KIT body image chatbot even more chatty

More than one million Australians are living with an eating disorder, but less than one in four of them will seek help. Dr Gemma Sharp and the team which have created the KIT body image chatbot have a new campaign launched today as part of National Eating Disorders Awareness Week.

Dr Sharp says, "Owing to the popularity of KIT's coping skills conversations, we've added even more skills! These are new mindfulness strategies which we know are helpful for a range of mental health issues including eating disorders. Come and chat to KIT today!"

Hear more from Gemma about her research & the KIT chatbot here: youtu.be/PuGZi6gF-Sk

Link: butterfly.org.au/chattokit/

9-22 Feb 2021 Central Clinical School publications featuring COVID-19 research

Burnout and psychological distress of Australian  health care 
workers during the COVID-19 pandemic has been high: Study

Recent publications featuring research as notified by PubMed during 9-22 Feb 2021 from Central Clinical School affiliated researchers in the following departments featuring research on COVID-19.

See the School and and its departments' recent validated publications at: 

• research.monash.edu/en/organisations/central-clinical-school/publications/
• www.monash.edu/medicine/ccs/research/publications

Discovery for turning on cell repair in tissues and organs

Model of demethylation mediated reprogramming

Monash University researchers have uncovered the barrier to β-cell (beta cell) regeneration that could pave the way for improved treatments for diabetes and diseases that involve organ and tissue damage.

The human body doesn’t repair itself very well, with our liver the only organ that can regenerate efficiently.  We have limited capacity to regenerate new cells or tissue after birth as the genes involved in development are switched off.

CCS Honours and Bachelor of Medical Science Honours cohorts starting in 2021

L-R from top: Honours coordinators in 2020:
General Honours: Justin Hamilton, Margaret Hibbs,
Vilija Jokubaitis, Christoph Hagemeyer, Natalie Thomas,
Menno van Zelm, Catherine Carmichael:

BMedSc Honours: Merlin Thomas, Karin Jandeleit-Dahm

57 students have enrolled this year in the Bachelor of Science and Bachelor of Biomedical Science Honours program at Central Clinical School. It is CCS's largest cohort of Honours students to date. Their orientation session is taking place next Tuesday, 23 February. Please make them feel welcome.

The Bachelor of Medical Science Honours cohort of 13 students will be also receiving their orientation next week.

Dr Joanne Mouser is CCS Student Services Officer for all Honours student administration. Her contact details are:

• Email: ccs.honours@monash.edu
• Phone: +61 3 9903 0784
  
• Web: www.monash.edu/medicine/ccs/education/current-students/current-honours
  

Participants sought: The use of prebiotics to lower blood pressure

Participants wanted for prebiotic fibre dietary study

Do you have high blood pressure but are not taking medication? We are looking for you to participate in a study investigating the effect of prebiotic fibre on blood pressure!

Diet has been long known to influence the levels of blood pressure. The body is incapable of digesting some types of fibre, so they are fermented in the gut, where they feed the body's community of ‘good’ microbes. This results in the release of substances that may be beneficial in lowering blood pressure. This study will test if a modified high fibre supplement could be used to lower blood pressure.

Healthy participants sought: A therapeutic diet to treat Crohn’s disease

Healthy volunteers sought for diet study

We are seeking healthy participants to assess a new diet that may be used to treat Crohn’s disease.

In this study we are investigating what effect some dietary components have on the intestine in healthy humans to help us understand what they might be capable of in Crohn's disease.

For this study we are seeking help from healthy volunteers

Participants sought: Treating male partners of women with bacterial vaginosis (BV) to reduce recurrence

See more about the study at bvstepup.org.au

Are you a male partner of a woman who has had bacterial vaginosis? We would love to hear from you for a study we are running!

Bacterial vaginosis (BV) is the most common cause of abnormal vaginal discharge in women of reproductive age, and can be associated with important adverse pregnancy outcomes and increased risk of HIV and sexually transmitted infections. Current recommended antibiotic treatments are effective initially, but 1 in 2 women will get their BV back again within 6 months of treatment.