Congratulations to staff awarded Queen's Birthday Honours!

Central Clinical School had a number of staff awarded Queen's Birthday Honours over the long weekend. We're exceedingly proud of them and the service they've provided to the School and the community through their research, clinical practice and teaching.

Clot-busting drug may affect stroke patients’ immune system: study

by Anne Crawford

A study by Monash University’s Australian Centre for Blood Diseases (ACBD) into a drug commonly used to remove blot clots in stroke suggests it may weaken the immune system.

The study, published in Frontiers in Immunology, found that t-PA (tissue-type
plasminogen activator) affected several aspects related to the immune system in a mouse model of acute ischemic stroke (AIS). Ischemic stroke is caused when a blood vessel supplying blood to the brain is obstructed by a clot, and accounts for 80 per cent of all types of stroke. It is a leading cause of disability and mortality worldwide.

3MT Comp Winners!

CCS Competition winner Lakshanie Wickramasinghe

The School's annual Three Minute Thesis (3MT) competition took place here on May 27, pitting seven brave young researchers against each other in a bid to explain their research in plain English, and in only three minutes. The competition is a wonderful opportunity to practice sharing complex but vital research with a lay audience.

CCS Recent Publications: 27th May - 10th June 2019

Recent publications for Central Clinical School feature affiliated authors in the following departments:

• MAPrc
• ACBD
• Anaesthesia & Perioperative Medicine
• Neuroscience
• Diabetes
• Melbourne Sexual Health Centre
• Immunology & Pathology
• Gastroenterology
• Surgery

Translational Research Symposium Speaker Spotlight: Professor Gail Risbridger

Professor Gail Risbridger

Monash University's 5th annual Translational Research Symposium is being hosted by its three metropolitan clinical schools on 21 June 2019. The symposium will host a diverse group of medical researchers presenting their work into translational research. RSVP here.

The Plenary speaker for the event is Professor Gail Risbridger, Deputy Dean, Special Projects, Monash Partners Comprehensive Cancer Consortium and Research Director, Prostate Cancer Research Program.

Spotlight on MS Research

Dr Steven Petratos and Dr Erica Kim

Thursday 30th May is World MS Day.  A global initiative to raise awareness for those affected by Multiple Sclerosis. This year's theme is My Invisible MS, an opportunity to make visible the symptoms of MS and educate the broader community. 

When Dr Erica Kim began her honours degree in the Neuroscience Department at Central Clinical School, she arrived with simply a passion for neuroscience. Now, with a PhD completed, along with two first author primary research papers, 2 author reviews and contributing author credits, it seems that this researcher is in it for the long haul with a firm focus on developing cell and gene-based therapies to treat intractable neurodegenerative disease, particularly Multiple Sclerosis.

Investigative research is a slow burn, particularly at a molecular level. It can take years to see a project translate from the investigative to pre-clinical stages and then there is no guarantee of progression to a clinical trial. Erica is keen to witness her earlier research progress into clinical trials. The molecules that have been the focus of her work, which may contribute or initiate such damage in MS are becoming known and by targeting them, it may be possible to limit the destruction, which occurs to nerve fibres in the brain and spinal cord, promoting a better clinical outcome for individuals living with MS.

Public Health researcher wins Prestigious Alumni Award

A/Prof. Chow receives his award from Professor Rodney Phillips,
Dean of the Faculty of Medicine, UNSW

Associate Professor Eric Chow has won the 2019 UNSW Young Alumni Award. The Young Alumni Award acknowledges the most accomplished UNSW Sydney Alumni under 35 years across 13

categories spanning science and technology to arts and services to the community.

Eric made a career change in 2012 by completing a Master of Public Health followed by a PhD at UNSW Sydney, where he received the Faculty of Medicine Dean’s List. The MPH provided Eric with new knowledge in public health, epidemiology, biostatistics, health promotion and mathematical modelling. His PhD thesis, which focused on HIV epidemiology and sexual practice among at-risk populations in China, has paved the way for his impressive research in the field of sexual health.