Award for best paper by the Australasian Gene Therapy Society

The Australasian Gene Therapy Society have awarded "Best Paper" for 2014 to Associate Professor Frank Alderuccio's paper, first authored by his PhD student Jie-Yu Chung (pictured). The paper is titled "Gene therapy delivery of Myelin Oligodendrocyte Glycoprotein (MOG) via hematopoietic stem cell transfer induces MOG-specific B cell deletion" and was published in the Journal of Immunology. Reference

7th Annual ANZSCDB Melbourne Cell and Developmental Biology Symposium

In 2014, the Annual ANZSCDB symposium is being held in Melbourne, hosted by Monash University at the Alfred Medical Research and Education Precinct (AMREP). The symposium will showcase cutting edge cell and developmental biology research taking place in Melbourne, from both students and post-doctoral fellows, working on various aspects of cellular mechanisms, organism development, tissue/birth defects and regenerative medicine. See web page or details below.

Andrology Australia is looking for a nurse with an interest in men's health

Andrology Australia is looking for an enthusiastic nurse to join a Primary Health Care Nurse Men's Health Education Reference Group to provide valuable input into the Andrology Australia Education Program. The education reference group provides an effective process to assist with the identification, review and development of education material that addresses men’s health information and education needs for primary health care nurses. To express your interest please contact Wendy Thomas, Education Liaison Officer, Andrology Australia ext: 24821 or email: wendy.thomas@monash.edu

Odd spot: The cow in the room - an unpalatable truth about the main global warming driver

"Livestock production is responsible for 51% of global greenhouse emissions ... It's time to get serious about changing your diet."
+COWSPIRACY: the sustainability secret
One Green Planet blog link
If animal production is the biggest driver of greenhouse gas production, then one simple action of reducing our meat consumption will not only reduce the gas emission, but free up land for planting trees,  i.e. creating a carbon sink and taking greenhouse gases out of the atmosphere.

Congratulations to Zeyad Nasa on the award of his PhD!

Congratulations to Mr Zeyad Nasa, Department of Immunology, who has been awarded the degree of Doctor of Philosophy! Zeyad was supervised by A/Prof Frank Alderuccio. Zeyad’s thesis, "The establishment of immune tolerance through genetic manipulation of haematopoietic stem cells", was accepted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree by the Graduate Research Steering Committee on 16 September 2014.

Congratulations to CCS Honours students for their wins at the EMCR@AMREP conference

Laura Blair-West

Dean Whitty

Two CCS Bachelor of Medical Science (Honours) students,  Dean Whitty and Laura Blair West, both in the Monash Alfred Psychiatry research centre, presented their research at the 2014 AMREP EMCR Conference on Wednesday 17 September, and both won their respective presentation categories.  These are very competitive awards - Congratulations Dean and Laura!

One in four inpatients has diabetes in Victorian hospital audit

L-R: Prof Leon Bach
with one of his patients

Professor Leon Bach (Department of Medicine, Monash University; Department of Endocrinology and Diabetes, Alfred Health) has published research in the Medical Journal of Australia which indicates that diabetes mellitus affects one quarter of patients in Melbourne hospitals. The survey was of 2,308 patients over a two year period. The patients are not always in hospital because of the diabetes, but 80% of the diabetic patients already had at least one complication of diabetes, including damage to the heart, circulation, kidneys, eyes, or nerves. Bach says the figures will likely be reflected across Australia, and a national audit is needed.

• Journal reference
• 14 September 2014 Herald Sun article