Watch William Berry talk about the potential of personalised medicine to treat pancreatic cancer.
Monday, 17 October 2016
Monash doctors use simulation to teach obstetric and neonatal emergency management skills in rural India
 |
| Dr Kumar (right) with local doctors, nurses and midwives |
Monash
doctors recently visited rural India, where they upskilled local health workers
to help prevent deaths associated with difficult births.
Monash
Health obstetrician Dr Arunaz Kumar and neonatologist Dr Atul Malhotra—who are
also Monash University senior lecturers—piloted the combined maternal and
neonatal simulation workshops in rural Punjab last month.
“Complications
associated with difficult obstetric and neonatal situations can be prevented in
rural India,” said Dr Kumar, who has extensive experience in leading interprofessional
simulation workshops both at Monash University and Monash Health.
 |
| Dr Malhotra (left) with local doctors, nurses and midwives |
“We used low
technology simulation equipment to educate community health workers, doctors
and nurses.”
The workshop
covered common child birth emergency scenarios including obstructed labour, postpartum
haemorrhage and perinatal asphyxia.
“Postpartum
haemorrhage and perinatal asphyxia are the leading causes of maternal and
neonatal mortality in the developing world,” said Dr Malhotra.
Drs Kumar
and Malhotra conducted three workshops over two days with the help of local
medical leaders and regional collaborator Assistant Professor Tarundeep Singh
from the School of Public Health, Post Graduate Institute of Medical Research,
Chandigarh.
Dr Malhotra
said around 70 participants attended the workshops, involving hands-on skills
training with the help of manikins.
“The
workshops incorporated discussion of various scenarios, and local resources and
knowledge was factored into patient management,” said Dr Malhotra.
“The staff
had never been exposed to simulation training before and loved the experience
of being able to practise child birth and neonatal resuscitation in a safe
environment.”
The pilot
work was supported by a grant from the Royal Australasian College of
Physicians. The team hopes to continue this training regularly and is seeking local
and international public and philanthropic funding to sustain the initiative.
Monash research team gives hope to patients with spinal factures
 |
| Alexander Rodriguez and Dr Jasna Aleksova at the ASBMR annual scientific meeting |
Monash researchers made significant contributions towards
improving pain management associated with spinal fractures at the American
Society for Bone and Mineral Research (ASBMR) annual scientific meeting last
month in Atlanta.
Chair of Medicine at Monash Health and Head, Department of
Medicine at Monash University Professor Peter Ebeling led the ASBMR Taskforce
reporting on vertebral augmentation and was joined by his PhD students Dr Jasna
Aleksova and Mr Alexander Rodriguez at the Georgia World Congress Centre in
Atlanta.
“1.5 million vertebral compression fractures (fracture in
the spine) occur every year in the USA and there is a similar high prevalence
in Australia,” said Alexander.
“Current therapies are inadequate as they only treat the
pain rather than the
underlying fracture causing the pain.”
underlying fracture causing the pain.”
Alexander said their research showed that kyphoplasty (a
type of surgery that restores cracked vertebrae in the spine by inflating a
balloon and then injecting cement into the vertebral body) is effective at
relieving pain and disability compared to standard therapy of pain medications
and physical therapy. However,
kyphoplasty was not more effective than other types of surgical interventions
for painful vertebral fractures.
“These findings are significant because clinicians will now
have an evidence base in which to discuss treatment options with their patients,”
said Alexander.
The research team’s findings form part of the ASBMR
Taskforce on Vertebral Augmentation, which is being compiled as the Society’s clinical
guideline for clinicians and patients.
First year PhD student and Monash Health endocrinologist, Dr
Aleksova, was selected from a highly competitive international cohort of researchers
to attend the Endocrine Fellows Forum on Metabolic Bone Disorders prior to the ASBMR
annual scientific meeting.
“Participating at the conference was an incredible
opportunity to learn from international experts as well as meet and discuss
research ideas and aspirations on an individual level,” said Dr Aleksova.
Fellow member of the ASBMR Taskforce and PhD student
Alexander has co-authored a meta-analysis on outcomes of kyphoplasty to treat
back pain from compression fractures in the spine. His study formed the bulk of
the Taskforce report on kyphoplasty presented at the meeting.
“I’m very proud of both Jasna and Alex,” said Professor
Ebeling.
“They both acquitted themselves with great professionalism
and were not daunted by the size of the ASBMR meeting and rose to new
challenges—they both have bright futures ahead in clinical practice and
research, with growing international networks.”
CID weekly seminar, Tues 18 Oct
 |
| Dr Alhomrani |
A light lunch is served prior to the seminar at 11:45am in the seminar room foyer, level 2, TRF Building.
Defining the interactions between amnion epithelial
cells, stellate cells, macrophages and liver progenitor cells during liver
injury
Dr Majid Alhomrani
Postgraduate
student, Centre for Inflammatory Diseases
Scientist, Monash
University
Mr Majid Alhomrani
is a scientist at Monash University where he is currently in his second year of
PhD. He is a lecturer in the department of internal medicine at the faculty of
medicine, Taif University, Saudi Arabia. Mr. Alhomrani received his Master
degree in Laboratory Medicine from RMIT University, Australia. Mr. Alhomrani completed
his Bachelor degree in Laboratory Medicine at the faculty of Medicine, King
Saud University, Saudi Arabia. Mr. Alhomrani research focuses on investigating
the potential of human amnion epithelial cell based therapies in liver
fibrosis.
Can immunological biomarkers predict infection in
kidney transplant recipients?
Dr Claire Dendle
Postgraduate
student, Centre for Inflammatory Diseases
Physician,
Infectious Diseases, Monash Health
Director,
Immunocompromised Patient Service
Dr
Claire Dendle is an Infectious Diseases physician and the Director of the
Immunocompromised Patient Service at Monash Health. Claires’ research interests
include vaccination, as well as the use of immunological biomarkers to
determine the net state of immunocompromise in transplantation. Claire is
interested and involved in undergraduate education at Monash University, with a
particular focus on the design and implementation of the Infectious Diseases
Curriculum.
The CiiiD Tuesday Meeting is
held directly after at 1:00pm. Madelynne White, Karyssa
Arendt and Darren Tran (students) will
be presenting on Tuesday 11 October.
Grand Round Presentation -MonashHeart - 19 Oct 2016
Unit:
MonashHeart
Presenters:
Professor Ian Meredith
Topic: "Digital Platform
& Device Innovation on Cardiovascular Care to 2030"
Date:
Wednesday 19 October 2016
Time: 12.30pm to 1.30pm
Venue: Main Lecture
Theatre, Monash Medical Centre, Clayton.
“Role of histone variant H3.3 in telomere maintenance and tumorigenesis." Thursday 20 Oct
Hudson Seminar -Thursday 20 Oct
12-1 pm, Lecture Theatre 1, Monash Medical Centre.
Our speaker will be A/Prof Lee Wong, Cancer Program Biomedicine Discovery Institute (BDI)Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Monash University, Australia.
Light refreshments to follow
presentation outside the Lecture Theatre.
A/Prof Wong is a group leader at Monash University, Australia. Her long-standing research interest is to identify new chromatin factors that control chromosome stability and genetic transmission. In particular, her team aims to uncover basic epigenetic mechanisms that regulate centromere and telomere function. Recent studies have identified the frequent mutations of histone variant H3.3 and its chaperone ATRX in human cancers, especially, in telomerase null cancer that use an ALT (Alternative Lengthening of telomeres) for telomere elongation. Their current projects aim to define the function of histone variant H3.3 and ATRX in controlling transcription silencing at the telomeres and in the global genome. They also investigate genome-wide epigenetic defects associated with H3.3 mutations and the loss of ATRX function in human cancers.
BMS Honours students final seminar, 20 October - ALL staff encouraged to attend
 |
| BMS Hons student Kathryn Kumar |
The School of Clinical Sciences / Hudson Institute Bachelor of Biomedical Science Honours
students will be presenting their final seminar on Thursday, October 20 from 9am in the Hudson Level 3 Board Rooms.
This seminar will be followed by the BMS Hons mid-year intake students Seminar 1 at 3.15 pm.
All staff and students are asked to attend at least part of either seminar during the day to support our Honours students, and to assist in assessing their presentations.
Students are
required to give a 20 minute presentation with 5 minutes question time.
Assessment
sheets will be available on the day. The program is
below:
Strategic Researcher Sessions & Turbo charge your publications, 28 Oct and 14 Nov
We are delighted to have Dr Maria Gardiner
(Thinkwell) present the highly sought after Strategic Researcher sessions
and Turbocharge your Publications workshops at the Hudson Institute.
Dr Maria Gardiner BA (Hons) MPsych
(Clinical) PhD is a leading coach, psychologist and researcher. She has worked
with many of Australia's academic and medical leaders over the last fifteen
years. She particularly specialises in the psychology of high performance and
works with leading research groups at universities around Australia.
The Strategic Researcher
workshop Fri 28 Oct & Mon 14 Nov (2 sessions: Staff only – 35 max)
will look at:
·
managing your time in a busy research
environment
·
publishing strategically
·
using the team (or others) to increase
publication productivity
·
keeping track of publications to
increase motivation and accountability
·
managing your publication “resources”
for maximum output
·
attributes of a successful (and highly
productive) research leader/team
3rd session Turbocharge
Your Publications Mon 14 Nov (Staff & PhD Students – unlimited no’s)
This
workshop will help you to understand:
·
why it can be hard to get started
·
how we deliberately use distractions to
slow down writing
·
the principles of quick starting
·
why snack writing is generally more
productive than binge writing
·
how to deal with the internal committee
that slows down writing
·
how to set achievable goals by writing
in a silo
·
how to double (or more) the number of
actual words you produce
·
how to clarify your thinking and improve
the quality of your work
Limited
places are available so please see below link to reserve your places:
Friday 28
October Strategic Researcher Session 1 (9am-12pm) Staff Only
Monday 14
November Strategic Researcher Session 2 (9am-12pm) Staff Only
Monday 14
November Turbocharge your publications (1pm-4pm) Staff& PhD Students
Women in Health Research Leadership forum, 15 November
We
invite you to attend a forum next month focused on realities, challenges and
opportunities for women with careers in health and medical research, with a
particular focus on early career stages. This session is brought to you by the
Monash Postgraduate Association in partnership with Monash Partners Academic
Health Sciences Centre and AMREP Early Mid-Career Researcher Committee.
Tuesday 15th November
9:00 breakfast, 9:30-11:00am seminarAMREP Education Centre Lecture Theatre
89 Commercial Rd, Melbourne
The seminar includes an introduction by Monash FMNHS Dean, Christina Mitchell, a presentation by Prof. Helena Teede, Executive Director Monash Partners Academic Health Sciences Centre, and a Q&A panel of Monash Partners research leaders including:
- · Prof. Flavia Cicuttini (Monash Uni/Alfred Health)
- · Prof. Rachelle Buchbinder (Cabrini/Monash Uni)
- · Assoc Prof. Dianna Magliano (Baker IDI/Monash Uni)
- · Prof. John Catford (Epworth/VicHealth)
- · Prof. Sophia Zoungas (Monash Health/Monash Uni)
Invitation: "Write Yourself to Success"
Women in Medicine and Science are invited to register for a pilot program "Write Yourself to
Success", starting in November 2016.
The program is designed to
help you further develop your writing skills and help you succeed in preparing
grant applications, papers and awards.
If you are planning to work on
a research grant, fellowship or award application in late 2016/early 2017, this
program aims to provide you with professional guidance and assist you in
developing your draft.
For more information and how
to register, please visit www.monash.edu/gender-equity/programs/grant-writing
Format
The program consists of three
half day sessions, held at Clayton campus between November 2016 and February
2017. To participate in this program, you need to commit to attending all three
sessions.
We will be running two
parallel groups:
Group 1
Session 1: 2 November,
9.30am-1pm
Session 2: 7 December,
9.30am - 1pm
Session 3: 1 February 2017,
9.30am-1pm
Group 2
Session 1: 4 November,
9.30am-1pm
Session 2: 9 December,
9.30am - 1pm
Session 3: 3 February
2017, 9.30am-1pm
Cost: free
We have only 15 places available in each group so register early.
If you have any questions,
please email gender-equity@monash.edu
or contact Dr Lucie Joschko, Senior Advisor, Policy & Staff Equity on (03)
9902 0246.
Healthy pursuit of research and medical practice
 |
| Professor Leech |
There is an interesting figure in the annual survey conducted by the Medical Deans Australia and New Zealand. A little more than 60 per cent of last year’s 2500 final-year medical students questioned expressed an interest in medical research. While the figure is slightly lower than in 2014, the overall five-year trend points to an increase in this specific area.
Increasingly,
medical students are taking on research projects. Some conduct clinical
research that flows from their studies. Some are first authors of high-impact
papers, while others are involved in clinical trials.
These
students are likely using their after-hours, summer vacations and those
rotations with friendlier hours to complete their projects.
The question
is why? One reason may be that they embrace research as a consequence of our
oversupply of medical graduates, and the concomitant need to make your resume
different from those vying for the same job.
It’s
probable that many new graduates with research experience under their belts
never conduct research again once their busy practices get going. Between 1997
and 2008 the Australian clinician medical labour force increased by 45 per
cent, while the non-clinician medical labour force, which includes clinical
academics, grew by only 14 per cent.
So there is
a clear disconnect between the 63 per cent of graduates who want to pursue
research compared with the actual number of doctors who continue in these areas
when further along in their careers.
In 2011,
MDANZ published a review of the clinical academic workforce — or clinicians who
also undertake regular research — recommending the development of an integrated
training pathway for clinical academics. Then last year the deans, with the
Royal Australasian College of Surgeons, published a paper in the Internal
Medicine Journal warning that “the ageing clinical academic workforce
in Australia and New Zealand is being outstripped by the growth and demand for
medical education. Unless steps are taken to train a sustainable clinical
academic workforce better, it may not be possible to maintain healthcare
standards or overcome the many healthcare challenges we face.”
Given that
it is these people who train the next generation of doctors and who contribute
significantly to the body of world-class, evidence-based research for which
Australia is globally recognised, then this drop-off in teachers and scientists
with medical training is concerning.
Research
enables medical students to understand evidence-based practice which, in turn,
leads to best clinical practice. Unless medical students understand research
methodology, and the strengths and weaknesses of clinical research, they will
never comprehend the significance and relevance of new standards of care and
change in clinical practice based on new studies.
So how do we
harness this growing pool of medical students who actively pursue research, for
whatever reason, and keep that expertise at least in part in the research
sector?
Recently
Monash University joined the growing band of medical schools offering MDs
rather than MBBS degrees.
Similar to
the US model, it will allow students who have a talent for or love of research
to pursue it as well as a career in medicine without having to disrupt their
clinical training careers following their graduation. These PhD programs will
have the added advantage of providing the necessary research training for
medical students to enter directly into hospital physician training programs
and establishing a new generation of clinician scientists for our fast-evolving
healthcare system.
We aren’t
the only medical school offering innovative ways to introduce research to our
future clinicians and to ensure they continue being involved in research
throughout their careers. Remember there are 1500 of last year’s medical
graduates who expressed an interest in research. What benefits would they bring
to our health system and academe if most of them committed to a lifetime of
both research and medicine?
Michelle
Leech is deputy dean of the Monash faculty of medicine, nursing and health
sciences.
Animal Research Ethics Update – October 2016
Contents:
1. Animal Ethics
Information Sessions
2. On-Line
Animal Ethics Applications – Ethics Review Manager, Infonetica
3. ROPES –
temporary access
4. 2016
Reporting
5. 2017 AEC
Meeting dates
6. MARP &
MMC AEC Meetings
7. Reminders
8. Updated –
NHMRC Non-Human Primate guidelines
9. Draft:
Improving the Welfare of Animals in Victoria 2016 – 2021
10. RMIT Animal
Ethics Seminar
11. Animal Ethics
Regulations, Guidelines, Codes, Training & Information
Available here:
Monash University - Rossjohn lab Post-doc job advertisement
Prof. Jamie Rossjohn FAA FLSW, ARC Australian Laureate
Fellow & Head, Infection
and Immunity Theme, Monash Biomedicine
Discovery Institute,
seeks talented T-cell
immunologists to join his research group under the auspices of the recently
awarded ARC Laureate
Fellowship. The selected candidates will pioneer
new areas of T-cell biology, in the context of lipid
and metabolite-mediated
immunity, at Monash University, Clayton campus.
The Rossjohn laboratory has provided profound
insight into T-cell biology, specifically defining the basis of key immune recognition
events by T-cells,
spanning peptide, lipid and metabolite immunity, both in the context of protective and aberrant immunity.
Many researchers within the laboratory have secured
National Fellowships, Grants and Awards.
For more details
on the research themes, fellowships awarded and publication
outputs see, http://research.med.monash.edu.au/rossjohn/
The applicants
should hold a PhD, have a proven track record in the field of T-cell immunology, and be sufficiently self-motivated
to pioneer new areas of Immunity. Candidates with a promising track record in the relevant areas and a proven publication record in international journals are encouraged to apply.
Appointment will be made at a level appropriate to the successful applicant’s qualifications, experience and in accordance with classification standards for each level.
Salary range: Level
A $81,486 - $87,471
Level B $92,074
- $109,339 or Level C $112,789 - $130,054
Duration: Position - up to 5 years.
Location: Clayton Campus
Closing date: 15 November 2016
Please direct
all enquires to Jennifer Huynh
(Jennifer.huynh@monash.edu) or
Jamie.Rossjohn (Jamie.Rossjohn@monash.edu)
IMPORTANT Deadlines for LP16 submission
As Monash University will shutdown from 22 December 2016, MRO will not be submitting LP16 proposals to the ARC after
5pm, Wednesday 21 December 2016.
The
internal MRO deadline for proposal feedback, eligibility and compliance is 30 November 2016.
If you intend to apply and have not yet started your proposal in RMS, please do so as soon as possible so that we are aware of your application. An Application Record will also need to be started in myResearch/Pure (for guidance please refer to: Creating an Application Record).
Key Dates:
LP 2016
|
MRO close date
|
MRO Proposal review
|
30
November 2016
|
ARC Submission
|
5pm,
21 December 2016
|
Treatment of Living Expenses for NHMRC overseas Early Career Fellowships (CJ Martin, Sidney Sax, Neil Hamilton Fairley, INSERM)
BackgroundThe NHMRC has provided an allowance within the above mentioned ECF awards to support the living expenses of Fellows whilst they are undertaking the overseas component of their award. The allowance was intended to be a
living away from home allowance (LAFHA); defined as “an allowance the employer pays to employees to compensate for additional expenses incurred and any disadvantages suffered because the employee's duties of employment require them to live away from their normal residence”.
Advice
As a consequence of changes to rules and/or interpretations by the Australian
Taxation Office, this allowance is classified as a fringe benefit for tax
purposes and the Administering Institution would need to pay the allowance in
full without withholding any PAYG (or equivalent) tax and instead would need
to include the allowance on their annual FBT return. Monash has received advice that the treatment of living expenses for ECFs with an overseas component should be subject to FBT, and be treated as such.
Impact
The treatment of the living allowance by Monash as FBT has a significant
impact upon the costs currently met by Departments to support the overseas
component of an ECF. For a salary based upon a 2016 Level A, Step 03
appointment, a Department is currently supporting an overseas Fellow
$43,570 pa on their overseas component. As a consequence of the allowance being treated as FBT, the level of support would essentially double to $86,860 pa on their overseas component.
Considerations
Supervisors, HoD and HoS should consider the level of support you wish to
provide to an intending overseas NHMRC Fellowship applicants based upon a
financial commitment of $86,860pa, as well as being mindful that only 30 % of
these overseas Fellows return to Monash.
ARC Industrial Transformation Research Hubs & Training Centres 2017 - Applications Open in RMS
Applications
for ARC Industrial
Transformation Research Hubs 2017 (IH17) and Industrial Transformation Training
Centres 2017 (IC17) are now open in RMS and close 5pm, Thursday 15 December 2016.
1. Please find attached the Funding Rules, Instructions to Applicants and the FAQs. These documents (and any updates) may also be downloaded from the ARC website: http://www.arc.gov.au/instructions-and-faqs
2. Please start your proposal in RMS as soon as possible so we know that you intend to apply. An Application Record will also need to be started in myResearch/Pure (for guidance please refer to: Creating an Application Record)
3. The MRO Research Development Team will assist with application
preparation. They can be contacted at mro.researchdevelopment@monash.edu. If you haven't already
informed the Team of your intention to apply, please do so ASAP.
4. Please direct any other questions that you have to the ARC Pre-award team at mro-arc@monash.edu
4. Please direct any other questions that you have to the ARC Pre-award team at mro-arc@monash.edu
IH17 & IC17
|
MRO close date
|
ARC close date
|
Funding Rules: 22 Sept 2016
|
||
Open in RMS: 11 October 2016
|
||
Proposal closing date
|
1 Dec 2016
|
5pm 15 Dec 2016
|
Request Not to Assess
|
24 Nov 2016
|
5pm 1 Dec 2016
|
Rejoinder Process
|
TBA
|
TBA
|
Announcement
|
May 2017
|
|
Antenatal pertussis vaccination: Are we implementing best evidence into practice?
Michelle Giles et al. published in the Australian & New Zealand Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology.Read article here.
Oligoantiemesis: A Premature Neologism for an Intervention Insufficiently Substantiated in the Emergency Setting
Robert Meek, Diana Egerton-Warburton et al. published in the Journal of Emergency Medicine.Read article here.
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