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Monday 1 May 2017

Improving stroke data analysis provides more reliable comparisons of hospital performance

Associate Professor Dominique Cadilhac
Improving the way data from patients with stroke are collected and analysed avoids misleading comparisons of hospital performance, according to latest research from Monash University.

Published today in the Medical Journal of Australia, the collaborative research from Monash University and The Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health illustrated the difficulties of ranking hospitals according to survival outcomes if stroke severity is not taken into account.

Lead researcher Associate Professor Dominique Cadilhac, Head of Translational Public Health, Stroke and Ageing Research at Monash University said hospital stroke mortality rates and hospital performance ranking can vary widely according to the covariates included in the statistical analysis.

“Efforts to improve the quality of stroke management rely on rigorous outcome data to avoid misleading comparisons being made between hospitals,” Associate Professor Cadilhac said.

“In particular, stroke severity should be considered in analysis, since it is one of the strongest predictors of mortality.”

The research team linked national death registrations with Australian Stroke Clinical Registry data from Australian hospitals providing at least 200 episodes of acute stroke care between 2009 and 2014.

“Risk-adjusted mortality rates (RAMRs) from models including or not including ability to walk (a measure of stroke severity) were similar overall and ranged between 8% and 21%,” said co-author Dr Monique Kilkenny, a senior epidemiologist at Monash University.

However, t most importantly the rank order of hospitals changed according to the covariates included in models, particularly for those hospitals with the highest RAMRs—and the models with the best statistical fit were those that included stroke severity.

“We highlight the importance of using appropriate risk adjustment variables and methods for comparing hospital outcomes for stroke, with particular emphasis on the need to account for stroke severity,” Associate Professor Cadilhac said.

“When there is inadequate risk adjustment, this inappropriately allows the interpretation that some hospitals provide sub-standard care and thus may unfairly compromise the reputation of such hospitals and clinicians.”

In an accompanying editorial, Professor Graeme Hankey, professor of neurology at the University of Western Australia, wrote that the research by Cadilhac and colleagues highlighted “the capacity of registries of clinical quality data to inform and complement hospital and national outcome data in the quest to measure, monitor and benchmark patient outcomes”.

“These data may facilitate the evaluation of the effects of compliance with standards and of variations in care on patient outcomes, and assist in the design of interventions to reduce variation that will lead to improved outcomes.”

Associate Professor Cadilhac is also principal investigator for the Australian Stroke Clinical Registry which operates from The Florey.


Dandenong Hospital team improving outcomes for patients with diabetic foot complications

Associate Professor Parm Naidoo and Professor Tim Buckenham
A unique multidisciplinary team of specialists at Dandenong Hospital is successfully managing a common but not often discussed complication associated with diabetes.

People with diabetes are at a much higher risk of developing atherosclerosis (narrowing and blockages in the arteries of the legs and feet)—and poor blood flow results in delayed healing of minor injuries and ulcers.   

According to Monash University’s Associate Professor Parm Naidoo, being diabetic also means these patients are relatively immunocompromised and thus susceptible to infection. 

“Even minor injuries can result in ulcerations in their feet, leading to deep soft tissue infection, bone infection, gangrene and amputations,” said Associate Professor Parm Naidoo, an Interventional Radiologist and Director of Radiology, Dandenong Hospital, Monash Health.

“Patients with longstanding and/or poorly controlled diabetes are at risk of chronic irreversible damage to the small nerves of the feet (peripheral neuropathy), and are prone to injuries without feeling or realizing it, which in some instances triggers a cascade of inflammatory events resulting in severe and permanent damage to the bones of the foot, known as Charcot’s osteoneuropathy.”

Weekly diabetic foot clinic meeting at Dandenong
The high risk diabetic foot clinic at Dandenong Hospital brings together
subspecialist radiologists, vascular surgeons, podiatrists, infectious disease physicians, endocrinologists, nurses and ultrasonographers to manage these complex and often difficult cases.

Associate Professor Naidoo, who chairs the weekly meeting, said up to 15% of people with diabetes develop a foot ulcer at some point, and left untreated, has the potential to lead to serious complications including amputation.

“These complications of diabetes in the feet can be devastating for these patients. Early diagnosis, intervention and management not only saves limbs but significantly improves quality of life,” said Associate Professor Naidoo.
“Our weekly interdisciplinary meetings started about five years ago, and we discuss around ten to fifteen cases at each sitting.”

“Our aim is to accurately diagnose these patients as early as possible, and to quickly intervene with the highest level of care,” said Associate Professor Naidoo.

“Aggressive treatment is the key to minimising complications and long term morbidity.”

Associate Professor Naidoo said there are huge resultant dollar savings to the health networks in terms of reduced length of inpatient stay and major surgical interventions. 

“Our unique case management saves patients taking time off work to attend multiple appointments, and being assessed by multiple specialists or allied health care providers, which is often spread out over months.”

Professor Tim Buckenham, specialist Vascular and Interventional Radiologist and Head of Vascular Imaging at Monash Health said the clinical leads at the weekly meetings are the podiatrists at Dandenong Hospital, as they are the primary care givers of these patients.

“We have the highest level expertise in the same room, so between the podiatrists, vascular surgeons, diagnostic and interventional radiologists, and other staff, we make a treatment decision about a patient in about ten minutes, rather than two months of consultations with individual specialists,” said Professor Buckenham.

A treatment plan for each patient is decided and activated at the meeting. Treatments include specialised dressings, antibiotics, debridement, orthotics, pressure off-loading and casting of the affected limb.

“Having an adequate blood supply to the affected limb is crucial to the ‘healing process’, and increasingly, these diseased arteries are being treated using minimally-invasive techniques, with excellent results,” said Professor Buckenham.

“We have significant expertise at Dandenong Hospital in treating these types of arteries—these are delicate procedures and the skill level of our interventional radiologists, led by Professor Buckenham, and surgeons is excellent because we are collegial, collaborative and perform so many of these procedures,” said Associate Professor Naidoo.

“While our work is certainly not glamorous, we know we’re providing the best model of care and the best possible outcomes for this very vulnerable patient group.”

Borne out of his experience chairing the high risk diabetic foot meeting at Dandenong hospital and research into this topic, Associate Professor Naidoo has published several articles on the imaging of these disease processes, with an emphasis on the role of MRI in early detection and characterisation of abnormalities in the diabetic foot. Associate Professor Naidoo and his colleagues have published the largest and most up-to-date review paper on the Radiology of the complications of diabetes in the feet (British Journal of Radiology, 2015), and was subsequently invited to lecture on the topic at the world’s largest annual MRI meeting (the International Society of Magnetic Resonance in Medicine, in Honolulu last month, as well as at the Global Foot and Ankle Congress in Chongqing, China in May.

The Diabetic Foot Clinic at Dandenong Hospital is the biggest clinic of its type in Victoria, managing more than 140 patients, including in and out patients.


Using Food as Medicine: Fighting Inflammation – New e-Recipe book available

The Department of Nutrition, Dietetics and Food are delighted to announce the release of their new e-recipe book developed as a practical guide on how to use Food as Medicine to fight inflammation!

So what is inflammation and why is it important to think about?
Inflammation is our body’s response to injury. Whilst this mechanism is a very important one (such as helping the body heal cuts or fight infection), it can be dangerous to our health if it continues to simmer away in the background without completely going away. This is known as chronic low-grade inflammation; it can be difficult to detect and you may not have any symptoms. This type of inflammation can play a role in developing chronic diseases such as cancer, diabetes and heart disease. Lifestyle factors such as your diet can play an important role in helping to reduce this dangerous type of inflammation.

Recipes to help you fight inflammation
There is a lot of interest in foods and how they may be able to help reduce the dangerous type of inflammation in the body. We have developed the Using Food as Medicine: Fighting Inflammation recipes to contain at least one ingredient shown to have properties to assist in reducing inflammation in the body, and to show you practical ways to incorporate these foods into your diet.
It has been inspired by the 90 000+ learners on our online course, Food as Medicine http://www.med.monash.edu.au/scs/nutrition-dietetics/short-courses/food-as-med.html  – we hope this helps everyone learn more about food and how it can impact positively on health.

What’s included in this new e-book?

·         40 easy to prepare recipes for main meals, snacks and treats packed full of foods with anti-inflammatory properties

·         Information on the association between inflammation and lifestyle, including diet
·         Practical tips so you can understand more about which foods in the recipe provides anti-inflammatory impact.

Cost: AUD$9.90 inc GST

To purchase your own e-copy of Using Food as Medicine: Fighting Inflammation please click here http://ecommerce.med.monash.edu.au/product.asp?pID=819&cID=46&c=212045

Please note: after purchase the e-book will be sent to your nominated email address within 2 business days.

Monash researchers advance our understanding of cardiovascular disease in older age

Professor Ebeling, Dr Sabashini Ramchand and Alexander Rodriguez
at the ENDO annual meeting
In a world-first, Monash researchers have shown the impact of low bone density on cardiovascular health.

Monash University PhD student Alexander Rodriguez was selected to present his research into the links between bone loss and cardiovascular disease at the 99th Annual Scientific Meeting and Expo (ENDO) of the Endocrine Society in Orlando, USA last month, the world’s largest event for presenting and obtaining the latest research in endocrine science and medicine.

Alexander’s research focusses on determining the effect of bone density and calcification on the cardiovascular system.

“Currently we understand that with advancing age we lose bone density and subsequently our blood vessels become ‘calcified’, where calcium material is deposited in blood vessels,” Alexander said.

 “My study showed that calcification places an extra burden on our hearts as it tries to pump out blood—we call this ‘cardiac workload’.”

“My research has shown for the first time a relationship between this phenomenon and low bone density,” Alexander said.

“I think these results are useful in that cardiac workload is very simply quantified and may be used to indicate underlying macrovascular disease which may significantly benefit clinical practice.”

Senior study author and Head, Department of Medicine at the School of Clinical Sciences at Monash Health Professor Peter Ebeling said there is growing interest in understanding how bone loss effects our hearts and blood vessels and Alexander’s findings are one further piece in the puzzle.

“Bones are dynamic organs and great attention needs to be given to poor bone health and how this can affect other aspects of our health,” said Professor Ebeling, who is also Chair of Medicine at Monash Health.

“I am very proud of Alexander in securing an oral presentation at ENDO as this conference is the largest in endocrinology and was attended by nearly 9000 delegates.”

Alexander was also selected to attend a pre-conference workshop called the “Early Career Forum” for young scientists identified as future research leaders.


Alexander’s results were published in the prestigious bone journal Osteoporosis International http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs00198-017-4024-1

First treatment for incurable lung disease in premature babies

Dr Claudia Nold
Hudson Institute researchers have discovered a potential safe and effective treatment for bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD), which could save preterm babies from the severe lifelong effects of this incurable premature lung disease.

The researchers, led by Associate Professor Marcel Nold and Dr Claudia Nold together with senior scientist Dr Ina Rudloff at The Ritchie Centre showed that an anti-inflammatory drug, interleukin 1 receptor antagonist (IL-1Ra), could be given as a preventative measure in the hours after birth to prevent the development of BPD.

The findings of the study have just been published in the Journal of Cellular and Molecular Medicine.

A common preterm disease without a cure
Newborn babies’ immature lungs are often unable to cope with the essential and life-saving respiratory support they are placed on in hospital.

Up to 60 per cent of preterm babies develop BPD, an inflammatory lung disease that causes severe injury to the lung tissue and prevents normal lung growth, soon after birth. The more premature a baby is at birth, the higher the risk of BPD. There is currently no safe and effective treatment.

BPD affects the alveoli, the tiny sacs in the lungs that enable the entry of oxygen into the bloodstream, and the clearance of carbon dioxide from the body.

Babies with BPD often suffer lifelong, severe, complications, including impaired neurodevelopment, and are highly susceptible to airway infections that may lead to death.  As a result, some of these babies and their families will require ongoing medical care into childhood, some even into adulthood.

FMNHS Diversity and Inclusion Gender Equity Travel Support Grants - APPLICATIONS NOW OPEN

The Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences (FMNHS) is pleased to announce the 2017 Diversity and Inclusion Gender Equity Travel Support Grants are now open. These grants support attendance at either a national or international conference, through the provision of funds to support carer costs associated with the time away from the person who is being cared for. 

Feedback from previous recipients has been overwhelmingly positive:
Attendance at this international conference was a positive and inspiring experience on several levels. . . . valuable experience to extend and support shared understandings of practice. Helped me established new networks . . . Collaborative research opportunities were identified as an outcome from attendance at the conference” (2016 recipient)

Applications close on Friday 5 May 2017 at 5:00pm (AEST)

Copies of the guidelines (HERE) and application form are (HERE) for easy reference.

For questions about this scheme, please contact:

Associate Professor Jenny Newton
Acting Chairperson, FMNHS Diversity and Inclusion Committee

Tel: 990 24570

Women in Leadership Program, 17-18 May

The purpose of the program is to inspire, encourage and support Women in Healthcare and Research to reach their full career potential. This program will explore leadership mindset and self-awareness, partnership and collaborative skills and strategic career planning as well as providing supportive networks and partnerships.

The Keys to Leadership
We will explore three key components of leadership:
• People
• Purpose
• Potential
and discuss the self-awareness, self-care, mindset and behaviours that create the leadership that is needed in the global context we live and work in.

Change Management
One of the foundational roles of leaders - to keep their organisation iterating, growing and improving. Change management is not a stand-alone skill, it is deeply embedded in effective leadership. This session will give some foundational steps that leaders who lead change with success use to get buy in and commitment from others.

Collaboration and Partnerships
What are the new definers of collaboration?
What are some of the barriers to forming highly effective collaborations with others?
What is our role is changing the paradigm in the research and health space?
How can we support each other in this work?

Career Development
Tapping into the knowledge of our mentors in the room we will identify areas of growth and development for ourselves and how to support our career goals.

Hot Topics
Drawing on the leadership challenges faced by the group, our facilitators and mentors will help us explore and strategise around them, through group discussion and panel responses.

Program

Day1:
Wednesday 17 May 2017, 9.00am-5.30pm
Hudson Institute of Medical Research
Level 3 Board Room
27-31 Wright St, Clayton 3168

Day2:
Thursday 18 May 2017, 9.00am – 5.30pm
Monash Medical Centre TRF building
Level 2, Seminar Room 3
Clayton 3168

Cost
Monash Partner organisations: $590.00
Non Monash Partners: $690.00
Online registration: http://www.cvent.com/d/15ql57/4W
Further information
Please direct all enquiries to mchri.shortcourses@monash.edu

2017-2018 Banting Postdoctoral Fellowships Competition

The Banting Postdoctoral Fellowships program is designed to support world-class postdoctoral researchers. The Banting Postdoctoral Fellowships are Canada’s most prestigious and highest valued award for postdoctoral researchers today. Researchers can take up the award at a Canadian university, or at a university outside of Canada (e.g. Australia). 


Funding
The fellowship provides $70,000CAD per year, for two years. 


Eligibility Highlights
Applicants to the 2017-2018 Banting Postdoctoral Fellowships must have fulfilled all degree requirements for a PhD (or equivalent) or health professional degree between September 20, 2014 and September 30, 2018 (inclusively). 

Canadian citizens, permanent residents of Canada, and foreign citizens are eligible to apply. Applicants who are not Canadian citizens or permanent residents of Canada may only take up the fellowship at a Canadian institution. Similarly, applicants who are Canadian citizens or permanent residents of Canada—and who obtained their PhD, PhD-equivalent or health professional degree from a foreign university—may only take up the fellowship at a Canadian institution. But applicants who are Canadian citizens or permanent residents of Canada and who obtained their PhD, PhD-equivalent or health professional degree from a Canadian university may hold their Banting Postdoctoral Fellowship at either a Canadian institution or an institution outside of Canada.

For more information on further eligibility requirements, visit: http://banting.fellowships-bourses.gc.ca/


Key Deadlines & Application Process
The application deadline will be September 20, 2017 at 20:00 EDT for the 2017-2018 competition. Please note that many Canadian institutions typically have internal deadlines for the Banting Fellowship schemeInstitutional deadlines vary, and can be as early as May/June. Applications must be completed in full collaboration with the proposed host institution (i.e. host institution endorsement is required). For more information on the program and how to apply, visit: http://banting.fellowships-bourses.gc.ca/

 
Pure Record Instructions
Applicants coming from Monash, or intending to hold the fellowship at Monash, must create an Application Record in Pure and submit the record to the MRO Pre-approval workflow.
·              Select Funding Organisation: Government of Canada
·              Select Funding OpportunityBanting Postdoctoral Fellowship
If you would like MRO to check your application before submission: attach a draft application to the Pure record and submit it to Pre-approval one week prior to your intended submission date to the desired host institution.


For any further questions, please email the MRO <mro-arc@monash.edu>.

2018 Honours & Graduate Research recruitment - please update your research projects in the Faculty's database - FINAL CALL

1) CALL FOR 2018 HONOURS AND GRADUATE RESEARCH PROJECTS:
The SCS Communications office is coordinating marketing materials for the production of 2018 SCS Postgraduate and Honours Research Projects booklet.  The projects will be advertised for recruitment of students for the following streams:
  • Bachelor of Medical Science Honours
  • Bachelor of Science Honours
  • Bachelor of Biomedical Science Honours
  • Bachelor of Nutrition Honours
  • Bachelor of Behavioural Neuroscience Honours
  • Graduate Research (Masters and PhD)
To ensure we only have current projects advertised, previously entered projects have all been ‘unpublished’ in the database.  Could ALL Supervisors please submit their project information via the Faculty project database: https://studentresearchprojects.med.monash.edu.au/
Go to “Supervisor login” listed on the top tab and type in your monash username and authcate. 
1.  To enter a new project:  Go to “CREATE ENTRY” enter project details and ensure to SAVE each entry. 
2.  To edit or re-publish existing projects that were offered in 2017 (or earlier), go to the “MY ENTRIES”  tab and select your project and select edit mode, then publish. 
Please note that all previous project entries are by default available. 
 Under “OFFER STATUS”, you can select:
  • Leave as Offered (to make the project current).
  • Or select Archived (if you wish the project to remain visible to the public in site searches but is not offered).
For PUBLISHING options:
  • Select Publish to publish your project.  
  • Uncheck the “PUBLISHED” box, if you want these projects archived in the database and not be visible to the public. 
You can re-publish the project at any time.
NEW and FINAL deadline for updating your projects is Wednesday 10th May 2017.
2) STUDENT INFORMATION SESSIONS
To support the promotion of the GR and Honours degree programs, the following student  information sessions are organised for potential Honours and PhD students.  Having all projects advertised well in advance of this will assist with course enquiries.
  • Bachelor of Medical Science (honours) information night: Monday 15 May 2017, Time to be advised, Clayton campus – Anthony White / Pianca Schwarz to coordinate SCS representation at Clayton.
  • SCS/Hudson Honours and GR information night: TBC at Clayton campus and MHTP
Note that all course enquiries are directed to

We look forward to receiving your Honours and GR project descriptions for 2018 soon. If you have any questions about how the Faculty research project database works please contact Katherine Greenberg (katherine.greenberg@monash.edu) or ph 85722595   or Vithya Premkumar (Vithya.premkumar@monash.edu)

Call for BMedSc(Hons) Projects for mid-year Indonesian students (deadline May 3, 2017)

The BMedSc (Hons) office is calling for a selection of projects for mid-year Indonesian medical students (July 2017- June 2018) (~ 10 students). 

Deadline to submit projects May 3rd, 2017: 12noon
Please submit projects to med-bmeds-hons@monash.edu

The University of Indonesia students are taught in English and will have finished their third year of medicine (they will not have commenced clinical years).

We aim for the Indonesian students and Monash supervisors to have agreed on a project before the student arrives in Australia (July 2017).

An Orientation program will be held in late July, 2017 (Ethics, EndNote, writing skills, literature search skills etc). Student attendance at the Orientation program is mandatory.

Supervisors are required to meet all costs associated with training the candidate.

Information on eligibility requirements, course structure and outline are at: http://www.monash.edu.au/pubs/handbooks/courses/M3701.html

For any information regarding the BMedSc(Hons) program for Indonesian students please contact:
Ms Cathy Nolan-Shaw at the BMedSc(Hons) Office 
or 
Dr. Megan Wallace, Director of Medical Student Research, 
Ph. 8572 2812 



Please complete project information HERE.

Green Talents: International Forum for High Potentials in Sustainable Development - APPLICATIONS NOW OPEN

The German Ministry for Education and Research invites applications for its Green Talents Award. The Forum was established in 2008 and honours 25 young researchers each year. It aims to build up an extensive, interdisciplinary network of experts from science and industry to work together on the key objectives of shaping the future, transforming global challenges into opportunities, and creating liveable and decent conditions for all.

Funding:
The 2017 Green Talents Award includes:
·         An invitation to the fully funded two-week Science-Forum 2017
·         A fully funded research stay of up to three months at an institution of the award-winner’s choice in 2018
·         Exclusive and unique access to the Green Talents alumni network.
For more information please visit the funder’s website: www.greentalents.de

Eligibility
The following eligibility criteria apply:
·         Enrolment in a Masters or PhD programme in any field related to sustainable development, or must have competed their degree (MA/PhD) with significantly above-average grades in a similar programme no more than three years before the end of the application process.
·         Excellent proven command of English
·         A non-German citizen or anyone not residing in Germany
Application Process
Applications are to be submitted directly to funder by the applicants through the Online Submission Tool

Pure Record Instructions
Applicants must create an Application Record in Pure and submit the record to the MRO Pre-approval workflow.
·              Select Funding Organisation: Federal Ministry of Education and Research, Germany
·              Select Funding OpportunityGreen Talents – International Forum for high Potentials in Sustainable Development
Please attach a draft application to the Pure record and submit to Pre-approval by 16 May 2017.


Key Dates 

Green Talents
Full application due to funder:
23 May 2017
Draft applications due via Pure for MRO review:
16 May 2017



For any further questions, please email the MRO <mro-arc@monash.edu>.

The Naked Presenter: How to speak without notes and wow your audience 4 May

Early Career Researcher Network Professional Development

Thursday 4 May, 9.30am - 4.30pm, 

Conference Room C110, Level 1, Building C, Caulfield


Presenter: Claire Smith
·  What kind of presenter are you?
·  Are you in control and communicating your message clearly and with passion?
·  Do you know what it takes to capture the imagination of your listeners?

Surprisingly few of us relish the opportunity to present our ideas to an audience. Most of us succumb to nerves and cling desperately to our script or PowerPoint presentation. Here's your opportunity to learn how to speak freely and confidently without notes. In this workshop, you will master a proven system for remembering and structuring any content for any length of time in a way that engages the whole audience. Get ready for the next level!

Register here.

Invitation to the Hargrave-Andrew Library Discover It Expo, 8 May

Uncover the answers
Whatever your field, the Library has a world of electronic resources for you to discover. We have what you need when and where you need it, with the most up-to-date resources for research and education.
Come to our DiscoverIt Expo and get to know the new and leading electronic resources in Science, Information Technology, Engineering, Medicine, and related disciplines. Experts will be on hand to provide advice on navigating these resources and making the most of their features and functionalities.
·  Explore ways to demonstrate your research impact using SciVal and Web of Science, and learn how to create a unique ORCID identifier.
·  Talk to experts about Figshare and copyright
·  Find new learning and teaching resources
·  Discover specialised databases for Medical and Health Research
·  View product demonstrations by Cortellis, Global Health, SciVal and more
Enjoy some barista coffee and go in the draw to win exciting prizes.
Date:     Monday 8 May 11am - 2pm
Venue:   Hargrave-Andrew Library, 13 College Walk, Clayton campus
Register here or visit the Discover It website to find out more.

Library information sessions for graduate students, 15-16 May

The library MNHS team has prepared a two-day series of seminars specifically designed for graduate students in the Faculty. The sessions will be held on 15-16 May at the Matheson Library.
The seminars address a range of advanced information research and communication skills, as well as skills relevant to developing research profile and output. 

Registrations: Online via the Library Booking system – use the search term ‘focus series’

Flyer with brief descriptions of the sessions is attached HERE

Take your data from 2D to 3D with Stereology, 4 May (registrations required by Tuesday 2nd May)

This Thursday at 11:00 am, the MHTP Histology Platform will be presenting a seminar on stereology to teach the basic principles of the technique. Everyone is welcome, but please register by Tuesday 2nd May if you would like to attend.  



MHTP Infectious and Inflammatory Diseases Theme seminar "Overview of the nucleic acids and innate immunity lab", 2 May

Tuesday 2 May, 12:00 - 1:00pm, Seminar Room 1, TRF Building

Dr Michael Gantier
ARC Future Fellow
Centre for Innate Immunity and Infectious Diseases

The central aim of Dr Michael Gantier’s research is to define how nucleic acids modulate immune responses, in both homeostatic conditions and following infection. After joining Professor Bryan Williams’ laboratory in 2006, Dr
Gantier set out to investigate how endogenous and foreign nucleic acids controlled innate immune responses. Building on technical expertise on small RNAs acquired during his PhD (University College Dublin, Ireland), he
established this research theme in the Williams laboratory, and more broadly in Australia.

In 2015, following the award of an ARC Future Fellowship and several NHMRC project grants, he was promoted to lead his own research group in the Hudson Institute of Medical Research. The group’s research has important implications for our basic understanding of inflammation and the translational use of nucleic acids therapeutics in the clinic.

Amongst his scientific achievements are publications in the highest-ranking science and medical research journals, including Nature Immunology, Cell Host Microbe, Nucleic Acids Research, PNAS, Journal of Virology, Journal of Immunology, among others.

Research Services showcase, 8 May

Attention Researchers, professional staff in Research Services and all interested staff in the Monash community:  We would like to invite you to the first Research Services showcase for 2017.

Since launching myResearch in July 2016, the team has been bedding down the new systems and processes and helping ensure that everything went smoothly for the major grant rounds.

We are now excited to show you the first set of improvements to Pure, some of them made in response to researcher requests, and the new features in the latest Pure upgrade.

The showcase will give you demonstrations of the new Highlighted Content CV, the updated Activities and Prizes section, how to enhance publication matches using the Scopus Author ID, a new affiliations feature that allows you to link your work to centres and institutes, a preview of the new Pure Portal, and more.


Please register for this event on Monday 8 May from 10am - 12pm on Clayton campus.

Hudson Seminar Series - Professor Elizabeth Hartland, Thurs 4th May 12-1pm

This week's Hudson Seminar will be held, Thursday 4th May 2017 at 12.00pm-1.00pm in Seminar rooms 1 & 2, Level 2, TRF Building.
The speaker will be Professor Elizabeth Hartland, Professor and Head of the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at the Doherty Institute, University of Melbourne.

She will be presenting "Cell death and bacterial diarrhoea"

A light lunch and refreshments will follow the presentation. 

CID Weekly Seminar Series: Invited Speaker - Tuesday 9 May - Dr Lisa Lindquist

Tuesday 9 May, 12:00 - 1:00pm, Seminar Room 1, TRF Building

Dr Lisa Lindquist, Senior Postdoctoral Fellow
Walter and Eliza Hal Institute, Division of Cell Signalling and Cell Death

Autophagy or “self-eating” is a vital catabolic process that recycles bulk cytoplasmic material but can also selectively degrade organelles such as mitochondria. While autophagy reduces autoimmune and inflammatory responses, aberrant autophagy is linked to cancer and neurological diseases. For the last 10 years there has been an enduring dogma that the pro-survival Bcl-2 family members inhibit autophagy by directly binding to the autophagy protein Beclin 1. However, Lisa’s work overturned this model by revealing that the pro-survival Bcl-2 family members absolutely require Bax and Bak, the effectors of intrinsic apoptosis, to regulate autophagy. She is currently investigating how these early stages of cell suicide initiate autophagy, which occurs independently of caspase activation and cell death. 

Lisa specialises at tackling questions at the interface of fields, such as between protein synthesis and apoptosis, and apoptosis and autophagy. Her research is largely focused on drug development for cancer therapy and characterizing the physiological effects of those inhibitors. She received her PhD from McGill University (Canada) and is currently a postdoctoral fellow in the Cell Signalling and Cell division.


Please contact andrea.johannessen@monash.edu to schedule a meeting with Lisa after the seminar.
A light lunch is served prior to the seminar at 11:45am in the seminar room foyer, level 2, TRF Building.


Further information, including the link to add the seminar series to your google calendar, is available from CID Weekly Seminar Series website [http://www.med.monash.edu.au/scs/medicine/cid/seminar-series.html]

Cell Signalling and its Therapeutic Implications: 2017 Focus on Inflammation, 17-19 May

The Conference will be held at RACV Cape Schank, 17th-19th May 2017

Register now HERE  
Submit your abstract HERE.  Short talks will be selected from submitted poster abstracts.


International Speakers:  


  • Derek Mann Newcastle UK 
  • Manolis Pasparakis Cologne Germany         
  • Jen Morton Glasgow UK

National Speakers: 

  • Andrew Cox    
  • Phil Darcy
  • Matthias Ernst
  • Mark Febbraio
  • Paul Hertzog
  • Fabienne Mackay
  • Ashley Mansell
  • Shaun McColl 
  • Sandra Nicholson
  • Meredith O’Keeffe
  • Belinda Parker
  • Mark Pelligrini
  • John Silke
  • Erica Sloan
  • Katryn Stacey
  • Joe Trapani
  • Colby Zaph
More information here:  csti.com.au



Support for parents

In response to preliminary findings from Athena SWAN, we are piloting new workshops to support Monash staff with caring responsibilities. This includes group coaching sessions for women before and after parental leave and a workshop for new fathers. 


** NEW ** Managing Transition to Parental Leave 
Date: Wednesday 10 May, 1pm – 3.30pm
Audience: Suited to expectant mothers
Cost: FREE

** NEW ** Managing Transition from Work to Parental Leave
Date: Wednesday 10 May, 9.30am-12pm
Audience: Suited to academic women who returned from parental leave in the past year
Cost: FREE

** NEW ** Supporting New Fathers in the Workplace 
Date: Tuesday 30 May, 10am-12pm
Audience: Suited professional and academic staff whose partner had a child in the past year
Cost: FREE

The Working Parent Resilience Program
Date: Tuesday 6 June, 9.30am-4.30pm
Suited to all staff who are parents or carers
Cost: $270 (If staff are unable to secure funding, please contact gender-equity@monash.edu and we'll cover the fee).


All programs can be found on the University’s Gender Equity website:  www.monash.edu/gender-equity/parents including the Expectant and New Parents Guide.

Comparison of safety and efficacy of image-guided enema reduction techniques for paediatric intussusception: A review of the literature

Michael Ditchfield et al. published in the Journal of Medical Imaging and Radiation Oncology.

Read article here.

Accuracy of the paracetamol-aminotransferase multiplication product to predict hepatotoxicity in modified-release paracetamol overdose

Anselm Wong, Andis Graudins et al. published in Clinical Toxicology.

Read article here.

The benefits of clinical facilitators on improving stroke care in acute hospitals: a new program for Australia

Tara Purvis et al. published in the Internal Medicine Journal.

Read article here.

Observational studies and the chicken and egg issue in stroke

Tara Purvis, Dominique Cadilhac published in Nature Reviews Neurology.

Read article here.

Management of mineral and bone disorders in renal transplant recipients

Matthew Damasiewicz, Peter Ebeling published in Nephrology.

Read article here.

Viewing immune regulation as it happens-in vivo imaging for investigation of regulatory T cell function

Michael Hickey, Zachary Chow published in Immunology and cell biology.

Read article here.

Treatments for Latrodectism-A Systematic Review on Their Clinical Effectiveness

Andis Graudins et al. published in Toxins.

Read article here.

Sleep: A window into autonomic control in children born preterm and growth restricted

Rosemary Horne et al. published in Sleep.

Read article here.

Towards evidence-based resuscitation of the newborn infant

Stuart Hooper et al. published in The Lancet.

Read article here.

The PULSAR Specialist Care protocol: a stepped-wedge cluster randomized control trial a training intervention for community mental health teams in recovery-oriented practice

Frances Shawyer et al. published in BMC Psychiatry.

Read article here.

The Rise Study; measuring the increase in exhaled carbon dioxide in spontaneously breathing infants at birth

Douglas Blank et al. published in the Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health.

Read article here.