causing diabetes but lifestyle choices are important as well. What are your thoughts - which factor matters more? And what can we do to lower our risk of getting diabetes?

Photo of the week: Monash Microimaging image competition - entries due 7 Dec 2018

MMI competition open for entries - closing date 7 December 2018. Image: /platforms.monash.edu/mmi/

Monash Microimaging are once again running their annual image competition!

• Cash prizes for the best 3 entries
• Categories for this years competition are now expanded to include:
• Widefield/Fluorescence/Confocal/Light-sheet and other microscopy modalities
• Animation/Movie of 3D Volume/Surface Rendering, Dynamic Imaging, Time-Lapse or Computer Animation 
• 13 of the selected best entries will feature in 2019 MMI calendar
• Movies/Animations to be used as graphic displays or 3D printed models

Submission deadline: 7 December, 2018

What's on at CCS 26-30 Nov 2018

Mr Xianwei Che is giving
 his pre-submission PhD 
presentation, 11 am Thurs 29 Nov

Central Clinical School (CCS) has regular seminar series and postgraduate presentations. Event notices are posted on the CCS Events calendar.

CCS staff and 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 CCS intranet's Announcements page.

See CCS seminar index:  www.monash.edu/medicine/ccs/headlines/events-calendar

What's on at CCS 26-30 Nov 2018

Mon	26/11/2018	►	12:00	Neuroscience seminar series
		►	12:30	PhD Pre-submission milestone seminar: Ho Hin Yau
Wed	28/11/2018	►	11:30	Immunology Seminar: Tiffany Bouchery
Thur	29/11/2018	►	11:00	PhD Pre-submission Milestone Seminar: Xianwei Che
		►	11:30	Journal Club: Emily Edwards
		►	14:00	PhD Mid-candidature milestone: Jonathan Hiller
		►	15:00	PhD Confirmation Milestone seminar: Dr Jennifer Reilly
Fri	30/11/2018	►	15:30	Dept of Immunology EMCR Seminar: Isaak Quast and Christina
Sat	01/12/2018	►	08:00	2018 D. S. Rosengarten Surgical Trainee Research Prize

Recent CCS publications: 18 - 24 November 2018

Head of the Department of Diabetes,
Professor Mark Cooper, was published
twice this week. 

Recent publications for Central Clinical School affiliated authors in the following departments. Note, browse down this entry for complete publications list. Linked headings for each section are to the departments' home pages.

• Australian Centre for Blood Diseases 
• Diabetes
• Gastroenterology
• MAPrc
• Medicine
• Melbourne Sexual Health Clinic
• Neuroscience
• Surgery

Helping men navigate prostate cancer treatment

Patient Peter with Prof Jeremy Millar and A/Prof Jeremy Grummet

Story and photo reproduced courtesy Alfred Health: link

Being told you have prostate cancer is a terrifying experience for many men – and it’s one Peter knows well. When he received his diagnosis, Peter was convinced he had just six months to live.

However, Alfred Health's team of experts including Professor Jeremy Millar and Associate Professor Jeremy Grummet, both of Central Clinical School's Department of Surgery, are working to make the experience much less daunting, and equip men like Peter with more information to help them make decisions about their treatment.

Roberto Christanto wins Dean's award for BMedSc(Hons) project

Roberto Christanto and Dr Megan Wallace
BMedSc(Hons) coordinator

Congratulations to Roberto Christanto from A/Prof Justin Hamilton's lab on taking out the 2018 Dean's Award for his BMedSc(Hons) project on quantifying platelet thrombin receptors!

The title of Roberto's project was "Determining the surface levels of the thrombin receptor, PAR4, on human platelets".

See more about the Hamilton group at: www.monash.edu/medicine/ccs/blood-disease/research/plateletmega

Congratulations to Professor David Curtis on his promotion!

Professor David Curtis

Congratulations to Professor David Curtis, who has been promoted to full Professorship at Monash University!

The promotion recognises Prof Curtis's individual research accomplishments as well as leadership and mentoring. Prof Harshal Nandurkar, Director of the Australian Centre for Blood Diseases, says that Prof Curtis "is a role model for our younger haematology trainees for a career that combines significant basic and translational research with a clinical role."

See more about Prof Curtis's research at: www.monash.edu/medicine/ccs/blood-disease/research/stem-cell

Sarah Luu wins RC Bennett Prize!

CCS PhD student Sarah Luu presenting her poster at the 2018
CCS graduate research symposium. See program

Monash PhD and medical student Ms Sarah Luu was recently recognised for her outstanding research into blood clot risk after surgical removal of the spleen, receiving the prestigious Royal Australasian College of Surgeons’ RC Bennett Prize.

Undertaken in 2017 while a BMedSc(Hons) student at the School of Clinical Sciences at Monash Health (SCS), Sarah’s research investigated the role platelets play in forming blood clots after splenectomy (surgical removal of the spleen).

Devi Deliyanti and Jenny Wilkinson-Berka awarded DARP grants for retinopathy research

Congratulations to Dr Devy Deliyanti and Professor Jenny Wilkinson-Berka on being awarded Diabetes Australia Research Program (DARP) grants for their research on diabetic retinopathy!



Dr Devy Deliyanti

Retinal disease is the most feared complication of diabetes, with almost all patients experiencing some visual disturbances and some patients progressing to severe vision loss. Diabetic retinopathy is characterised by damage to small blood vessels in the retina which can proliferate and leak blood into the vitreous cavity of the eye. Dr Deliyanti and Prof Wilkinson-Berka are investigating two very different approaches to the problem.

Epidemic thunderstorm asthma forecast service

The Victorian government has a forecast service for epidemic thunderstorm asthma events. On Tuesday this week, for example, there was a high risk forecast made for the day. See more at:
www2.health.vic.gov.au/public-health/environmental-health/climate-weather-and-public-health/thunderstorm-asthma/forecasting

You can also download an app called VicEmergency which updates the forecasts and locations of events. See more: vicemergency.zendesk.com/hc/en-gb/articles/115002358614-Thunderstorm-Asthma

Photo of the week: our CCS graduate symposium prize winners!

L-R: 2018 CCS Graduate Research symposium winners Charithani Keragala, Michelle Wong (runner up, poster presentation), Lakshanie Wickramasinghe, Amy Wilson, Angela Nguyen (winner, oral presentation)

We would like to congratulate all of our 2018 CCS Graduate symposium prize winners! The judges were very happy with all the presentations. A major thank you also to the organizing team of PhD students, and to the supervisors who sportingly took part in the comic relief segments of the day!
See photo gallery for presenters and audience shots.