Photo of the week: Respiratory Care group

We welcomed Professor Anne Holland's respiratory care group to the school last year, but they're so busy it's taken until now to get a group photo! Their expertise is various, including: respiratory; physiotherapy; pulmonary rehabilitation; COPD; pulmonary fibrosis; exercise training; supportive care; access to care; physical activity; telerehabilitation; clinical trials. In summary, their research is about improving the lives of people with chronic lung disease through novel non-drug treatments and optimal supportive care.

In the photo: Back row, L-R: Angela Burge, Christie Mellerick, Anthony May, Carla Malaguti. Middle row: Gabriella Tikellis, Aroub Lahham, Narelle Cox, Mariana Hoffmann, Joanna Lee. Front row: Julianna Dreger, Anne Holland, Janet Bondarenko. Absent: Leona Dowman, Arwel Jones.

New technique for analysing aggressive brain tumour tissue

Immunocytochemical image of
cultured tumour cells: Katrina Kan

by Anne Crawford

A Department of Neuroscience PhD student has helped develop a new, cost-effective and reliable method for studying glioblastoma, a devastating brain cancer.

Ms Katrina Kan from Dr Mastura Monif’s laboratory, was first author on a paper about a new protocol for using primary human glioblastoma tissue, published last month in Methods and Protocols.

Study strengthens link between cleft palate and ancient gene

Dr Marina Carpinelli (first author) and
Professor Stephen Jane (last author)

by Anne Crawford

Cleft lip and palate are common birth defects, affecting about one in 800 Australian babies. The conditions, which result in the baby’s facial parts failing to fuse during early foetal life, can affect the child’s social development, feeding, hearing and speech, as well as their appearance.

Now, Monash University scientists have found that Grhl2, part of an ancient gene family called Grainyhead-like (Grhl), plays a critical role in preventing cleft palate in combination with a gene called Zeb1.

Findings may boost hay fever therapy

L-R: Dr Craig McKenzie, Prof Robyn O'Hehir,

Associate Professor Menno van Zelm

by Anne Crawford

Allergen immunotherapy is the only treatment to modify the natural course of allergy to ryegrass pollen – or spring hay fever – rather than just alleviating symptoms. Treatment involves repeated exposure of patients to allergen extracts either by injection or tablet, ‘training’ the immune system to clear these allergens without generating an allergic response.

But it’s not known exactly how this immunotherapy works.

The 'bible' of allergy updated

Middleton’s Allergy Principles and 

Practice 9th Edition

Since 1978, when the late Elliott Middleton, Jr., together with the founding editors Elliot Ellis and Charles Reed, published the comprehensive book Allergy: Principles and Practice, these two volumes have been the definitive text on allergy practice and disease mechanisms worldwide.

A number of Monash University researchers have contributed to the new 9th edition and Monash's Head of Central Clinical School’s Department of Allergy, Immunology and Respiratory Medicine, Professor Robyn E O’Hehir AO FAHMS, is one of the editors.

11-17 Feb 2020 Central Clinical School recent publications

Monash neuroscience researchers have

published a review of research on long-term 

consequences of TBI in childhood.

Image source: Brainline

Recent publications as notified during the week 11-17 Feb 2020 by PubMed from Central Clinical School affiliated researchers in the following departments. This is not a comprehensive list:

• Australian Centre for Blood Diseases
• Diabetes
• Gastroenterology
• Immunology and Pathology
• Infectious Diseases
• Medical Education
• Neuroscience
• Psychiatry
• Surgery/NTRI

In the media this week

The 17 Feb 2020 Herald Sun story

DITPA has MS model mice walking again

17/02/2020 Dr Steven Petratos's research, recently funded by Multiple Sclerosis Research Australia (see our story for detail), was profiled in the Herald Sun 17 Feb 2020. Dr Petratos says it's not quite a cure yet, but the drug he has been investigating, DITPA, shows promise for cell re-myelination. It's still in the pre-clinical phase of research; clinical trials with human participants are years away.