Dietary fibre in gut may help with skin allergies: Monash study

by Anne Crawford

A Monash University study exploring the emerging gut-skin axis has found that microbial fermentation of dietary fibre in the gut can protect against allergic skin disease. The research could potentially lead to novel treatments to prevent or treat allergies.

Professor Ben Marsland from the Central Clinical School’s Department of Immunology, together with Swiss colleagues at the University Hospital of Lausanne (CHUV), showed that the fermentation of fibre in the gut by bacteria and subsequent production of short chain fatty acids (SCFAs), in particular butyrate, protected against atopic dermatitis in mice.

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Congratulations to Sam El-Osta, Trisha Peel and Patrick Kwan on NHMRC clinical trial funding

L-R: Prof Sam El-Osta, A/Prof Trisha Peel & Prof Patrick Kwan
were awarded NHMRC CTCS grants, announced 24 May 2022.

Central Clinical School's excellence in clinical trials has been recognised once again with three of our researchers successful in the latest round of the NHMRC Clinical Trials and Cohort Studies Scheme funding, announced on 24 May.

Congratulations to Professor Sam El-Osta, Associate Professor Trisha Peel and Professor Patrick Kwan on their successful applications. A/Prof Peel was successful earlier this year for the CALIPSO project under the MRFF RCRDUN scheme.

Together, the three grants total more than $11.7 million - 15.5% of the $75.3 million funding allocated to the 33 successful trials in this round - and cover critical health issues including diabetes, antimicrobial resistance, epilepsy and intensive care.

Vaccinated immune system response to new SARS-CoV-2 variants

A/Prof Menno van Zelm in the lab

Associate Professor Menno van Zelm was invited by the prestigious journal Science Immunology to write a Commentary on two papers that deal with immune memory after vaccination and recognition of Omicron variants of SARS-CoV-2. 

A/Prof van Zelm said, "What I suggest is that 'original antigenic sin' - that means that the body's original response to an antigen is remembered and used when a variant antigen is encountered - might be in place, so that it will be a challenge for the immune system to generate new responses on top of the existing (vaccine-induced) memory."

Advancing new therapeutic targets for people with drug-resistant epilepsy

By Dr Loretta Piccenna, Department of Neuroscience

Epilepsy & Behaviour group

To make significant research advances to improve outcomes for people with drug-resistant epilepsy, researchers need to understand the molecular and neurobiological processes that occur within the brain to enable them to identify new therapeutic targets.

Researchers from the Epilepsy & Behaviour research group in the Department of Neuroscience have moved a step closer to this goal by publishing findings to show that a pre-clinical mouse model, known as the self-sustained Electrical Status Epilepticus (SSSE) mouse model, strongly resembles features seen and experienced by patients with drug-resistant mesial Temporal Lobe Epilepsy.

Professor Natasha Lannin elected to Monash Academic Board

Professor Natasha Lannin, Department of Neuroscience in the Central Clinical School, has been elected as a member to Monash University's Academic Board.

See more about the Academic Board function and membership.

Professors Terry O'Brien (Head of School) and Helmut Butzkueven (Head of Department of Neuroscience) said, "This is great news - congratulations on this very significant appointment. You will be an outstanding Academic Board Member."

 

1 July 2022 Monash Translational Research Symposium

We invite you to join us for the 8th annual Monash University Translational Research Symposium, to be held at the Alfred Centre Lecture Theatre on Friday 1 July 2022. Register here

Significant findings in the lab can often get lost in their conversion to clinical practice and everyday medical treatments. As such, translational research skills have become a significant part of life at Monash’s three metropolitan clinical schools. 

Urgent healthcare needs continued to present to hospital during lockdowns

Dr Taya Collyer is first author on a study looking at changes in
hospital attendance during the COVID-19 pandemic

While there were many anecdotal reports of reduced care-seeking behaviour during 2020 Melbourne lockdowns, analysis suggests that those with the most urgent healthcare needs continued to present to hospital. 

In a first comprehensive study of healthcare-seeking behaviour in the context of (relatively) low COVID-19 burden, team of researchers from the Academic Unit, Medicine, Peninsula Clinical School analysed data from approximately 700,000 hospital presentations to investigate the impact of restrictions to movement on hospital activity in Melbourne over two waves of community transmission (1 March to 20 September 2020).