Kindness Cup of Courage

Valuable discussions took place at the Department of Nutrition, Dietetics and Food's Voice Referendum afternoon tea on Wednesday 11 October.

The Department of Nutrition, Dietetics and Food kindly shared some resources: 

• The Uluru Statement from the Heart - where the call for a First Nations Voice originated in 2017. Only takes five minutes. 
• There is also a good list of Voice FAQs.
• The Voice website has resources: 
• Translated resources for languages other than English
• The Design Principles of the Voice
• The Voice Co-Design Process Report 2021 (proposed structures from a two year co-design process with First Nations Australians).
• Yes23 has a great little conversation guide. 
• AEC Disinformation Register: corrects incorrect statements about the referendum process 

Thank you to Amanda Hill and Julia McCartan for the information. 

School of Clinical Sciences Guess Who? End-of-Year Lunch

Guess what?  The moment you have been waiting for is here (umm...maybe only for some of us). It is time to clear your calendar and pencil in the date of our SCS End-of-Year party!  Our theme this year is "Guess Who?"  Come dressed as any famous iconic character (TV, movie, singer, celebrity, historical dude, etc) and let everyone guess who you are!  There will be prizes to be won for best dressed and best guess.  Peter Temple-Smith and Fabrizzio Horta from ObsGyn are (again!) signed up with their band to play live dance music. A two-course lunch will be provided with drinks to be purchased from the bar.  We hope you can join us in your best "Guess Who?" outfit and together with your SCS colleagues celebrate the end of the 2023 working year.

• Date: Monday 18 DECEMBER 2023
• Time: Noon - 3PM
• Venue: Beaumaris Motor Yacht Squadron ( Beach Rd opposite Cromer Rd, Beaumaris) Onsite parking available
• RSVP HERE. monash.edu login required. This event is for SCS paid staff and grad res students only

My Cousin Has That

There are around 100 autoimmune diseases – most people reading this newsletter know they are expensive, painful, and life-limiting.

The seven episodes of the podcast "My Cousin Has That" feature Associate Professor Joshua Ooi and Dr Julie Monk talking about treatments and cures for five common autoimmune diseases – Type 1 Diabetes, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Lupus, Multiple Sclerosis, and Sjögren's Syndrome.

Josh and Julie discuss coping mechanisms and lifestyle advice with lived experience community members, and meet clinicians and researchers working on curative therapies.

The podcast is available HERE and on all the big platforms.

Communicating Endometriosis Through Art

As an expert researcher on endometriosis, Dr Thomas Tapmeier, Senior Research Fellow and Group Head, was invited by the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany to attend the opening of the exhibition 'Communicating Endometriosis through Art: Artists Respond' at the Gender Institute in Canberra. 

Thomas’s invitation is indicative of Monash's national and international standing in endometriosis research. As many patients would agree, endometriosis research needs collaboration across areas such as academia, healthcare, government, and consumer communities.

On the photo are, from left to right:

• Prof Fiona Jenkins, Convenor, ANU Gender Institute,
• Ms Melissa Parker, Canberra Endometriosis Centre,
• Ms Kimberley Coulson, Science Officer (Health Portfolio), Embassy of France,
• Prof Russell Gruen, Dean, ANU College of Health and Medicine,
• Dr Susanne Ilschner, curator of the exhibition, artist and PhD student at the ANU,
• Mr François-Ronan Dubois, Attaché for Science and Higher Education, Embassy of France,
• Dr Thomas Tapmeier, Senior Research Fellow and Group Head, Monash University, SCS, Department
• of Obstetrics and Gynaecology,
• Ms Julia Kaute, First Secretary, Head of Science and Innovation, Embassy of the Federal Republic of
• Germany,
• Ms Marianne Murat, journalist for SBS French Service and author of the ‘Happy Endo’ podcast.

Photo courtesy: Neha Attre, ANU College of Arts and Social Sciences.

See some of the art HERE.

Platform Access Grants 2023

Congrats to the winners of Platform Access Grants 2023.  Please find the recipients' details below:

Dr Chunni Lu, Department of Medicine - Are stem cell-like memory T cells and self-reactive T cells the ‘container’ and the ‘contained’ in auto-immune Goodpasture disease?

Dr Jessica Biesiekierski, Department of Nutrition, Dietetics and Food - Two-eggs-a-day: Understanding the role of dietary egg intake on protein fermentation indices.

Dr Sarah A. Marshall, Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology - Metabolomic Profiling of the Placenta and Maternal Blood in Pregnancies Complicated by Obesity.

Dr Sandesh Panthi, Department of Psychiatry - Betacellulin: a cross-diagnostic biomarker of treatment-resistance in psychiatric disorders. 

José Agustín Cota-Coronado, Department of Psychiatry -  Understanding the molecular basis of schizophrenia using genetically modified human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs).

SCS staff receive Dean's Awards for Excellence

The Dean's Awards for Excellence were announced recently and SCS is delighted to report that eleven staff members have been recognised for their outstanding achievement within the Faculty.   

• Professor Katrina Williams, Department of Paediatrics - Excellence in Research: Engagement and Impact (Team)
• Professor Suzanne Miller, Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology - Excellence in Research: Postgraduate Research Supervision
• Danielle Busacca, SCS Graduate Research Programs Officer - Exceptional Performance by Professional Staff
• Dr Nicola Rivers, Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology - Excellence in Teaching: Outstanding Contribution to Student learning (ECR)
• Professor Helena Teede, Dr Wafa El-Adhami, Dr Belinda Garth, Dr Jenny Proimos, Dr Mariam Mousa, Ifeoluwa Adesina, Mihirika Pincha Baduge, Monash Centre for Health Research and Implementation - Excellence in Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (Team)

Find out more about SCS staff Dean's Awards for Excellence from the videos below:

Professor Katrina Williams	Professor Suzanne Miller
Danielle Busacca	Dr Nicola Rivers
MCHRI team

Please visit the Dean's Awards website for a full list of recipients in the faculty.