Meet our ECRs - Michaela Finsterbusch

Can you explain your research? And what results / outcomes do you hope to achieve in the long term?
I am working in Prof Michael Hickey’s group at the Centre for Inflammatory diseases. We study the involvement of different types of immune cells in glomerulonephritis (inflammation of glomeruli). Glomeruli are tufts of capillaries which carry blood within the kidneys for filtration. Immune cells (e.g. neutrophils) which incorrectly get activated during disease start to attack and damage tissue in the kidney, which can lead to leakage of blood into the urine and eventually kidney failure. We are using highly advanced microscopy techniques to visualise immune cells and analyse their behaviour in the live organ. Our major goal is to understand the mechanisms causing kidney inflammation in order to identify ways of blocking these injurious pathways.

When you were young, what did you want to be when you grew up?
Inspired by a series of natural history documentaries called “Universum” when I was a kid I always wanted to become a naturalist following wild animals and indigenous people in remote parts of the world to learn about their way of living.

What do you enjoy doing outside work?
I am a very sociable person and like to do things with my friends. I also enjoy being outdoors doing walks and hikes in the countryside or just having a picnic in the park.

Something your work colleagues probably don’t know about you?
I have a twin sister.

CID and Research Week Tues 17/3 to Thurs 19/3

Professor Stephen Holdsworth, Director of Research, Monash Health and Professor Richard Kitching, Director, Centre for Inflammatory Diseases strongly encourage SCS researchers to submit an abstract for Monash Health Research Week.

There is $500 prize money for the Best Clinical and the best Basic Poster in each Theme and the opportunity for these individuals to go into the Best Young Investigator Oral session. (Best Investigator prize $1500).

ECR Welcome to Monash, 11 March

Are you new to Monash?  Did you know that Monash has an ECR Network which is focused on your success?

11 March 2015, 3.00pm to 5.00pm  Register here.
Come and find out about what's expected of you as a researcher at Monash. Hear about the resources available to support you, including a range of targeted professional development activities. This is a chance to meet other newly arrived ECRs and the Vice-Provost (Graduate Education), Professor Zlatko Skrbis.

Strategic Career Management

Maximise your Motivation

• How motivated are you when you go to work every morning?
• What fuels your passion?
• Where are you heading in your research career?

26 March, 9.30am - 4.30pm

Register here.

Gain new perspectives on what really motivates you by exploring your personal needs, and by understanding what behavioural strategies you employ to meet those needs. Join this engaging workshop, find out what really motivates you and connect with that powerful sense of purpose that will propel you to success.

Goal Setting to Advance your Career

Goal Setting to Advance your Career 15 April, 9.30am - 11am  register here. Setting and achieving appropriate performance goals is critical to a successful career. This short interactive workshop will assist you to: Use the PDO system to effectively document and monitor achievements Understand how to achieve key research goals by reference to performance standards for: Publishing, Research Income, HDR Supervision Identify practical strategies to combat potential career obstacles; and Identify people who can support you and consider the best ways to communicate with them.

PhD Information: Enrolment in Translational Research PhD Program

New students that have enrolled in the PhD program as of 1^st January 2015 will need to complete the attached Course enrolment form to register participation in the Translational research coursework program.  Course enrolment forms must be signed by the student and their supervisor. 

The handbook has information about specific Translational research coursework units here.

Students enrolled in the Translational Research PhD Program will need to complete TRM6002: Translational Research, prior to confirmation.  It will be delivered twice annually, including once at MMC in Semester 2.

Note: Last day to enrol in Off-campus units for Semester 1 is this Friday 27 February.  On-campus units for Semester 1 can be added up until 13 March.Last day to add Off-campus Semester 2 units is 24 July 2015.

Contact Laisa Tigarea (laisa.tigarea@monash.edu), Student Services Officer at Central Clinical School, if you require further clarification about the Translational research program or your enrollment in the coursework units.

Welcome to 2015: Social Committee Bake-off

The SCS Social Committee would like to welcome our new staff and HDR/PhD students, and celebrate the start of the new year!

  

We're having a Bake-off competition with fabulous prizes to win! Bring your best Savoury or Sweet creation, or a hungry tummy.

When: 3:30pm on Thursday 19th March

Where: Medicine Seminar Room (Level 5, E Block, MMC)

Bakers free entry; Non-bakers entry fee $5. 

School of Clinical Sciences (SCS) welcomes our students

Year 3 MBBS student Ryan Forbes started his surgery  rotation 
last week (a quadruple bypass performed by Professor Smith)

The School of Clinical Sciences at Monash Health welcomes all new and returning students at the commencement of the 2015 academic year.

As the largest clinical school in the Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences, we are proud to make welcome:

• 546 MBBS students
• 23 new BMedSci Honours students
• 31 BMS/BSc Hons students
• 160 PhD and Masters students

Ryan and  Head of Surgery, Professor Julian Smith

Orientation information:

Student cohort	Session	Date	Time	Location
BMedSci Honours	Orientation and Welcome by Head of SCS	Thursday 5th March	11.00am - 12.00pm	Medicine Seminar Room, Level 5 Block E MMC
BMS/BSc Honours	Faculty orientation	This week (23-27 February)	See here for details.	Clayton campus
PhD	Orientation	Friday 10th April	10.00am - 12.30pm	Medicine Seminar Room, Level 5 Block E MMC

New Institute to improve health through development of medical technology

MIME Director, Professor Rosenfeld

A generous scholarship funded by Monash Health will help enable important biomedical research at a new and unique collaboration, the Monash Institute of Medical Engineering (MIME).

Established to forge stronger research partnerships between clinicians and engineering, IT, scientific and biomedical researchers, the collaborative translational research at MIME is specifically directed at improving human health.

The Monash Health Foundation has given $75,000 towards funding two PhD scholarships at MIME; with additional contributions by the School of Clinical Sciences at Monash Health and the Faculties of Engineering and IT at Monash University, a total of six MIME PhD scholarships will be available at the Monash Health Translation Precinct (MHTP).

This is an exciting opportunity for postgraduate students to embark on a cross-disciplinary PhD to develop new medical technology within a dynamic and supportive research environment, MIME Director and renowned neurosurgeon Professor Jeffrey V. Rosenfeld said.

"MIME is very appreciative of the support from the Monash Health Foundation and the School of Clinical Sciences at Monash Health to establish these scholarships," added Professor Rosenfeld.

Foundation grant awarded to further rheumatology research

Dr Jim Harris

Congratulations Dr Jim Harris who has received a competitive Rebecca L. Cooper Medical Research Foundation grant.

The Foundation Grant worth $22,000 will be used towards a new piece of equipment, a Direct Detect Spectrometer from Millipore.

The Rebecca L Cooper Medical Research Foundation directs funds towards high quality research and high quality researchers to support the direct costs of research, typically tangibles including laboratory equipment and consumables.

“We’re really pleased with the outcome as this is the first time we’ve applied for one of these grants,” said Chief Investigator Dr Harris.

Dr Sarah Jones and Professor Eric Morand are co-investigators on the grant proposal, "New Therapeutic Targets in Rheumatological Diseases".

“The new equipment will allow us to measure protein levels in biological samples, including clinical samples, serum, etc. much more quickly and efficiently than previously,” added Dr Harris.

The machine will be used in the laboratory’s study of rheumatological diseases, including lupus and rheumatoid arthritis.

MHTP Translational Research Facility nears completion

The exterior of the new MHTP-TRF

The MHTP Executive Group was recently taken on a tour of the impressive construction site of the new Translational Research Facility.

The group included Monash Health Chief Executive Shelly Park, Chief Operating Officer Siva Sivarajah, Monash University Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences Dean Professor Christina Mitchell, Director of MIMR-PHI Institute Professor Bryan Williams, and Director Monash
Partners Academic Health Science Centre Michael Wright.

With all exterior works nearly complete, construction of the new MHTP-TRF is approaching lock-up stage.

HEARING THE VOICE OF VULNERABLE CHILDREN - Winston S Rickards Memorial Oration 2015

Bernie Geary

You are invited to attend the sixth Winston S. Rickards Memorial Oration, to be delivered by Bernie Geary, Principal Commissioner, Commission for Children and Young People, Victoria. 

This will take place on Monday , 16^th March 2015 at 7.30pm in the Ella Latham Theatre, The Royal Children’s Hospital, Flemington Road, Parkville, Victoria.

Bernie’s address is titled “HEARING THE VOICE OF VULNERABLE CHILDREN”. He will speak about how the Commission for Children and Young People in Victoria, which celebrates its tenth year in 2015, goes about its major task of ensuring the safety and wellbeing of Victoria’s more vulnerable children.  RSVP: celia.godfrey@mcri.edu.au

2015 NHMRC TRIP Fellowships Round - NOW OPEN

The 2015 NHMRC Translating Research Into Practice (TRIP) Fellowships Round is now open. 

NHMRC TRIP Fellowships provide support for health care professionals (e.g medical specialists, general practitioners, public health practitioners, physiotherapists, nurses, midwives, radiologists, and other allied health providers), health care personnel (health service managers, hospital department leaders, clinical trial managers) health systems personnel, health researchers and health policy makers to translate evidence into health care and public health improvements.

The Fellowships provide for 0.5 of a full time equivalent position and ensure time for Fellows to develop the range of skills needed for leadership in research translation within their career. TRIP Fellowships are not designed to support applicants already established as health care leaders.

The MRO submission process and other important information for this scheme are available at: http://intranet.monash.edu.au/researchadmin/nhmrc/nhmrc-tripfellowships.html

All queries regarding this scheme should be directed to the Medical and Health Sciences Team at MRO (mhs@monash.edu).

2015 Leibniz-DAAD Research Fellowships

The DAAD is pleased to announce that the annual Leibniz-DAAD Research Fellowships are open for applications. 

The Leibniz-DAAD Research Fellowship programme is jointly carried out by the Leibniz Association (Wissenschaftsgemeinschaft Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz e.V.) and the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD). Leibniz-DAAD fellowships offer highly-qualified, international postdoctoral researchers, who have recently completed their doctoral studies, the opportunity to conduct research at a Leibniz Institute of their choice in Germany.

The deadline for applications is 16 March 2015.  Please see the attached document or the links below for further information.

NHMRC-ARC Dementia Research Development Fellowships

The Australian Research Council (ARC) in partnership with the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) will deliver the Australian Government’s $200 million ‘Boosting Dementia Research’ initiative.

Below is a joint message from the ARC, NHMRC and the NHMRC National Institute for Dementia Research. 

We are writing to you to provide further information about the joint NHMRC-ARC Dementia Research Development Fellowships to which we hope you are encouraging a broad group of talented, emerging researchers to apply.

The NHMRC National Institute for Dementia Research (NNIDR) has the brief from the Government to ‘change the game’ in dementia research in Australia. The intent of the new NNIDR joint dementia fellowships is to boost the workforce with the most flexible and ‘gettable’ human resource in the research workforce, namely ‘new’ researchers’, that is those awarded PhDs in the last four (4) years. This group are also more likely to stay in the field once they are embedded in teams.

Honours, Masters and PhD students - Student Society AGM and Free lunch!!!

It is that time of year again for the first student event of the year, the Annual General Meeting...

We would like to invite all Honours, Masters and PhD students to a free lunch and to nominate the new up and coming Student Society members.

The Annual General Meeting will be held in the MIMR Building, Level 3, boardroom, 12:30-13:30, on the 17^th March 2015.

With the New Year and a plethora of new students from both MIMR-PHI and SCS there is an exciting opportunity for new students to become an integral part of the Institute and leaders among the student community.

There are 4 office bearer positions to be filled; President, Vice President, Treasurer and Secretary (role description here) and a number of centre rep positions. So get to thinking and talking to your colleagues because we would like nominations emailed to the Student Society between now and the 17^th March 2015 (email to phiss@monashclubs.org).

This is a great opportunity to meet your peers and plan for future events. So bring your student ID, your opinion and an empty stomach.

MCHRI inservice PhD workshop

Want to add something stimulating to your job?
Consider additional study with options including a Masters or PhD, whilst you are working at Monash Health.   Workshop on 7 April at 4pm.

See flyer for details.

Monash Health Research Week, 17-19 March

Research Week is an exciting opportunity to acknowledge the achievements and showcase the ground breaking research being conducted at Monash Health and its organisational partners in the Monash Health Translation Precinct. 

Generous Prizes are being Awarded for the Poster competition and Best Young Basic and Clinical Researchers Competition.

Best Young Basic and Clinical Researchers Competition $1500 each.

Poster Presentations “Best in Theme” Poster awards 1^st Prize $500, 2^nd Prize $200.

For further information for Research Week and  for the Abstract/Poster Guidelines and Research Week Entry Form here.   Please note that that the closing date for Poster Abstracts is  Tuesday 3^rd March.   Please see flyer here.

Everyone is welcome to attend any or all of the events during this exciting week.  Registration is not required. 

Walk for Monash Children's Hospital - 1 March 2015

Help improve the lives of sick children - join us in a 5 or 10km walk at 9am on 1 March.

Register here!

World Health Summit 2015: Save the Date (Oct 11-13 in Berlin)

From October 11-13 (2015), more than 1,200 experts from over 80 countries will be meeting up for the seventh time to develop novel solutions to the world’s most pressing health challenges.

This year’s central topics are: • Climate Change and Health• Digital Health• Global Health Policy and Governance in the G7 and G20 Countries• Health in the Post-2015 Development Agenda• Healthy Aging and Prevention• Medical Education• Translational Science Registration for the World Health Summit will open on May 15 (2015). A special Early Bird Ticket will be available until July 31.    Preliminary program is here.