Welcome BMedSc(Hons) students 2017

2017 BMedSc(Hons) students at SCS

Welcome to our Bachelor of Medical Science Honours students for 2017.

This year we have a record 43 students who have chosen to complete their research at the School of Clinical Sciences at Monash Health (SCS).

Dr Michaela Finsterbusch wins Professor Jacques Miller's Choice Award at Day of Immunology image exhibition

Dr Michaela Finsterbusch is the recipient of the Professor Jacques Miller's Choice Award for her entry "Tree of life" at the Day of Immunology's Snapshot of the Immune System Image exhibition.

Michaela's image shows blood vessels that resemble a tree trunk with branches.

"The blood vessels circulate vital proteins and cells, such as immune cells throughout the body," said Michaela.  "During inflammation circulating immune cells can then exit the vasculature and migrate into the tissue specifically at sites of infection or injury to defend our body from disease-causing factors."

The blue dots are the immune cells that have migrated out of the blood vessels.

Michaela is a postdoctoral fellow in the Leukocyte Trafficking Group, School of Clinical Sciences at Monash Health.

PhD student Sivanjah Indumathy's image displayed at 'Day of Immunology' photography exhibition

Visualising macrophages in the adult mouse testis

Congratulations Sivanjah Indumathy, whose macrophage image was selected to be displayed at the inaugural Day of Immunology photography exhibition "Snapshots of the Immune System". 

In the second year of her PhD at the School of Clinical Sciences and Hudson Institute, Siv belongs to the Testis Development and Germ Cell Differentiation Group, Endocrinology and Immunophysiology Laboratory.  She is also a member of the International Research Training Group funded jointly by the German Research Foundation and Monash University.

Sivanjah Indumathy

Of her winning image, Siv said that macrophages are visualised in the adult mouse testis using a transgenic CX₃CR₁-GFP knockout mouse model. 

"Macrophages with a stellate/dendriform morphology are widely spaced along the outside of the tubule, while macrophages in clusters are found within the interstitial space of the testis," said Siv.

Can you help our clinical embryology students? Sperm donors urgently needed this week!!

It is that time of the year again that our clinical embryology students (40 of them) are doing important training in semen analysis and we need you (or your partners) to help us out!  

The practicals are held on Tuesday 12^th April, Wednesday  13^th April, Thurs 14^th April and Friday 15th April , so if you can help us with a sperm donation on any of those days that would be great. Some of you helped out last year, and if you can do so again that would be good, but new comers are welcome!   

Please email or ring Sally Catt (sally.catt@monash.edu or 0416821654 or wk  99024818 and she will deliver a coded pot (or 2) for you to take home, and will give more specific instructions then.  As we are on the 5th floor in the MMC, we can collect from TRF, MIMR/E block (your office, whatever).

For those on site, we do have access to an official semen collection room on the 3^rd floor E Block.  If using this facility, there is a secretary or nurse available, and she can hand out appropriate DVDs and magazines, if required (yes there’s a comfy sofa and a tv!). The pot can be left in the room or returned to our office. You just need to indicate to the staff there whether you have left it or not.
Rewards? You can, if you ask, get an unofficial verbal/brief written assessment of the sperm prep (but, if you would rather not know, that’s fine too). I will be handing out a chocolate or a bottle of beer as a thank you and a way of replenishing stocks! (sorry, we are not allowed to pay). 

Please note this request is sent on behalf of Dr.Sally Catt to assist in the training of our embryologists. We understand that this is an unusual request but please take the time to read and consider it, as you will be providing a valuable service in training people who greatly assist infertile couples.  We really appreciate your help.

Photo of the week - lights, camera, action!

SCS Senior Research Officer Patricia Bukczynska and Department of Medicine PhD student Louisa Yeung generously gave their time recently to help produce a video about translational research at Monash University.

CDH Australia contributing to vital research

(L-R) CDH researchers Dr Kelly Crossley,
Dr Ryan Hodges, Dr Philip DeKoninck
and Ms Margaret Polacska

Until the birth of her first child, Margaret Polacska had never heard of CDH Australia.

Like all expectant mothers, Margaret was looking forward to a healthy baby and starting life as a family.  Tragically, her baby boy Noah died in December 2007 from a fatal form of congenital diaphragmatic hernia.

Babies born with congenital diaphragmatic hernia, or CDH have a hole in the diaphragm that allows the stomach, intestines and liver to move up into the chest, stopping normal lung growth. Unfortunately many babies with CDH die at birth.

Margaret joined volunteer-run charity CDH Australia soon after her loss, where she made friends and found support to help her through her heartbreaking grief.

Her gratitude for CDH Australia was such that she began volunteering for the charity, and Margaret now serves as their President.

Like Margaret, Head of Perinatal Services at Monash Health Dr Ryan Hodges had never heard of CDH Australia until a chance hallway conversation with one of his research staff whose son was born with CDH.

Senior lecturer and researcher Dr Hodges is leading a novel research project at The Ritchie Centre, Hudson Institute, Monash University into CDH.

“CDH occurs in approximately 1 in 2,500 births and remains lethal or associated with serious morbidity in a large number of cases—the devastating consequences of inadequate lung growth and development,” said Dr Hodges.

“Despite modern neonatal care, 30-50% of babies born with CDH die postnatally and long-term morbidity is common, with survivors at risk for thriving problems, neurological, neurodevelopmental and chronic lung disease.”

In Dr Hodges’ research project, babies in the womb undergo keyhole surgery, placing a balloon in their airways, trapping lung-liquid and helping lung growth. 

The aim of Dr Hodges’ research project is to establish whether human amnion epithelial cells

(hAECs), a type of placental stem cell, when administered antenatally to fetuses with CDH, can restore lung growth by promoting tissue regeneration and repair in utero.

CDH Australia has recently donated $30,000 towards Dr Hodges’ research project.

“Our contribution to Dr Hodges’ pilot study is indicative of our strong support for his work and it is the first time CDH Australia has been able to donate to research,” said Margaret.

“Our donation was made possible by parents of children with CDH, who generously donated in honour and in memory of their child.”

“CDH Australia receives no government funding and we support hundreds of CDH parents and their extended families each year, relying on donations and the passion, gratitude and commitment of our volunteers,” added Margaret.  

Margaret said that CDH Australia families are very excited about the potential advancements in survival rates due to Dr Hodges' pilot study.

“The longer-term vision for our research is to develop the next major advance in the management of the very preterm infant,” said Dr Hodges.

“Ultimately, we hope that our work will lead to the future healthy survival of babies

who may have otherwise died or survived with disability from prenatal lung disease.”

Donations to CDH Australia can be made online at http://cdh.org.au/donate.

SCS Xmas party trivia extravaganza

Prof S's school for the gifted

The second annual SCS Christmas party trivia quiz lunch was an overwhelming success last Friday.

Photos of everyone in their best costumes can be viewed here.

SCS researcher wins Monash Micro Imaging competition

Michaela Finsterbusch's winning photo
in the 2015 MMI photo competition

Congratulations Dr Michaela Finsterbusch, winner of the Monash Micro Imaging (MMI) annual photo competition.

Not new to photography, Michaela was also a finalist in the 2014 MMI competition--her photograph was the feature for October in the 2015 MMI calendar.

Images must be taken on an MMI microscope and are judged on their artistic merit.

Michaela's winning photo shows a 3D reconstructed image of a mouse stomach, where immune cells (macrophages) in green are located along a network of collagen fibres in blue.

Michaela is a postdoctoral research fellow in the Leukocyte Trafficking Group, Centre for Inflammatory Diseases.

PhD student showcase symposium success

Professor Eric Morand and 2nd prize winner
Dr Moya Vandeleur

The inaugural PhD Student Showcase Symposium last Friday at MMC was an overwhelming success.

Chaired by our own students, ten outstanding PhD students from across various academic departments at SCS and Hudson Institute presented their research.

"The quality and diversity of laboratory and clinical research presented by these remarkable PhD students was frankly breathtaking," said Head, School of Clinical Sciences at Monash Health Professor Eric Morand, who opened the session together with Professor Bryan Williams.

First prize winner Natalie Bitto presenting
"Properties and transport of DNA carried
by bacterial  outer membrane vesicles"

"We know that the School of Clinical Sciences has the largest cohort of PhD students amongst Monash University's clinical schools and I am now more confident than ever that it is also the best."

First prize for best presentation was awarded to Natalie Bitto while Dr Moya Vandeleur received second prize.  The Students' Choice Award went to Lexie Prokopuk.

Professor Bryan Williams
presenting the Award to
Professor Rosemary Horne

Professor Rosemary Horne was given a special award in recognition of her exceptional and long service to the PhD program.

"I look forward to this symposium becoming a regular event on the academic calendar and representing an incredible forum for our diverse and talented staff and students to come together and share their research," added Professor Morand.

Looking for a Sunday drive in the country? Want to escape 2016 grant writing?

The (very) small community of Mollongghip (Happy Valley) is holding an Open Garden to raise funds for the restoration and maintenance of the local community hall. 5 gardens will be open from 10-4 on Sunday 29 November at the reasonable cost of $20 for all 5. There will be refreshments available at the hall where tickets can be purchased. Mollongghip is just over an hour away up the Western Highway towards Ballarat. 

So take a break from thinking about your 2016 NHMRC grants and come for a drive. Professor Rosemary Horne will supply champagne!!

See attached flyer for a description of the best garden and directions. 

Monash research giving hope to stroke patients

Dr Connie Wong

Stroke is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide but current treatments do not address a key issue in stroke patients—infections.

For the first time, researchers at Monash University are examining how stroke affects the immune system, resulting in significantly increased risk of infection.

Dr Connie Wong from the Monash Centre for Inflammatory Diseases in the School of Clinical Sciences at Monash Health (SCS) believes the susceptibility to infection of stroke patients can be prevented or treated with selective drugs that modulate the immune system.

“Up to now, the development of novel pharmacological approaches to treat stroke patients has focused on overcoming the disruption of blood flow to the brain,” said Dr Wong.

“However, emerging evidence indicates that the major cause of death after stroke is actually bacterial infection.”

“It is now recognised that brain injury caused by stroke disrupts the delicately balanced interconnections between the nervous and immune systems, resulting in suppression of the immune system and profound susceptibility to infection.”

Dr Wong’s research aims to discover the mechanisms that underlie this immune impairment and identify strategies to strengthen the host antibacterial defence to limit infections after stroke.

“We hope to identify a completely novel pharmacological approach for reducing bacterial infection in stroke patients that is not reliant on antibiotics, thus bypassing the growing problem of antibiotic resistance,” added Dr Wong.

Dr Wong is the recipient of a Career Development Fellowship and Project Grant in the latest round of National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) funding announcements.

“Thanks to this funding, my research will enable us to develop better and targeted treatment regimens for stroke patients, ultimately improving patient outcomes,” added Dr Wong.

Monash Intensivist honoured through University Fellowship

Assoc Prof Parkin

Monash University alumnus and Honorary Intensivist at Monash Health Associate Professor Geoffrey Parkin was honoured as an exceptional leader through a University Fellowship last week.

The award of Fellowship by the University recognizes distinguished service or achievement in the arts, sciences, professions or civil society for the benefit of the community. This award recognized a long and distinguished career as clinician, teacher and researcher in Intensive Care Medicine.

Undoubtedly the top career highlight has been “working for forty years with the best nurses and doctors you could find” Dr Parkin said.

“Critical illness sometimes puts patients, relatives and staff under stress. With knowledge, compassion and teamwork comes therapeutic success. Care is enormously rewarding and we have had much joy.  The award of a Monash Fellowship is essentially a shared acknowledgement of all those contributors.”

Photo of the week

Click on the image, for an enlarged version

Tour through the new TRF

The newly completed bridge link
connecting the TRF to MMC.

Join one of the weekly tours through the newly completed Translational Research Facility, every Friday.

Weekly tours will depart from outside Lecture Theatre 1 at Monash Medical Centre. Tours depart 10:05am sharp every Friday and are one hour in duration. Bookings are not necessary, just show up by 10am.

Tours will be guided by either Steve Bouralexis or Eddie Law or both depending on numbers and will showcase the design elements, occupancy and purpose behind the TRF.

For more information, contact Steve Bouralexis, MHTP Operations and Facilities Manager on 9594 4325.

Rickshaw run - 2500km across India for Monash Children’s Hospital

The mighty Rickshaw, with a top speed of 55km/h (downhill)

Although the “Rickshaw Run” has been described as the least sensible thing to do with two weeks, six Monash medical students couldn’t think of anything better than driving a glorified lawn mower across India to raise money and awareness for charity.

In two teams, students from the School of Clinical Sciences at Monash Health (SCS) will set off on 1 January 2016 from Cochin in the south of India and travel 2500km to Jaisalmer in the north on the adventure of a lifetime.

The team: Emma, Daniel, Ryan, Ali, Annie and James

"We aim to raise $4000 for Monash Children's Hospital and the Rickshaw Run's official charity, CoolEarth," said team member and Year 3 MBBS student Ali Groves.

"Monash Children’s Hospital is a charity we are all incredibly passionate about, as we have seen the wonderful work of the staff at Monash Medical Centre and also the obvious need for the upgrade of resources which will come with the opening of the new hospital in 2017."

Ali with one of the tiny
Monash Children’s Hospital patients

For more information and to follow the teams' adventure, ‘like’ them on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/rickshaw2016.  

To donate, go to http://ow.ly/TEtmm.           

All donations are greatly appreciated. 

New text book addressing clinical problems in surgery

Hot off the press, the most up to date problem-based text book addressing clinical problems in surgery is now available.

All editors and most of the contributors of the third edition of Hunt and Marshall's Clinical Problems in Surgery are staff in the School of Clinical Sciences at Monash Health (SCS), including Head, Department of Surgery, Professor Julian Smith.

"While this text is directed at medical students, it is also very useful for junior doctors," said Professor Smith.

"Rather than a systems-based text book about surgery, Hunt and Marshall's Clinical Problems in Surgery takes a problem-oriented approach."

For the first time, this edition is also available as an ebook.

Hunt and Marshall's Clinical Problems in General Surgery was first published in 1991.  Both Phillip Hunt and Vernon Marshall were senior members of the Department of Surgery at Monash University.   Sadly, Phillip Hunt passed away a few years ago.  Vernon Marshall is still active through the Australian Medical Council in the education of international medical graduates.

SCS medical student’s research provides insight into infectious disease

4th year MBBS student Greta Gurry

A history of chicken pox is very likely to predict immunity to varicella zoster, according to latest research from Monash University.

Published last week in the high impact journal AIDS, the research study was led by School of Clinical Sciences at Monash Health (SCS) medical student Greta Gurry.

The findings from this study suggest that blood testing for varicella serology (chicken pox or shingles) in HIV patients with a history of these diseases is not necessary as these patients already have protective antibodies.

“While this correlation has previously been demonstrated in healthy populations, Greta’s study is the first to show this in an immunocompromised cohort,” said Dr Ian Woolley, Deputy Director Infectious Diseases and Director HIV Medicine at Monash Medical Centre.

“As well as avoiding unnecessary blood tests, this study provides us with the evidence that we don’t need to expose people with weakened immune systems to the chicken pox vaccine.”

Because the chicken pox vaccine is a live vaccine, there are risks associated with administering it to HIV patients.

A fourth year medical student, Greta undertook a Bachelor of Medical Science (BMedSc) in 2014 with Monash Infectious Diseases under the supervision of Infectious Diseases Physician and SCS Clinical Dean Dr Claire Dendle and Dr Ian Woolley, and has already achieved two publications in prestigious journals.

“The results of Greta’s thesis—whether evidence of latent infections common in resource-poor countries was present in a cohort of patients living with HIV—were published in the Medical Journal of Australia in March this year,” said Dr Dendle.

 “Greta also showed that systematic screening in our population for schistosomiasis and strongyloidiasis was justified and should be included in Australian guidelines as it is in European guidelines,” added Dr Woolley.

In addition to her publications, Greta was invited to speak at the Australasian Society for Infectious Diseases 2015 Annual Scientific Meeting in Auckland.

“This a terrific demonstration of our BMedSc students making a meaningful contribution to clinical science as well as learning how to undertake research and finding out whether it could be part of their future career.” said Dr Dendle.

“Undertaking a BMedSc at SCS was a fantastic experience and one that I highly recommend,” said Greta.

“A BMedSc is an excellent opportunity to learn skills in research without the added pressure of working or studying concurrently, allowing you to take the time to comprehend numerous aspects of research.”

“The support I received from my supervisors Dr Ian Woolley and Dr Claire Dendle, along with the entire ID department, allowed me to expand my knowledge in this area as well as enjoy my year immensely!” 

Year 3 MBBS Surgical Olympics

Surgical Olympics Team Loebectomy

School of Clinical Sciences at Monash Health students displayed their abundant creative talents at the second annual MBBS Surgical Olympics earlier this month.

The competition showcased the best of medical student flair and artistic creativity nurtured by Monash Health’s finest surgical team members.  

Students from Monash Medical Centre, Dandenong Hospital and Casey participated in a morning of activities delivered by MC Mr Mark Cullinan and Judge Mr Paul Cashin.

Overall winner on the day was team Loebectomy, mentored by Mr Liang Low, who only just pipped Miss Kaye Bowers group, The Bower Puff Girls, at the last stage of the games.  

Mr Roger Berry’s team, House of Scaples, shone in an inspired parody of House of Cards, with Roger ‘Kevin Spacey’ Berry delivering one of his finest performances.  

Other winners on the day were Audrey Choy from DDH for her master class in suturing and best team name to Casey’s team, Suren-der or die (led by Mr Suren Jayaweera).

Thanks  to all the students and surgeons who attended this event, and bring on the 2016 challenge!

RU OK Day at SCS

"R U OK?" is an instantly recognisable conversation starter, a segue into taboo-busting chats about mental health, and a way of indicating to colleagues, friends and family that you care about them.

This year SCS marked the day with a combined staff and medical student morning tea between Wednesday lectures in LT1.   

Part of the event was a bake-off by the students, with a prize for the best item.  Students rose to the challenge, providing a delicious selection of cakes and sweets (congratulations to Amy Liu and Anna Hoy for their winning sweet creations).

Professor David Clarke spoke to the students about RUOK? day and the importance of maintaining good mental health throughout training.  Dr Claire Dendle reported some early findings from data gathered in two consecutive student-focussed surveys on work stressors, and Rock Lee, Healthwise gym’s dynamo told his own story of landing in Australia from China, and the role exercise played in his life during a stressful adjustment.

Thank you to everyone who brought in food for the event, and a big thanks to everyone who attended and marked the day. 

Head of Haematology Research starts at MHTP

Associate Professor Jake Shortt

Monash University and Monash Health are excited to announce renowned haematologist Associate Professor Jake Shortt will lead haematology research in a newly created role at the Monash Health Translation Precinct (MHTP).

  

Associate Professor Shortt is clinical lead for leukemia and myelodysplasia at Monash Health and principle investigator on a number of leukemia and bone marrow disorder studies within the clinical trials unit.

“My scientific research focuses largely on lymphoma, leukaemia and myeloma and with our increased understanding of what drives these diseases at a molecular level, we can now rationally target the survival pathways and abnormal genetic programs operating within cancer cells,” said Associate Professor Shortt.

Most recently, Associate Professor Shortt’s research has involved combining drugs that work on epigenetic pathways with immune-modulators.

“If the DNA of a cell is its hardware, epigenetic pathways constitute the software, and software is re-programmable with drugs,” he explained.

“Epigenetic drugs can change or kill cells in such a way that they become more visible to the immune system and therefore you can prime a patient’s tumour and immune system concurrently to gain major therapeutic responses.”

“It is no exaggeration to say we have seen miraculous responses in the clinic at Monash, using approaches gleaned from our laboratory-based research.”

Until recently a Senior Research Fellow at Peter Mac, Associate Professor Shortt has relocated to MHTP to be at the ‘coal face’ of translational research, allowing him to conduct basic scientific research in tandem with clinical trial activity.

“It is a very exciting time in haematology and cancer biology at the moment,” said Associate Professor Shortt.

“We are seeing a revolution in our understanding of tumour biology at the genomic and epigenetic level.  Concurrently there has been a paradigm shift in the therapeutic application of immuno-oncology.”

In his new role at MHTP, Associate Professor Shortt plans to further develop his pre-clinical and translational research rationally, applying targeted therapies within appropriate genomic and epigenetic contexts.

“This new role will better allow me to link these concepts with clinical trial activity and from a broader perspective I would like to develop Haemato-Oncology at Monash into an internationally competitive program, building the academic reputation of both the Haematology department and Haematology research at the School of Clinical Sciences.”

“The major advantage Monash Health and the MHTP has over other cancer hospitals is its proximity to patients, and I feel I am taking my science to where the patients are, in an area of real growth and potential.”

“I’m really excited about the prospects at Monash—being embedded in a state-of-the-art facility with a really positive and progressive group of clinician scientists is a recipe for success,” added Associate Professor Shortt.

“We have an unprecedented opportunity to stake a claim in the future of haematology and cancer medicine in Victoria.”