ARC grant successes for Central Clinical School: Justin Hamilton (ACBD) and Seb Dworkin (Medicine)

Australian Research Council grant successes for Central Clinical School were:

Dr Justin Hamilton, Australian Centre for Blood Diseases, has won a Future Fellowship totalling $745,744 over 5 years.

Dr Sebastian Dworkin, Department of Medicine, was awarded a Discovery Early Career Researcher Award totalling $383,066 over 3 years 

See detail of their projects below.

Monash Uni Low FODMAP Diet app launched for Android users

An Android version of the highly successful Monash University FODMAP smartphone application is now available, see link.

Last December the FODMAP app for the iPhone platform was launched by the research team at the Department of Gastroenterology at Monash University, providing accurate information about foods that trigger irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) for the first time using this technology.

AIDS 2014 20th International Conference update - Co-Chair Professor Sharon Lewin

Prof Sharon Lewin, Head, Department of Infectious Diseases, will be the local co-chair for the largest medical conference ever to be held in Australia, AIDS 2014. Organised by the International AIDS Society (IAS) in partnership with the United Nations and various government and civil organisations, AIDS 2014 is expected to bring more than 18,000 researchers, clinicians and other stakeholders to Melbourne in July 2014. The International co-chair will be Nobel Laureate Françoise Barré-Sinoussi, president elect of the IAS. For detail, see video or story: Monash researcher to chair historic AIDS conference.

Monash study identifies factors underlying ineffective response to HIV treatment

Professor Jennifer Hoy

A new study has looked at the factors which may decrease the chances of HIV treatment being successful. Patients with HIV are treated with antiretroviral therapy (ART), which has proven effective at improving their long-term outcomes and survival. The study, by A/Prof Allen Cheng, Dr Olga Vujovic and Prof Jennifer Hoy with the Monash Department of Infectious Diseases, aimed to discover the factors which lead to virological failure. See more detail at SPHPM blog story.

"Beat the Bloat: IBS & the low FODMAP diet" 2013 CCS Public Lecture packed out

Peter Gibson in conversation

Professor Peter Gibson, HOD Gastroenterology, gave Central Clinical School's public lecture on 30 October 2013 on "Beating the Bloat: Irritable Bowel Syndrome and the low FODMAP diet". The event attracted a large audience. In brief, research shows that once the low FODMAP diet is followed for a certain period, symptoms will settle down for a high proportion of people, and there can be a careful reintroduction of higher FODMAP foods to ensure good nutrition including micronutrients.

Studying the causes of chronic lymphocytic leukaemia: £200,000 research grant from AICR

Professor Fabienne Mackay’s laboratory has received a generous £200,000 grant from the prestigious Association for International Cancer Research (AICR) to study the causes of chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL) and potential new therapeutic strategies. CLL is the most common adult leukaemia in the developed world and still has no cure. Affected patients have severely compromised immunity, leaving them vulnerable to recurrent infections, which are a major cause of death. The underlying cause of CLL remains elusive, limiting current treatment options.

2014 NHMRC grant announcements at AMREP by the Prime Minister

"What am I looking at?"

Prime Minister, the Hon. Tony Abbott, Federal Health Minister the Hon. Peter Dutton and Victorian Health Minister, the Hon. David Davis announced the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) grants across eight schemes in Melbourne on Wednesday 23 October at the AMREP Precinct. See Gallery. Mr Abbott (pictured with Prof David Curtis) did a tour of Central Clinical School laboratories prior to the announcement.  CCS was awarded $5m in project grants and $2.1m in Fellowships. Please see below summary of successful NHMRC applications from CCS which will begin in 2014.