NHMRC funding success at the Monash Health Translation Precinct

Dr David Scott

Monash Health Translation Precinct (MHTP) researchers from the School of Clinical Sciences at Monash Health (SCS) and Hudson Institute of Medical Research have been successful in the latest round of NHMRC grants.

Endometrial Mesenchymal Stem/Stromal Cells Modulate the Macrophage Response to Implanted Polyamide/Gelatin Composite Mesh in Immunocompromised and Immunocompetent Mice

Caroline Gargett et al. published in Scientific Reports.

Bioengineering: the new approach for treating pelvic organ prolapse

Professor Gargett

Hudson Institute of Medical Research scientists are combining stem cells from the lining of a woman’s own uterus with nanobiomaterials (biodegradable materials engineered on the nanoscale) in a world-first approach to develop safer, more effective treatments for pelvic organ prolapse.

Professor Caroline Gargett, Head of the Endometrial Stem Cell Biology group that is leading the research, says the ultimate aim is to restore quality of life to women with pelvic organ prolapse, and to prevent the condition from occurring in younger women.

Pelvic organ prolapse (POP) is a lifelong, potentially debilitating condition, predominantly caused by the impact of childbirth. It affects an estimated one in four women, and around one in two women aged over 50.

Prof Gargett has found in preclinical studies that delivering adult stem cells from the highly regenerative womb lining to sites of injury promotes growth of new blood vessels and collagen to repair tissue. Her team is now translating these findings to POP, by developing a new treatment using a bio-construct made of microscopic fibres to deliver endometrial stem cells to areas of damage in the vaginal walls.

Endometrial stem/progenitor cells and their role in the pathogenesis of endometriosis

Caroline Gargett et al. published in Best Practice & Research Clinical Obstetrics & Gynaecology.

Read article here.

Transplantation of Whole Bone Marrow Indicates that Bone Marrow Very Small Embryonic-like Cells Do Not Contribute to Endometrial Lineages

Caroline Gargett et al. published in Stem Cells.

Read article here.

Endometrial organoids: in vitro models for endometrial research and personalised medicine

Caroline Gargett et al. published in Biology of Reproduction.

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In vivo survival of Human Endometrial Mesenchymal Stem Cells transplanted under the kidney capsule of immunocompromised mice

Caroline Gargett et al. published in Stem Cells and Development.

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Comparative restoration of acute liver failure by menstrual blood stem cells compared with bone marrow stem cells in mice model

Caroline Gargett et al. published in Cytotherapy.

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N-cadherin identifies human endometrial epithelial progenitor cells by in vitro stem cell assays

Caroline Gargett et al. published in Human Reproduction

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Bone Marrow Stem Cells do Not Contribute to Endometrial Cell Lineages in Chimeric Mouse Models

James Deane et al. published in Stem Cells.

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The Impact of Uterine Immaturity on Obstetrical Syndromes During Adolescence.

Caroline Gargett et al. published in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

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Ovine multiparity is associated with diminished vaginal muscularis, increased elastic fibres and vaginal wall weakness: implication for pelvic organ prolapse

Stuart Emmerson et al. published in Scientific Reports.

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Real-time measurement of the vaginal pressure profile using an optical-fiber-based instrumented speculum

Caroline Gargett et al. published in the Journal of Biomedical Optics.

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Vaginal wall weakness in parous ewes: a potential preclinical model of pelvic organ prolapse

Caroline Gargett et al. published in International Urogynecology Journal.

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Monash PhD student wins scientific communication award

Stuart Emmerson with
Associate Professor Gargett

Stuart Emmerson picked up his first science text book only five years ago. He’s come a long way since then, winning a competitive communication award for his scientific presentation at the Australasian Gynaecological Endoscopy & Surgery Pelvic Floor Symposium last month in Melbourne.

Amongst mostly clinical presentations, Stuart presented his research on pelvic organ prolapse (POP), a major clinical condition that affects approximately 25% of all women around the world.

“I presented my work on the effect of parity on the ovine vaginal wall, part of Associate Professor Caroline Gargett’s NHMRC funded project ‘Towards clinical translation of a cell based therapy for pelvic organ prolapse’,” said Stuart, a first year PhD student at The Ritchie Centre, Hudson Institute of Medical Research and Monash University.

“I correlated histological and biomechanical properties with clinical measures of vaginal wall weakness, which is evidence of prolapse vulnerability.”

Stuart’s study is a collaboration between The Ritchie Centre, CSIRO, and clinical collaborators and Monash Health urogynaecologists Associate Professor Anna Rosamilia and Dr Natharnia Young.

Associate Professor Gargett’s research group is developing stem cell based therapy that involves seeding endometrial mesenchymal stem cells onto a polyamide mesh that has been coated in gelatin.

“By implanting this cell/mesh construct into the vaginal walls, we hope to alleviate the herniation and rehabilitate tissue to strengthen it against POP in the future,” said Associate Professor Gargett.”

“I am delighted to have received an award for best free communication at a conference attended by fantastic minds in a difficult field,” said Stuart.

“This award confirms my belief not to fear making mistakes because you can always learn from them—and I’ve certainly made enough!”

Stuart said the recognition of his work is inspiration to never, ever give up.

Since receiving this award, Stuart has also won the best junior PhD Three Minute Thesis and Audience Choice Awards at the Ritchie Centre Three Minute Thesis competition.

Neonatal Uterine Bleeding as a Biomarker for Reproductive Disorders During Adolescence: a World-Wide Call for Systematic Registration by Nurse-Midwifes

Caroline Gargett et al. published in the Journal of Maternal-Fetal and Neonatal Medicine.

Read article here.

Fertile ground: human endometrial programming and lessons in health and disease

Caroline Gargett et al. published in Nature Reviews Endocrinology.

Read article here.

Endometrial mesenchymal stem cells as a cell based therapy for pelvic organ prolapse

Caroline Gargett et al. published in the World Journal of Stem Cells.

Read article here.

Identification and Characterization of Human Endometrial Mesenchymal Stem/Stromal Cells and Their Potential for Cellular Therapy

Caroline Gargett et al. published in Stem Cells Translational Medicine.

Read article here.

Tissue response to collagen containing polypropylene meshes in an ovine vaginal repair model

Caroline Gargett et al. published in Acta Biomaterialia.

Read article here.