Early career researcher’s paper honoured in Faculty awards

Dr Narelle Cox has won one of the six 2022 MNHS ECR publication
prizes for her paper on telerehabilitation for chronic respiratory disease.

by Anne Crawford

A paper reviewing the merits of telerehabilitation for Chronic Respiratory Disease has won one of the six Monash Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences Faculty Early Career Researcher Publication Prizes 2022 (see detail of prizes in Monash intranet).

The global review by Central Clinical School physiotherapist/academic Dr Narelle Cox was awarded the Jenny Keating Prize for Nursing and Allied Health.

Participants sought: Skin testing for measuring immunity in healthy adults

Participants sought for immune system research, see more

Can you help us compare the immune system of young and older adults with skin patch testing?

We would appreciate 2 hours of your time spread across 4 visits to the Alfred Centre (99 Commercial Road, Melbourne 3004) for this research. We are looking for healthy people aged 18-35 years or 65 years and over who do not:

Congratulations to Arwel Jones and Narelle Cox on Lung Foundation Australia grants

L-R: Dr Narelle Cox and Dr Arwel Jones have both won Lung
Foundation Australia grants.

Congratulations to Dr Arwel Jones and Dr Narelle Cox in the Department of Respiratory Research@Alfred, Monash University,who have both won Lung Foundation Australia (LFA) grants.

The LFA awarded a total of $876,000 to 13 research grants from the Hope Research Fund in several different research areas, including asthma, bronchiectasis, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), Interstitial Lung Disease (ILD), and lung cancer.

Read more from Dr Jones and Dr Cox below. See also the LFA news story.

Participants sought: People with COPD for in-home nasal high flow air therapy

Participants with COPD sought for 8 day in-home study

EAGLE is a phase II trial to assess feasibility of using nasal high flow for breathlessness in participants with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) who do not qualify for domiciliary long-term oxygen therapy.

We are seeking participants for our 8-day trial of in-home nasal high flow air therapy for COPD patients who experience breathlessness. The study aims to determine the effects of in-home nasal high flow air therapy on breathlessness, quality of life, and other symptom management. 

Contact Dr Amy Pascoe:

• email amy.pascoe@monash.edu 
• phone +61 3 9903 8930
  

Participants sought: SINFONIA: Are there benefits of SingINg For breathing in COPD aNd ILD pAtients (SINFONIA)?

Can singing help your COPD or ILD? Image: Solace Hospice

3 May update: We're happy to announce that the SINFONIA trial is now live with its first session being held Thursday 5 May. Anyone interested please contact Amy Pascoe, see detail below. 

Participants are sought for a clinical trial examining the benefits of SingINg For breathing in COPD aNd ILD pAtient (SINFONIA). It is a 12-week trial of guided online group singing for patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) or interstitial lung disease (ILD) who experience breathlessness, and (optionally) their carers. 

The study aims to determine the effects of online group singing on well-being and symptom management.

Contact Dr Amy Pascoe:

• email amy.pascoe@monash.edu 
• phone +61 3 9903 8930

 

Participants sought: SINFONIA longitudinal study

How do SINFONIA participants feel about the experience?

Image: Shutterstock

Participants are sought for a qualitative longitudinal study examining perceptions, attitudes and experiences of “SINFONIA” - a group singing program for people with chronic respiratory diseases. (See also the recruitment notice for SINFONIA)

Respiratory Research@Alfred an international host centre for European Union

The Department of Respiratory Research@Alfred within the Central Clinical School is now a registered host institution for the European Respiratory Society's (ERS) REspiratory Science Promoted by International Research Exchanges 4 (RESPIRE4) fellowship program.

Professor Anne Holland and Professor Glen Westall are heading the initiative. Prof Holland said, "Essentially it means that people from the European Union can apply to come and do a respiratory postdoc fellowship with us at CCS." The application round closes 1 May.

The ERS fellowship program offers a platform for early career researchers to develop their skills in an international environment and supports fellows on their journey to becoming future leaders in the respiratory field. The RESPIRE4 fellowship program receives funding from the European Union's (EU) Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions grant agreement No 847462 (MSCA COFUND scheme).

See more

• Monash host program: www.monash.edu/medicine/ccs/respiratory-research/european-respiratory-society
  
• European Respiratory Society Fellowships: www.ersnet.org/education-and-professional-development/marie-sklodowska-curie-postdoctoral-research-fellowships-respire/
  

 

Welcome to our new senior recruits Rebecca Disler, Yet Khor and Joe Kong

L-R: A/Prof Rebecca Disler, A/Prof Yet Khor, Dr Joe Kong

Welcome to Associate Professors Rebecca Disler, Yet Khor (both of Respiratory Research@Alfred) and Dr Joe Kong (Department of Surgery) for whom we ran welcome notes late last year, and who have officially started with Central Clinical School in January 2022. See detail about our new recruits at:

• Associate Professor Rebecca Disler (CCS news story, Monash Pure profile)
  
• Associate Professor Yet Khor (CCS news story, Monash Pure profile)
  
• Dr Joe Kong (CCS news story, Monash Pure profile)

Welcome to Associate Professor Rebecca Disler, respiratory researcher

Professor Terry O'Brien, CCS Head of School, writes:

It gives me great pleasure and excitement to announce the recruitment of Dr Rebecca Disler to the academic Monash University appointment as Associate Professor and ARC Discovery Early Career Researcher Award (DECRA) Fellow in the Respiratory Research@Alfred section of the Department of Immunology and Pathology in the Central Clinical School. 

Welcome to Associate Professor Yet Hong Khor

Associate Professor Yet Hong Khor starts with
Central Clinical School on 1 Jan 2022, in the
Department of Respiratory Research@Alfred

Professor Terry O'Brien, Head of Central Clinical School, writes:

It gives me great pleasure and excitement to announce the recruitment Dr Yet Hong Khor to the academic Monash University appointment as Associate Professor and NHMRC Investigator Grant Emerging Leadership Fellow in the Respiratory Research@Alfred section of the Department of Immunology and Pathology in the Central Clinical School. 

Yet is an outstanding early career clinical respiratory researcher, who has a rapidly emerging research trajectory and profile for her clinical research into chronic lung disease.

Mental health survey of frontline health care workers highlights need for better support

A national survey of COVID-19 frontline healthcare workers found more than half reported mental health symptoms during last year’s pandemic second wave – yet less than one in 10 accessed formal support programs.

The study, published in the journal, General Hospital Psychiatry, was led by Associate Professor Natasha Smallwood, from Monash University’s Central Clinical School and The Alfred hospital, and Professor Karen Willis, from the Royal Melbourne Hospital and Victoria University.

See full story

Mental health of front line health care workers raises red flags for current crisis in Australian hospital system

The largest, multi-professional study in the world investigating moral distress and mental health outcomes in frontline health care workers in primary and secondary care during last year’s second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic raises some serious concerns for the short and long term mental health impact for the current crisis experienced by health care workers in NSW, Victoria and the ACT.

See more about the study led by Associate Professor Natasha Smallwood.