What's On in brief

Our speakers in the forthcoming forum on Wednesday 9 December, 7-8 pm, showcasing CCS's new registries tracking COVID-19 complications, in diabetes, and in neurological disorders, including chronic fatigue. L-R: Prof Christina Mitchell, Prof Paul Zimmet (diabetes), Dr Elspeth Hutton, Dr Robb Wesselingh (both Elspeth & Robb on neurological complications). See more and register.

The summary wrap:

• Mon 7 Dec, 12.30 pm, Neuroscience seminar with international speaker Prof Paul Van Donkelaar
  
• Wed 9 Dec, 7 pm: How & why are we tracking the neurological and diabetic complications of COVID-19? Find out in our CCS forum. Register
• Thu 17 Dec, 12 noon: NHMRC Investigator Grants: Addressing issues of gender equity with Professor Anne Kelso. Register
• Fri 18 Dec, 11 am: Prof Terry O'Brien, CCS HOS, gives the year's overview, and what a year it's been. Link to join from the calendar entry
  

University medical research increasingly looking to philanthropy for funds

Dr James McMahon explains the VIRCO trial which is testing whether

the drug favipiravir clears COVID-19 virus faster. See video 2:05 mins

Medical researchers – facing reduced government grants and funding in the wake of COVID-19 – are turning towards investors and philanthropy groups to keep their labs open and what they are finding is that these avenues are faster, more responsive and often more lucrative than more traditional research funding.

Elective surgery patients screened for COVID-19

Prof Paul Myles in theatre

A recent COVID-19 research project involving Monash University, ANZCA’s Clinical Trials Network and Australian National University has seen elective surgery patients in 14 Australian hospitals screened for COVID-19 in hospital to establish infection rates and manage surgical risk.

Citizen's jury on care for acquired brain injury rehabilitation

Rehabilitation for brain injury patients can be lifelong. A Citizen
Jury was asked for their recommendations on best care. Study

Brain injury rehabilitation is long‐term - in fact, it can be lifelong - and not cheap. So far, little published information or debate has informed policy for service delivery in Australia. 

As health budgets are finite, there are major challenges to providing the best care to people with brain injuries. 

Members of the public were invited to take part in a Citizen Jury at the Acquired Brain Injury (ABI) Centre in Melbourne. The ABI Centre features single-bed rooms at Caulfield Hospital and provides rehabilitation to meet the needs of people with severe brain injuries, resulting from trauma, stroke and other medical causes of acquired brain injury.  The Citizen Jurists were asked, ‘What considerations are important to include in a model of care of brain injury rehabilitation?’

24-30 Nov 2020 Central Clinical School publications

Prof Paul Zimmet explains that a registry, CoviDIAB, has
been established to track first time incidence of diabetes in
  COVID-19 patients. See video. His most recent paper shows

a pooled proportion of 14.4% (1 in 7) for newly diagnosed
diabetes in hospitalised COVID-19 patients. You can also
find out more at our 9 Dec forum on CCS registries.
Register here for the forum.

Recent publications featuring research as notified by PubMed during 24-30 November 2020 from Central Clinical School affiliated researchers in the following departments. The below is not a comprehensive list:

• Anaesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine
  
• Allergy, Immunology and Respiratory Medicine
• Australian Centre for Blood Diseases
• Diabetes
• Gastroenterology
• Medicine - Alfred & Peninsula
• Melbourne Sexual Health Centre
• Neuroscience
• Surgery

Congratulations, thanks and farewell to Associate Professor Justin Hamilton

L-R: A/Prof Justin Hamilton with his  PhD student at the time, Shauna French, who is now at Harvard Medical School; A/Prof Nigel Jones with his current PhD student Flavia Gomes; Prof Nicola Harris who became one of CCS's graduate research coordinators in November 2018.

Congratulations to Associate Professor Justin Hamilton on his new adventure as CSL's Director of In vivo Biology. We will all miss you! Professor Terry O'Brien, Head of School, writes:

Honours student Manisha Dona wins SOBR Excellence award

Honours student Manisha Dona

Congratulations to Manisha Dona, CCS Neuroscience BSc Honours student, who was awarded an Oral Presentation Excellence Award at the Students of Brain Research (SOBR) Network student symposium yesterday for her oral presentation titled “The association of diet, sleep and physical activity on disability outcomes in Multiple Sclerosis”.

Ms Neha Kaul co-supervised Manisha together with Dr Vilija Jokubaitis. Neha said, "Thank you to the Multiple Sclerosis & Neuro Immunology [MSNI] team, in particular Louise Rath and Vilija and her lab group for their support in this project.

"Congratulations Manisha, well deserved and a reflection of your hard work in this particularly difficult year!"

The research was funded in part by the Alfred Research Alliance EMCR Collaborative Seed Grant awarded in late 2019.