Congratulations to Dr Erica Plummer on her Jack Brockhoff ECR win

Congratulations to Dr Erica Plummer, of the Melbourne Sexual Health Centre, who has been awarded a competitive and prestigious early career research grant from the Jack Brockhoff Foundation.

Her project title is "Identifying novel infectious causes of urethritis to improve clinical management and antimicrobial stewardship". The grant amount for Dr Plummer's project is $144,013 across two years.

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.

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/
  

 

Top tips we learned from the Monash Neuroscience ECR Career Pathway event

Dr Bridgette Semple, top left-hand corner, moderated the panel
 discussion. L-R, top to bottom, linked to each video presentation:
Dr Karen McConalogue, Dr Brittany Howard, Dr Anthony Filippis,
Dr Bernd Merkel, Dr Heidi Nicholl, Dr Wee-Ming Boon,
Professor James Bourne, Professor Terry O'Brien

Monash Neuroscience held a special event in August 2021 for late stage PhD students and Early Career Researchers within the University network about what career opportunities are available within and beyond academia. 

The overarching goal of the event was to help attendees identify transferable skills for a post-academic career as well as hear from invited speakers from a range of fields about their career pathways.

When negative results are positive: Monash Trauma Group researchers feature in new journal Special Collection

Dr Rhys Brady is first author on the paper

by Dr Loretta Piccenna
Research Manager, Department of Neuroscience

Research fellow Dr Rhys Brady, from the Monash Trauma Group and equal first author Stephanie Bird (Department of Medicine, The University of Melbourne) published a study earlier this month in Neurotrauma Reports special collection: Null Hypothesis Initiative.

 

The study by Dr Brady and colleagues found that in mice with moderate traumatic brain injury there was an initial activation of one particular pathway which disappeared after four weeks, and they tested whether one specific compound would improve recovery.

The challenge of understanding Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy: Dr Shobi Sivathamboo steps up

Dr Shobi Sivathamboo

Post-doctoral fellow Dr Shobi Sivathamboo participated in the Epilepsy Foundation of America's Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy (SUDEP) Challenge Initiative (SUDEP Challenge Initiative | Epilepsy Foundation) on Wednesday 14 July, 2021. She was one of four finalists selected who are competing for a share of US$1M prize money on offer.

Her presentation entry was titled 'Short-term heart rate variability (HRV) predicts SUDEP' which she presented with her team members and collaborators Professor Terence O'Brien, Head of CCS, Leader of Epilepsy and Neuropharmacology Research Group, Department of Neuroscience (Monash University), and Professors Orrin Devinsky and Daniel Friedman from New York University Langone Health (see screenshot). 

The team found that short-term heart-rate variability, which is a non-invasive and readily obtained marker of autonomic function, predicted SUDEP. Heart rate variability is a validated biomarker for sudden cardiac death in cardiovascular disease populations. Shobi commented that 'our team's entry went really well but we don't know how much we will receive just yet.'

Zoom screenshot of finalists competing in the 2021 SUDEP Challenge.  

All finalists will now await to hear which of them were successful and how much of the US$1M prize money they will be awarded. The Epilepsy Foundation SUDEP Institute challenge aims to predict sudden death in epilepsy or seizures that compromise cardiac or respiratory function in people with epilepsy. These predictors will drive human SUDEP interventions. Since the severity and frequency of seizures is currently the leading risk factor for SUDEP, a biomarker that can predict seizures, especially convulsive seizures that compromise cardiac or respiratory function, will be included in the challenge.

Dr Sivathamboo was also successful in one of the challenge's earlier milestones in which her team received US$10,000.

Career pathways - what are my post-PhD options? 5 August event for Neuroscience PhDs & ECRs

Where to next after your PhD? 

Neuroscience@Monash are offering a workshop style on 5 August with a range of speakers in diverse sectors external to Monash Uni (Hybrid virtual by Zoom) for late-stage PhD students and Early & Mid Career Researchers (EMCR) within the Monash Neuroscience Initiative Network (MNIN). Register here

This event aims to inform attendees about opportunities available within and beyond academia (i.e. understanding what else is out there and what else can you do) and to increase awareness of transferable skills.

Nominations close 29 July for Fresh Science: Calling all early career researchers

Fresh Science 2021 is open for nominations from early career researchers. Nominate by 29 July here.

Nenad Macesic wins Mollie Holman Award for PhD thesis

Dr Nenad Macesic wins Mollie Holman
medal for 2020 thesis.

Congratulations to Dr Nenad Macesic on winning the Mollie Holman award for 2020. The Mollie Holman Medal was established in 1998 and is named after the late pioneering physiologist Emeritus Professor Mollie Homan AO, in honour of her significant contributions to science and education. These medals are among the highest academic honours given by Monash University, and mark the recipients as researchers of the higher order.award.

Nenad's thesis is titled, "Combating Gram negative multi-drug resistance with insights from novel bioinformatics approaches". He was supervised by Professor Anton Peleg (Department of Infectious Diseases) and Dr Anne-Catrin Uhlemann (Columbia University). The PhD was awarded 11 June 2020.

ECR Webinar - Get Social Media Savvy

Do you have a social media presence? Are you confused about how to use social media to build your brand and amplify your research? Find out more:

• ECR Webinar - Get Social Media Savvy
• 21 August
• Date:   Friday 21 August 2020
• Time:  12:00pm - 1:00pm
• Webinar registration link

This online session is aimed at all ECRs who are interested in boosting their research profile using social media. Topics covered include Twitter vs LinkedIn, Monash branding and social media guidelines, and case studies featuring a number of ECRs who have utilised social media to their advantage.

ECR Showcase 3 pm 24 June: See Ben Sinclair & Gemma Sharp in action!

2020 ECR Showcase finalists include CCS's
Drs Gemma Sharp (MAPrc) & Ben Sinclair (Neuroscience)

The Cooperative Research Centres Association holds an annual Early Career Researcher Showcase. The five finalists, who have already won $1000 for making for the 2020 final, include two from Central Clinical School, Dr Ben Sinclair and Dr Gemma Sharp. They will be publicly competing at 3.00 pm with five minute presentations on Wednesday 24 June for the chance to win $5000. We want you to watch them, as your vote counts! Audience voting will be open at approximately 3.30pm for 15 minutes.

You can see more about our CCS entrants and watch their 30 second entry video clips in advance,  below. Register now for Zoom webinar.

Congratulations to Eric Chow for Early Career Researcher Fellows Publication Prize

Dr Eric Chow

Early Career Researchers (ECRs) and ECR Fellows from the Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences have been honoured with the Faculty’s annual ECR Publication Prizes.

Congratulations to Dr Eric Chow, Melbourne Sexual Health Clinic, Central Clinical School, who has won the Early Career Researcher Fellows Publication Prize for Non-Laboratory Based Research, for his article, "Quadrivalent vaccine-targeted human papillomavirus genotypes in human heterosexual men after the Australian female human papillomavirus vaccination program: a retrospective observational study" Lancet Infect Dis. 2017 Jan;17(1):68-77. doi: 10.1016/S1473-3099(16)30116-5. Epub 2016 Jun 6.

Translational Research Young Investigator Poster Competition - Register by 3 July!

The TR Symposium is coming up soon!

The 3rd annual Monash University Translational Research (TR) Symposium will be held 31 July 2017. The event is hosted by the three Monash clinical schools and will showcase the diverse research from these schools.

A Young Investigator poster competition will be held, with a winning prize of $500. The competition is open to graduate student and early career researchers, who are within 5 years of completing their PhD. Entries close 3 July!

Call for participants in the Translational Research Young Investigator poster competition

The TR Symposium is coming up soon!

The 3rd annual Monash University Translational Research (TR) Symposium will be held 31 July 2017. The event is hosted by the three Monash clinical schools and will showcase the diverse research from these schools.

A Young Investigator poster competition will be held, with a winning prize of $500. The competition is open to graduate student and early career researchers, who are within 5 years of completing their PhD. Entries now invited.

9 Nov Early Career Researcher symposium: CCS offer to cover registration fee

Ms Sara Mokhtar presenting at the 2014 CCS graduate student symposium

The Faculty of Medicine Nursing and Health Sciences will be holding their biannual Early Career Researcher (ECR) Symposium on Monday 9 November 2015 at the Caulfield campus. 

Central Clinical School is pleased to announce that we will be covering the registration fee ($50) for all CCS ECR staff who wish to attend.

Early Career Fellowship in Asthma Research: Deadline 7 August

Varying degrees of airway closure in asthma

Asthma Australia with the support of Hudsons Coffee is offering an Early Career Fellowship in Asthma Research. http://asthmaaustralia.org.au/Apply_for_research_grants.aspx  
This opportunity is only open to:  
- Financial member/associate members of the Thoracic Society of Australia & New Zealand;
- Researchers who have completed their highest qualification within the last 5 years; AND
 - Those who have not yet been the recipient of a major nationally competitive research grant. Applications close on Friday 7 August 2015.  Only one application from each School will be accepted. 

2015 Scientific Mobilisation Program - Travel grant opportunity for French collaboration

The Australian Academy of Science (AAS) and the Embassy of France in Australia have released a call for applications for the 2015 Scientific Mobilisation Program from candidates who are conducting a research project involving at least one French scientific or technological partner. This travel grant will cover the expense of one economy return airfare from any Australian capital city to a major airport in France (to depart from mid March 2015), and stay for a maximum of 28 days. Preference will be given to early career researchers. For further information including eligibility requirements and how to apply please visit http://www.ambafrance-au.org/2015-Scientific-mobilisation. 
 
Closing date is  9am, Monday 19 January 2015. Results will be announced January - early February 2015.

18-22 Aug 2014, Research Week: Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences, Monash University

Research Week is a series of seminars and workshops aimed primarily at Early Career Researchers and Higher Degree by Research students in the Faculty. The target audience is indicated against each event below. Please register where appropriate as spaces for all events are limited. See the Faculty web page or below for the complete list of activities.

Unique phenomenon causes bleeding in an injured brain: ECR publication prize to Maithili Sashindranath

Dr Maithili Sashindranath has been awarded the 2013 Early Career Researcher (ECR) Publication Prize (Clinical Sciences) for her research documenting a unique phenomenon that causes bleeding in an injured brain. Published in the prestigious journal Brain, Dr Sashindranath’s research paper is “The tissue-type plasminogen activator (tPA)-plasminogen activator inhibitor 1 complex (PAI-1) promotes neurovascular injury in brain trauma: evidence from mice and humans”.

AMREP Early Career Researcher retreat a success

The Early Career Researcher (ECR) committee at the Alfred Medical Research and Education Precinct are very active in promoting the development and welfare of ECRs including PhD students as well as postdocs. They held their third annual retreat 26-27 September 2013, attended by approximately 100 ECRs from the AMREP precinct, which includes two Monash Schools, the Burnet and the BakerIDI Institutes. For more about the ECR, see www.med.monash.edu/cecs/ecr.