Congratulations to our 2020 NHMRC Ideas grants recipients!

CCS won ten NHMRC Ideas Grants in the 2020 round.

NHMRC Investigator grants were announced this morning by Minister for Health, Greg Hunt. See Monash announcement.

Monash Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences researchers have continued their success in the latest round of funding, awarded in excess of $40m, across 43 projects in the highly competitive 2020 NHMRC Ideas Grant scheme, for innovative research projects.

Congratulations to Central Clinical School's ten NHMRC Idea grant recipients. See more about the CCS projects, below. The grant income for the school from this round totals $9.5M across the period 2021-2025.

Commiserations to our researchers whose grants were ranked very highly, but nonetheless missed out.

Blood test to help diagnose and manage mild traumatic brain injury

Dr Stuart McDonald has won a $1M NHMRC grant for research
on a blood test for mild traumatic brain injury.

Dr Stuart McDonald, from the Monash Trauma Group, in the Department of Neuroscience, CCS, and his colleagues have been awarded an NHMRC Ideas Grant of $1,092,780 for his research on blood markers of mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI). 

This grant was one of 283 grants announced by the Minister for Health, the Hon Greg Hunt MP on Tuesday 15 December, with a total budget of $260 million. The Ideas Grants provide an opportunity for researchers to make future advances in health and well-being, with projects being funded for 3-5 years.

Professor Anne Holland's pulmonary rehabilitation research in NHMRC's 10 best!

Prof Anne Holland (centre, lowest row) and her group

Congratulations to Professor Anne Holland, whose National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) funded research, "Benefits and costs of home-based pulmonary rehabilitation in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease" (GNT1046353), was selected in 2020 for inclusion in the 2018 edition of NHMRC’s Ten of the Best Research Projects.

This is the twelfth year of NHMRC's Ten of the Best, which highlights outstanding Australian research that is contributing to the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of health issues facing Australians.

Why we need to continue coronavirus research

Dr Tom Karagiannis explains why we need to keep
coronavirus research going. See video

Dr Tom Karagiannis is a researcher in the Diabetes Department of Monash University's Central Clinical School. This year his research has been focused on analysing molecular compounds of potential use to combat the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. 

He explains that SARS-CoV-2 is the latest of a series of coronaviruses to jump from animals to humans, and there will be more in the future as we continue to have increased contact with wild animal populations given the decrease of their habitat.

Multidisciplinary teams key to best outcomes for patients with hepatocellular carcinoma

Associate Professor John Lubel

A new consensus statement produced by the Gastroenterological Society of Australia (GESA) Liver Faculty on the management of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) will ultimately lead to better outcomes for Australian patients, according to the authors, published 14 Dec 2020 in the Medical Journal of Australia.

HCC is a leading cause of cancer deaths both globally and in Australia. Surveillance for HCC in at-risk populations allows diagnosis at an early stage, when potentially curable. However, most Australians diagnosed with HCC die of the cancer or of liver disease.

8-14 Dec 2020 Central Clinical School publications

Fig 1 from review article on neurological
heterotopic ossification by Wong et al.

Recent publications featuring research as notified by PubMed during 8-14 December 2020 from Central Clinical School affiliated researchers in the following departments. The below is not a comprehensive list:

• Australian Centre for Blood Diseases
• Immunology and Pathology
• Medicine - Alfred & Peninsula
• Melbourne Sexual Health Centre
• Neuroscience
• Surgery and NTRI

Prof Anne Abbott wins John Maddox Prize

A/Prof Anne Abbott has won the John Maddox
Prize for Early Career

Associate Professor Anne Abbott, an Australian neurologist at the Central Clinical School at Monash University in Melbourne, has been awarded the 2020 John Maddox Prize for Early Career individuals. She received the award for her innovative research on, and tireless advocacy for, “evidence-true” stroke and arterial disease prevention treatment.

A/Prof Abbott’s innovative research was first published in 2009. It showed that in people without referable stroke symptoms, non-invasive medical intervention is at least as effective as carotid artery surgery (endarterectomy). The carotid artery is the main brain artery and commonly affected by arterial disease. Medical intervention, consisting of lifestyle changes and medication, has improved in stroke prevention effectiveness by at least 65% over the last 3-4 decades.  Medical intervention reduces all arterial disease complications, healthcare costs and healthcare risk.

Congratulations to Associate Professor Anneke van der Walt on MSNI appointment

Associate Professor Anneke van der Walt

Prof Terry O'Brien, Head of School,  writes:

 Dear CCS Staff, Adjuncts and Students,

It is with great pleasure and pride that I can inform you that A/Prof Anneke Van Der Walt has been appointed to the joint Alfred/Monash appointment as Director Multiple Sclerosis Neuroimmunology Unit (MSNI), Alfred Brain, Alfred Health, and Associate Professor of Neuroscience, The Department of Neuroscience, Central Clinical School, Monash University. 

This is a key academic clinical leadership position for clinical neurosciences at Monash and The Alfred. A/Prof van der Walt will be responsible for clinical and research leadership, and ongoing strategic development, of the MSNI Unit at Alfred Health and Monash University. She is an outstanding clinical neurologist and researcher, with a national and emerging international reputation for her research in the fields of multiple sclerosis, neuroimmunology and neuro-ophthalmology. 

BGRF wins for Dr Mastura Monif and A/Prof David Wright!

Dr Mastura Monif (left) and A/Prof David Wright

Congratulations to Dr Mastura Monif and Associate Professor David Wright on the award of funding for their projects from the Bethlehem Griffiths Research Foundation (BGRF)!

Dr Monif's research project is titled, The contribution of monocytes and P2X7 Receptor in MS relapse. The grant amount is $45,906 plus GST.

A/Prof Wright's research project is titled, Is the brain’s waste clearance system impaired in motor neuron disease? The grant amount is  $46,000 plus GST.

Translational Research and Medicine program building on successes

Gemma Hartley, PhD student, describes her TRM experience
in the Immunology pathway. See video

by Matt Cull

Monash University is creating a first of its kind training program for postgraduate students, aimed at driving innovative new medical ideas to market.

Three TRM students describe how they have been finding the experience.

Shout-out for CCS's highest achieving BMedSc(Hons) students!

Tied top BMedSc(Hons) CCS students Michael Dong and Madeleine Tse

Congratulations to two of Central Clinical School's Bachelor of Medical Science (Honours) students, Mr Michael Dong and Ms Madeleine Tse, who have tied for top position in this year's cohort.

Georgia Fuller Symons wins 'Neuroscience in a Flash' competition!

One of Central Clinical School's 2nd year PhD students, Ms Georgia Fuller Symons, has won 1st place in Session 2 of the Monash Neuroscience in a Flash Competition. Congratulations Georgia!

Georgia's topic was "Hitting close to home: concussion in Australian collision sport". See more detail of her talk topic below.