AIDS 2014 Connecting school Program Workshop for high school students 20-24 July

This year, Melbourne is hosting the 20th International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2014). AIDS 2014 is the world’s largest health conference, and it is the first time the event is being held in Australia. Designed to unite leading scientists, health care professionals, policy makers, community organisations and people living with HIV, an estimated 15,000 delegates are expected to attend. The theme of AIDS 2014 is 'Stepping up the Pace' and accordingly, the International AIDS conference will emphasise moving towards an HIV/AIDS-free generation. Importantly, there has been a strong focus placed on global youth, recognising that such a massive task cannot be achieved without youth empowerment and leadership.

Participants sought: neuroscience research on enhancing memory

The Monash Alfred Psychiatry Research Centre (MAPrc) are investigating a safe and non-invasive brain stimulation technique called transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS). TMS uses magnetic pulses to stimulate a small area on the surface of the brain. MAPrc researches are investigating whether giving a few minutes of TMS to different brain regions can enhance memory. Volunteers aged between 18 and 55 who have no history of mental or neurological illness are needed! Participation involves four visits to MAPrc in Prahran. Each visit will take two to three hours and involve some cognitive activities, non-invasive brain stimulation and an EEG recording of your brain waves. You will be compensated $30 per visit for your time and travel costs. Enquiries: Ms Ting Ting Cao on 9076 6564 or at tingting.cao@monash.edu. Study link.

Participants sought: Contraceptive experiences of women with psychosis

Every woman has individual views on and attitudes to contraception. MAPrc researchers are interested in looking at the issues faced by women with diagnosed #schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder, and how these may differ from issues faced by women with no mental illness diagnosis. The study involves a one-off interview taking from between 45 to 90 minutes. We are looking for women aged between 19 and 40 years, who have either a diagnosis of #schizophrenia / schizoaffective disorder or no mental illness (for the control group) and have used some form of contraception in the last 12 months. If you are willing to share your experiences with contraceptive use please contact Georgia Walter for more information. Email: gawal5@student.monash.edu Ph: (03) 9076 6564

Participants sought: Infant 'Colic' and maternal nutrition study

Image: Wikipedia

Volunteers with babies less than 8 weeks old are required for an infant ‘Colic’ study being conducted by the Department of Gastroenterology, Monash University. The study involves mothers consuming a well-balanced nutritious diet for 20 days (all food will be provided), keeping a food diary and a record of infant crying, fussing, sleeping, awake times for a total of 27 days, and providing 5 breast milk samples and 5 baby stool samples. All information is kept strictly confidential. If you have a ‘colicky’ baby less than 8 weeks of age and want to find out more information about this study, please contact Marina Iacovou on ph +61 3 99030392 or email marina.iacovou@monash.edu. This study has been reviewed and approved by the Monash Health and Human Research Ethics Committee.

Facebook app to monitor mental health: Monash Alfred Psychiatry research centre

Researchers are looking at how social media can be used to prevent relapse in a person living with mental illness. The world-first pilot study will use a Facebook app to look at changes in a person’s social media interactions to predict when a person living with a mental illness is likely to experience a relapse. Professor Paul Fitzgerald, Deputy Director of the Monash Alfred Psychiatry Centre (MAPrc), said social media had the potential to be a life-saving way to prevent relapse for patients with bipolar disorder, a substantial clinical problem. See Monash story, 26/06/2014

Mechanisms of retinopathy in premature babies teased out: Immunology research

ARS cover image is by
Dr Devy Deliyanti, one
of the paper's authors

Effective preventive therapies for retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) don't exist, yet globally, there are at least 50,000 children blind from ROP. Professor Jennifer Wilkinson-Berka in the Department of Immunology leads research efforts into understanding the problem. A recently published paper shows that one form of a particular enzyme complex called NADPH oxidase (NOX) is involved in the development of retinopathy. The research indicates that blocking the action of NOX1 prevents the damage from occurring. Reference: NADPH Oxidase, NOX1, Mediates Vascular Injury in Ischemic Retinopathy. Antioxidants & Redox Signaling. V 20, No 17, 2014 DOI: 10.1089/ars.2013.5357

Multiple sclerosis research by Dr Steven Petratos receives funding

Dr Steven Petratos des-
cribes his research

Congratulations to Dr Steven Petratos, who has been successful in obtaining a highly competitive grant to further his research on multiple sclerosis (MS). The award was made by the US based National MS Society. It is a pilot grant for USD40,000, and the topic is "Delineating the role of the monocarboxylate transporter 8 (MCT8) in driving oligodendrocyte precursor cell maturation". MCT8 carries thyroid hormone, and when it doesn't work there's a problem with myelination, as with MS.