Head injury prevention for bicyclists: Helmets make a difference

Helmets are still vital to the safety of cyclists according to an article recently published in the Medical Journal of Australia. Peter A Cameron (Department of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine), Frank McDermott (Department of Surgery) and Jeffrey V Rosenfeld (Department of Surgery) write that with the increase of cyclists on the road, helmets are becoming more and more important. To read the full article see: http://ow.ly/rRUmu 

Success at The Australian Physiotherapy National Conference

Ben Tarrant and Louise Fuller won awards at The Australian physiotherapy  national  conference that was held in Melbourne recently. Over 2000 physios attend this conference and abstract acceptance is highly competitive. Ben Tarrant was awarded 'Best 5x5' presentation in the paediatric section with 'Physical Outcomes post paediatric lung transplantation ‐ implications of extra corporeal membrane oxygenation' (5 slides in 5 mins). Louise Fuller won best presentation for the Clinicians award in cardiorespiratory section with 'Patients' expectations and experiences of rehabilitation after lung transplantation ‐ a qualitative study'. This is the first time that two physios from one stream at The Alfred have won awards at a national conference! For more AIRmed news see: www.med.monash.edu.au/cecs/airmed/news/newsarchive.html

Student Profile: Miriel Ho's research on bone marrow

Miriel Ho is a PhD student at the Australian Centre for Blood Diseases and she is researching the relationship between bone and bone marrow interface with haematopoiesis.  Miriel's research looks particularly at the development of bone marrow in relation to bone formation. Her supervisors are Professor Hatem Salem and Professor Robert Medcalf. To view her full profile see: http://www.med.monash.edu/cecs/education/profiles/ho.html

Low FODMAP Christmas recipes

It's that time of year! The Department of Gastroenterology team has prepared a selection of Christmas recipes using low FODMAP foods. See download (2.42 mb, pdf) or the department's FODMAP weblink.
Featured recipes:
Balsamic berry and cucumber salad│Grilled prickly pear and orange blossom yoghurt with cardamom shortbread│Roasted red pepper dip│Salmon fillets with pine nut and roasted red pepper salad│Sticky spatchcock with a balsamic green bean salad│Vanilla crepes with fresh strawberries│Mixed berries with black quinoa and raspberry yoghurt│Orange Gingerbread

Nigel Rogasch wins prize for presentation on schizophrenia

PhD student Nigel Rogasch (MAPrc) won $500 for best PhD/Masters student oral presentation in computational neuroscience (judged by Professor Gary Egan and sponsored by The Victorian Life Sciences Computational Institute) at the 4th Australasian Cognitive Neuroscience Conference 2013. Nigel's topic was "Dorsolateral prefrontal cortex network properties are altered in schizophrenia: A TMS-EEG study". Congratulations also to Nigel on obtaining an NH&MRC Fellowship through Monash Biomedical Imaging, starting in late January 2014.

MAPrc leads world's largest research study in Body Dysmorphic Disorder

When people think of mental illness related to body image, the first thing that usually comes to mind is anorexia or associated eating disorders. However, it is the lesser known body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) that is five times more prevalent than anorexia and also causes higher levels of psychological impairment. In the largest neuroimaging research on this disorder in the world, Monash Alfred Psychiatry research centre's Doctor of Psychology candidate Ben Buchanan’s findings have been published this month in the prestigious journal Psychological Medicine.

Student Profile: Kathryn Hackman talks about diabetes

Dr Kathryn Hackman is an endocrinologist in the Alfred Department of Endocrinology and Diabetes, and a PhD student in the Central Clinical School. Her research is on diabetes in lung transplant recipients. Her supervisors are Professor Leon Bach (Medicine) and Professor Greg Snell (AIRmed). Dr Hackman won the 3MT competition this year for the Central Clinical School and her presentation can be viewed here: http://youtu.be/Kdz4oXF_kZE
For profile detail see: http://www.med.monash.edu/cecs/education/profiles/hackman.html