Thanomporn Wittayacharoenpong wins the Alfred Health Week Abstract Prize

Congratulations to Ms Thanomporn (Mon) Wittayacharoenpong on winning the Alfred Research Alliance Senior Medical Staff Association Prize for Clinical / Public Health Research at the 2023 Alfred Health Week.

A PhD student in the Epilepsy surgery research group led by Associate Professor Andrew Neal, Mon's research abstract submitted was entitled, "Using Stereo-EEG data to determine the optimal intracranial venous sinus location for an endovacular seizure detection device". She won the award for the best journal article, in the Abstract Prize category.

Find out more about the Alfred Health Week Prizes 2023.

Picture: Mon with Professor Terence O'Brien (Head, Central Clinical School) and Professor Stephen Jane (Dean, Sub-faculty of Translational Medicine and Public Health).

Strategies and tips for a healthy working life

 Summary of the CCS-SPHPM joint panel discussion for Mental Health Week by Zhoujie Ding and Lenka Vodstrcil (on behalf of CCS EDI committee)

Striving to maintain our mental wellbeing has emerged as a primary goal for many workers, especially since COVID first disrupted our routines and changed how we work. In academia, meeting deadlines and balancing our workload and expected output can sometimes be really overwhelming, especially when other issues in life cause additional stress. To provide some insights into how our working lives can be improved and where to get help when mental health issues arise, the CCS-SPHPM EDI committees organised a panel discussion with experts in the field, which took place at the Alfred Center Lecture Theatre on 6 November 2023.

Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences recognises Professor Catriona Bradshaw

AAHMS video (0:29min)

Congratulations to Professor Catriona Bradshaw who has been elected as new Fellow of the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences (AAHMS), the nation’s learned academy for the most influential experts in health and medicine. 

Professor Catriona Bradshaw is a clinician-researcher and Head of Research Translation and Mentorship and Genital Microbiota and Mycoplasma Group Lead at the Melbourne Sexual Health Centre and holds an honorary appointment at the University of Melbourne.  Catriona is an NHMRC Leadership Fellow, a centre head for the Centre to Impact Antimicrobial Resistance at Monash University, and a co-director of the ARC Research Hub to Combat Antimicrobial Resistance. Catriona is a member of national and international STI guideline committees, a board member of the International Society for STD Research, a technical advisor for the World Health Organisation, a past recipient of the L'Oréal-UNESCO Women in Science Award in 2007 and of the Eureka Prize for Infectious Diseases Research in 2022.

Find out more about Professor Catriona Bradshaw.

See all recent AAHMS Fellows HERE.

FMNHS Research Platforms Roadshow

This is your opportunity to meet with Platform staff and learn about the equipment, services and capabilities they have. 

• Date:     Thursday 26 October 2023
• Time:    10:00am - 12:30pm (morning tea will be provided)
• Venue:  Seminar Rooms 1 & 2, Level 5 Alfred Centre, 99 Commercial Road

Drop by anytime between 10am and 12:30pm to see how they can support your research projects. 

Further information about the event is available here and information about the participating platforms is available here.

Dean's Award for Professor Anne Holland

Watch Dean's Award video (0.28min)

Congratulations to Professor Anne Holland, Head of the Department of Respiratory Research@Alfred, who won the Dean's Award for Excellence in Research - Engagement and Impact. An NHMRC Leadership Fellow (2021-2025), Professor Holland's research program investigates supportive therapies for people with chronic respiratory disease, with a focus on COPD and pulmonary fibrosis. Her recent clinical trials have tested new models of pulmonary rehabilitation to improve access and uptake, including low cost home-based models and telerehabilitation. Professor Holland is currently leading a multi-national trial of ambulatory oxygen for people with fibrotic lung disease. Anne is a Chief Investigator for the NHMRC Centre of Research Excellence in Pulmonary Fibrosis and the NHMRC Centre of Research Excellence in Treatable Traits. Find out more about Professor Anne Holland.

See all Dean's Award recipients HERE.

Meet Fernando Gordillo Altamirano

Dr Fernando Gordillo Altamirano completed his medical training in his native Ecuador, but knew that he wanted to pursue a career in research rather than clinical practice. That decision brought him to Australia, where he completed further study including a Masters degree and PhD before joining Central Clinical School’s Department of Infectious Diseases as a postdoctoral researcher last year. 

Can you tell us about your work?

I kill superbugs! Superbugs are bacteria that have become resistant to antibiotics. They are increasingly common in hospitals, where they can infect the most vulnerable patients, and doctors struggle to treat these infections. I work on a method called phage therapy. Phages are viruses: good viruses! Instead of harming or killing human cells, phages only kill bacteria. So, we can treat superbug infections using these viruses, killing the bacteria and saving the patients.

How did you become interested in phage research?

As I was ‘shopping around’ for PhD projects, I met my eventual supervisor, a world leader in phage research: Associate Professor Jeremy Barr of Monash University’s School of Biological Sciences. Before that, I had only briefly learned about phages but had never imagined we could use them to treat infections in humans. Jeremy’s passion ignited my love for phages. It’s thrilling to be working in research where I can apply my medical knowledge and my laboratory expertise simultaneously. 

Promotion and new appointment for epilepsy

Congratulations to Dr Andrew Neal, who has been appointed to succeed Professor Patrick Kwan as Director of Epilepsy, Alfred Health, and also promoted to Associate Professor.

Associate Professor Neal joined Alfred Health and Central Clinical School in 2019 as a consultant Neurologist and Epileptologist, lead for the Alfred Advanced Epilepsy Surgery Program and as a research fellow in CCS’s Department of Neuroscience. He also served as Deputy Director of Epilepsy at Alfred Health from 2020. 

A/Prof Neal is a national leader in advanced epilepsy surgery, in particular stereoelectroencephalography (SEEG). SEEG involves the surgical implantation of electrodes into the brain to understand the role of brain networks in the pathophysiology of drug-resistant epilepsy and its associated neurocognitive deficits.