Monash HDR students win 10% pay rise following student-led campaign

HDR stipend sit-in protest. L-R: Giulia Iacono, Gemma Hartley
leading and just behind, Elan L'Estrange-Stranieri and Rhiannon
Grant. Photo: MGA

by Elan L'Estrange-Stranieri, Gemma Hartley, Rhiannon Grant

As of March 2022, the Monash Research Training Program (RTP) stipend rate of $30,000 per annum for Higher Degree Research (HDR) students officially fell below the Henderson Poverty Line, being 20% lower than the minimum wage ($36,931) after tax1,2, and the third lowest rate offered by Group of 8 (Go8) universities (see Figure 1: 2022 below). 

Booster doses increase protection against COVID-19 variants

A study by Monash immunologists suggests that booster vaccine doses
elicit memory B cells with higher affinity to COVID-19, enabling
recognition of VoC. L-R: First author PhD student Gemma Hartley and.
senior author Prof Menno van Zelm

by Gemma Hartley, PhD student

COVID-19 vaccines have been rolled out across the world with great success. However, variants of concern (VoC) now challenge the protection that these vaccines provide. 

Third and fourth dose boosters are known to increase protection against VoC, but the immunological basis of this is still unclear.

Day of Immunology 2022

The Monash team at the 2022 Day of Immunology. L-R back row Nirmal
Bhatt, Flavia Gomez, Kathy Hsin, Gemma Hartley, Maria Demaria.
Front row: Katrina Kan, Jesse Mulder and Jurie Tashkandi

By Dr Maria Demaria, Lecturer, Department of Immunology and Pathology, Central Clinical School

The International Day of Immunology is celebrated every year on 29 April. The Australian and New Zealand Society for Immunology (ASI) organises a number of events to coincide with this day. In Victoria and Tasmania, our events included a public lecture, research institute discovery tours, science in the pub, and secondary school student workshops and careers sessions. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this is the first year since 2019 that many of these events have been held. 

2021 Alfred Health Week winners!

Congratulations to our Central Clinical School researchers who won awards during Alfred Research Week (asterisked in the list below). The entire research community was recognised.

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.