Find out more about Honours and postgraduate study at the Alfred Research Alliance

Central Clinical School and the School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine together with Alfred Research Alliance partners Baker and Burnet Institutes are hosting an information night on 11 August 2022  for intending Honours and postgraduate students.

Explore Honours and higher degree by research opportunities at the Alfred Research Alliance (A+), to follow your intellectual curiosity in biomedical science and technology to open up your career options! Register here.

2021 Alfred Research Alliance Honours information night video

The Alfred Research Alliance student information night team

If you missed our star-studded information evening on 11 August, see the video from our virtual 2021 Alfred Research Alliance student information night, now published to the CCSMonash YouTube channel.

Find out more about Honours and graduate research at the Alfred Research Alliance, featuring the research powerhouses of Monash University Central Clinical (CCS) and Public Health and Preventive Medicine (SPHPM) schools, and the Baker and Burnet research institutes. See detail at the time points below:

Farsi, Tamil, Burmese or Karen speakers wanted for PhD study

Natasha Davidson

Natasha Davidson is a PhD student with the Global and Women's Health unit at the School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine. Her project is exploring the sexual and reproductive health service access and use by women from refugee-like backgrounds. The next phase of the project will involve interviewing women from refugee backgrounds. 

Natasha is looking for fluent Farsi, Tamil, Burmese or Karen speakers to provide 15-20 hours of interview interpretation for her project exploring the sexual and reproductive health service access by women from refugee backgrounds. Given the sensitive nature of the project, female interpreters would be strongly preferred. Please contact natasha.davidson@monash.edu if you have the skills and interest. All contact details below.

Australia’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic webinar: 12 noon - 1.30 pm Tues 17 Nov 2020

Prof Allen Cheng will talk about Australia's response to the
COVID-19 pandemic 12-1.30 pm, Tues 17 Nov. Register

The Alfred Education and Innovation Hub with Alfred Research Alliance present a webinar with Professor Allen Cheng discussing Australia’s response to COVID-19, on Tuesday 17 November, 12 noon - 1.30 pm. 

Prof Cheng is an infectious diseases specialist and epidemiologist who has been Victoria's acting Deputy Chief Health Officer since July 2020 - throughout the state's second COVID-19 wave. 

See more below or register now.

$3.4M MRFF funding for preventing superbugs using Genomics, Digital Health and AI

The SuperbugAi Flagship schema: From now to the future [click on the image to enlarge it]

Congratulations to Professor Anton Peleg and his team from the Department of Infectious Diseases, The Alfred Hospital and Central Clinical School, Monash University, who have been awarded $3.4M from the Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF) Genomics Health Futures Mission for a project called "Genomics, Digital Health and Machine Learning: the SuperbugAi Flagship". The funding was announced as part of the federal government budget broadcast on Tuesday 6 October.

Lessons from China: Predicting second - and subsequent - waves, and when restrictions can ease

Research from Monash University on the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic in China gives important clues into predicting the size and potential causes of second, and subsequent waves and also when restrictions can be lifted once infection rates start to decline.

The data reveal that the first 30 cases may mark a critical threshold for the transition from a slow to a fast-growing phase of the COVID-19 epidemic. Importantly, after a strict city-wide quarantine measure is applied, maintaining a high uptake of mask-wearing and reduced social contacts are essential to enable the epidemic to follow a smooth decline to elimination. However, if mask usage is 50% or less, there are likely to be more outbreaks.

Global caution on use of aerosol boxes in treating COVID-19 patients

Diagram of an aerosol box. Image: Peter Chan

Two Australian studies lead to a global caution on use of aerosol boxes in treating COVID patients – with one warning it increases exposure by up to 500%.

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has urgently withdrawn approval for the use of aerosol boxes that have been used globally to protect healthcare workers from COVID-19.

Studies have found that these boxes potentially increase the healthcare worker’s risk of exposure to aerosolized and droplet particles that potentially contain SARS-COV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, by up to 500%.

From the Frontline: Clinical impacts of COVID-19 webinar success

L-R: (top) Moderator Steve Jane, panellists Anneke van der Walt and Jane Fisher; bottom row Julian Elliott and Merlin Thomas. See the event video

The From the Frontline: Clinical Impacts of COVID-19 webinar series kicked off on Wednesday night 12 August 2020 with great success.

Hosted by Prof Stephen Jane, the event saw Prof Jane Fisher and A/Prof Julian Elliott from the School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine join Diabetes researcher Prof Merlin Thomas and Neurologist A/Prof Anneke van der Walt from Central Clinical School, to provide their latest learnings about the virus.

Alfred Research Alliance Student Information Night: 11 Aug 2020

The Alfred Research Alliance partners, Monash University's Central Clinical School and School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, and the major research institutes of Burnet and Baker, are hosting an information evening on Tuesday 11 Aug for people interested in undertaking Honours and graduate research study in 2021 at the Alfred site. We have an amazing line-up of speakers (see program), and see event details below.

12 August event: From the Frontline: Clinical Impacts of COVID-19

Monash’s Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences proudly presents From the Frontline: Clinical Impacts of COVID-19.

In this free online event, we’ll explore the impact COVID-19 has had on healthcare and what the ‘new normal’ will look like post-pandemic.

Hear from our panel of experts (Prof Jane Fisher, A/Prof Julian Elliott, Prof Merlin Thomas and A/Prof Anneke van der Walt) who are leading clinician-researchers based on the frontline of our hospitals and research facilities. They’ll discuss their COVID-19 research, focus areas, and how these will impact our community.

Event Details

Date: 12 August 2020 at 6:00 pm – 7:30 pm
Campus: Online
Register: https://fromthefrontline.eventbrite.com.au
Categories: Public Health and Preventive Medicine; Clinical Sciences - The Alfred

COVID-19 update from Prof Allen Cheng: MJA podcast 9 March 2020

Image: Coronavirus (MJA)

COVID-19 in Australia, with Professor Allen Cheng

MJA Podcasts 2020 Episode 8:  Vol 212, Issue 5: 9 March, 2020.

Professor Allen Cheng is Director of the Infection Prevention and Healthcare Epidemiology Unit at Alfred Health in Melbourne. He discusses how COVID-19 may behave in Australia and how doctors can protect themselves as well as patients. With MJA news and online editor Cate Swannell. 16 mins, 0 secs.

Link: www.mja.com.au/podcast/212/5/mja-podcasts-2020-episode-8-covid-19-australia-prof-allen-cheng

Video of the week: Profs Srikanth and Gabbe on how health data informs and personalises care

Clips from the video: Belinda Gabbe (left), Velandai Srikanth (right)

How can sharing digital health data improve care delivery and support health service sustainability?

With the rollout of MyHealthRecord and other digital health platforms, Australia could have a fully integrated health information system - giving health professionals access to the right information at the right time to ensure patients receive the best care possible. Watch Professors Velandai Srikanth (CCS) and Belinda Gabbe (SPHPM) explain: Video

Photo of the week: 2017 AMREP Honours information evening

Dr Orla Morrissey, from the Infectious Disease Department, with one of the interested students at the AMREP Honours information evening. See:

• AMREP Honours information evening photo gallery 
• 2017 AMREP staff presentations (Youtube video playlist)
• CCS Honours: www.monash.edu/medicine/ccs/education/prospective-students/honours
• SPHPM Honours: www.monash.edu/medicine/sphpm/teaching/honours

Medicine and the media: short course 25 Nov 2017

Medicine and the media
Copyright: idrutu / 123RF Stock Photo

Medicine and the media
Saturday 25 November 2017
9am - 4:30pm
553 St Kilda Road, Melbourne
Course fee:  $299 (incl GST)

In this one-day interactive course, participants from both academic and journalism backgrounds will work together to identify important barriers in communication of health research to the general public.

Win for “Citizen Science”: A/Prof Elliott awarded Commonwealth Health Minister’s Award

Associate Professor Julian Elliott

Congratulations to A/Prof Julian Elliott, who was awarded the prestigious Commonwealth Health Minister’s Award for Excellence in Health and Medical Research 2017 at a ceremony in Melbourne on Thursday night. The medal is bestowed annually to the top-ranked Career Development Fellowship applicant through the National Health and Medical Research Council.

Photo of the week: 2016 AMREP student information night

180 students attended the 16 August 2016 AMREP information night to find out more about the precinct offerings from Central Clinical School, School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, BakerIDI Institute and Burnet Institute. The students came from diverse undergraduate streams including human pathology, immunology, biomedical science, biotechnology and health sciences. It was a lively and enjoyable event with plenty of pizza!
See more:

• AMREP evening photo gallery
• AMREP evening video playlist - featuring CCS & SPHPM speakers
• CCS Honours projects booklet
• CCS Honours for prospective students web page

Building the evidence base for burns care with BRANZ

Miss Heather Cleland with a patient. She is Director of the
Victorian Adult Burns Service at Alfred Health.

The Burns Registry of Australia and New Zealand (BRANZ) is providing crucial data to burn units across the region, improving practice and outcomes for patients, according to research published in the Medical Journal of Australia (MJA) on the first four years of data from BRANZ.

Slowing down age-related hearing loss

By Dr Jodie Abramovitch

Loss of hearing associated with age is a leading cause of disability amongst older people. Low level inflammation may damage blood vessels within the ear, leading to hearing loss. Furthermore, hearing loss may be associated with blood vessel damage within the eye, as well as loss of cognitive function. This suggests that there may be a common underlying inflammatory cause for each of these age-related conditions.

Can aspirin reduce age-related
hearing loss? 

Aspirin is a commonly used anti-inflammatory medication. It has a known role in helping treat blood vessel diseases and can inhibit the formation of blood clots.

Monash researchers from the School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine (SPHPM) are involved in a new study called ASPREE-HEARING. This study will assess the effect of aspirin on hearing levels in patients aged 70 years and older who are involved in the ASPirin in Reducing Events in the Elderly (ASPREE) clinical trial.

Very successful R U OK day for CCS/SPHPM morning tea

A very well attended morning tea for #monashruokday was held at Central Clinical School and the School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine on Thursday 10 September 2015. Approximately 100 people attended with Dr Rebecca Segrave from Monash Alfred Psychiatry research centre #MAPrc presenting a general talk on mental health and helping colleagues in the work place. The raffle prizes were a hit, so a special thank you to all our supporting companies who sponsored prizes for the morning tea:

•  Jetts Fitness St Kilda
  • JBF Physical Fitness
  • Letizia Catering Service
  • Yoga & Meditation School of India
  • Starc Rendering Group
  • HealthSmart Pharmacy (Alfred)

Bachelor of Medical Science (Honours) presentation

Monash schools (Central and Public Health) at the Alfred are hosting a BMedSc(Honours) presentation on Friday 1 May, 11.30 am - 1.00 pm at the Level 5 Alfred Centre lecture theatre, 99 Commercial Road, Melbourne 3004. These students are the midyear 2014-15 intake. All welcome! Enquiries to Sharon.Gurry@monash.edu.

BMedSc(Hons) Faculty Oral - Location - The Alfred Centre
	Surname	First Name	Time
			5 min
Oral 1	ALANAZI	OMAR NASSER B	11.30am - 11.35am
Oral 2	CLARK	HANNAH ELYSE	11.35am -11.40am
Oral 3	ISLAMI	KAMILA FITRI	11.40am - 11.45am
Oral 4	PURBA	STEFANUS RADITYA	11.45am - 11.50am
Oral 5	SETIABAKTI	NATASHA MARIANNE	11.50am - 11.55am
BMedSc(Hons) Faculty Poster - Location - The Alfred Centre
	Surname	First Name	Time
			10 min
Poster 1	ALANAZI	OMAR NASSER B	12.15pm - 12.25pm
Poster 2	CLARK	HANNAH ELYSE	12.25pm - 12.35pm
Poster 3	ISLAMI	KAMILA FITRI	12.35pm - 12.45pm
Poster 4	PURBA	STEFANUS RADITYA	12.45pm-12.55pm
Poster 5	SETIABAKTI	NATASHA MARIANNE	12.55pm - 1.05pm