Congratulations to our NHMRC Ideas grant awardees

L-R top: Prof Harshal Nandurkar, Dr Zhong-Lin Chai, Dr Sih Min Tan;
L-R bottom: Prof Patrick Kwan, Dr Mastura Monif, A/Prof Sandy Shultz

Congratulations to Central Clinical School'sNational Health and Medical Research Council (NHMCR) winners in this very difficult round, being the six of our school's 87 applications which were funded. See detail below.

Professor Mark Cooper, Head of Diabetes, said, "For those who missed out do not be too despondent, be resolute, complete key experiments and think of ways to improve your applications for next year.  The grant system is a sort of lottery but the stronger grants in general do better."

Professor Terry O'Brien, Head of School, added, "My commiserations for all the outstanding applicants who were unsuccessful in what was an extremely competitive round (9.5% success nationally) in an increasingly challenging system. Everyone needs to keep faith in their science, continuing to publish well and make an impact, and the grants will come." 

26 Oct - 1 Nov 2021 Central Clinical School recent publications

Drug-induced liver injury #DILI caused by herbal and dietary
supplements, despite their marketing as safe agents and few published
reports of adverse events, has more than trebled between
2009 & 2020. Stuart Roberts and Elliot Freeman MJA comment

Recent publications featuring research as notified by PubMed during 26 Oct - 1 Nov 2021 from Central Clinical School affiliated researchers in the following departments. The below is not a comprehensive list. The most recent validated publications for the school and departments can be seen on their publications pages, linked to from the headings below. Otherwise, read down the entry for recent notifications.

Top tips we learned from the Monash Neuroscience ECR Career Pathway event

Dr Bridgette Semple, top left-hand corner, moderated the panel
 discussion. L-R, top to bottom, linked to each video presentation:
Dr Karen McConalogue, Dr Brittany Howard, Dr Anthony Filippis,
Dr Bernd Merkel, Dr Heidi Nicholl, Dr Wee-Ming Boon,
Professor James Bourne, Professor Terry O'Brien

Monash Neuroscience held a special event in August 2021 for late stage PhD students and Early Career Researchers within the University network about what career opportunities are available within and beyond academia. 

The overarching goal of the event was to help attendees identify transferable skills for a post-academic career as well as hear from invited speakers from a range of fields about their career pathways.

Paul Zimmet: A Voice for Diabetes

Professor Jonathan Shaw says after more than 50 years of working in the diabetes field, Professor Paul Zimmet continues to actively push the boundaries of our understanding of the condition. He writes:

"Paul Zimmet has been one of the leading figures, globally, in transforming the understanding and threat of diabetes from a Cinderella disease to a major plank of most governments’ health policies. His science, particularly a series of epidemiological studies, has been at the forefront of the campaign, but it is fueled by his genuine passion to improve the life of people with diabetes. After more than 50 years of working in the diabetes field, he continues to actively push the boundaries of our understanding of the condition."

See Diabetes Care journal article

‘Thank you for asking’: patient-centred research helps drive change in lung disease treatment

Physiotherapist monitoring and providing guidance for at home patients.
Image: Dr Narelle Cox. See also Narelle describing the research: video

Monash University researchers are giving new hope to people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), with the COVID-19 pandemic prompting some of the first innovations in treatment models in 30 years.

See more:

• Faculty story
• First author, Dr Narelle Cox, describing the research (video 2:57 mins).

Monash researchers bond with donors to fight rare cancers

Suzanne Neate (right) with her mother Teresa, who died in 2016.

Image: The Aftershock

by Anne Crawford

After Suzanne Neate’s mother Teresa died of thyroid cancer five years ago, Suzanne wanted to make an impact on the lives of other people similarly enduring high mortality rate cancers.

Teresa had spent time in rehabilitation; Suzanne thought of funding equipment, walkers or wheelchairs for those in care. “Then I thought ‘No, the problem is she shouldn’t have been there to begin with – how do you stop someone being there to begin with?’,” she said. “You research – everything comes back to research.”

Suzanne, CEO of The Aftershock, the not-for-profit organisation she founded in 2017, has joined forces on a research project into lethal oesophageal cancer with Professor Wendy Brown, Alfred Hospital surgeon, researcher and Head of Monash University’s Department of Surgery.

Can delirium after major surgery be reduced by tranexamic acid?

ANZCA funded study will look at whether tranexamic acid can
reduce confusion and delirium after major surgery.

Congratulations to Professor Paul Myles on his grant from the Australia and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists (ANZCA) of $120,000 over two years for the project "Tranexamic acid to reduce delirium after gastrointestinal surgery: the TRIGS-D trial".

Delirium is a devastating complication of medical and surgical care, associated with increased morbidity and mortality, dementia and impaired long-term cognition, and loss of independence.