Monday, 14 November 2016
Creating next generation medicines: new industry collaboration announced
 |
| Dr Claudia Nold |
At today’s launch of the Monash Biomedicine Discovery Institute (BDI), Monash University and the
Hudson Institute of Medical Research announced a new research collaboration
with the Swiss-based healthcare company Roche (F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd and
Hoffmann-La Roche Inc.) The collaboration aims to develop next
generation treatments for autoimmune diseases, focused on proteins targeting
novel molecular pathways.
The partnership will enable the multi-disciplinary
research team and Roche to work together to advance and translate existing and
new intellectual property into novel treatments.
The collaboration has
arisen from work performed by Marcel Nold and Claudia Nold from the Hudson
Institute and Monash University’s Department of Paediatrics and James Whisstock
and Andrew Ellisdon from the Monash Biomedicine Discovery
Institute. All four scientists are part of the Australian Research Council
Centre of Excellence in Advanced Molecular Imaging.
The research collaboration team will combine skills in
clinical immunology, cytokine research and drug development approaches to
translate their research outcomes into transformational treatments. The program
will further take advantage of new structural biology technology available at
Monash including nanocrystallisation robotics and the FEI Titan KRIOS. The
latter instrument is a multi-million dollar electron microscope that will be
used to guide the design of new biologic drugs.
Based on results from the research collaboration,
Roche has the option right to exclusively licence
the intellectual property for development and commercialisation of proteins
targeting novel molecular pathways in return for significant development and
commercial milestones payments and royalties on product sales.
“We are delighted to partner with a world leader in new
biologic development and commercialisation – this enhances and accelerates the
path to market of Monash-Hudson intellectual property,” says Dr Alastair Hick,
Director of Commercialisation at Monash Innovation, who brokered the deal on
behalf of Monash and Hudson.
Professor Bryan Williams, Hudson
Institute Director, said that many scientists dedicate their lives to pursuing
discoveries that improve and save lives.
“It is a medical research scientist’s
ultimate goal to see their laboratory work translated into patient treatments,
but it requires strong partnerships and funding like this to move research
beyond the laboratory,” said Professor Williams.
Professor John Carroll, Monash Biomedicine Discovery
Institute Director, said the partnership between all stakeholders is highly
aligned with the goals of the National Innovation and Science Agenda.
“Building collaborations with the best researchers,
clinicians and international industry partners will enable us to better solve
complex biomedical challenges and optimise the ability to translate research
outcomes into improved treatments, a major policy item for the current federal
government,” Professor Carroll said.
Further details:
Claudia
Nold is a National Heart
Foundation of Australia – Future Leader Fellow.
Monash clinician-researcher recognised for work on prostate cancer
 |
| Associate Professor Arun Azad |
Congratulations Associate Professor Arun Azad on his recent academic
promotion in the Department of Medicine, School of Clinical Sciences at Monash
Health, Monash University.
A Consultant Medical Oncologist at Monash Health, Associate Professor
Azad’s clinical and research work is focused on urological malignancies,
especially prostate cancer.
Associate Professor Azad completed his medical oncology training and a
PhD in Melbourne before embarking on a fellowship at the University of British
Columbia in Vancouver, where he led cutting-edge work investigating mechanisms of
therapeutic resistance and response in advanced prostate cancer patients
through genomic analysis of circulating cell-free DNA (cfDNA) at the British
Columbia Cancer Agency.
Since taking
up his position at the Monash Health Translation Precinct (MHTP) in 2015,
Associate Professor has been actively involved in clinical trials with novel drug treatments and
translational biomarker studies.
Associate Professor Azad’s clinical and research activities have
resulted in a strong academic record with
numerous high-impact publications and over $4.5M in competitive
funding.
Since returning from Canada, he has also taken a key
leadership role in the Australian uro-oncology community as Chair, Translational Research Committee of the ANZUP Clinical
Trials Group.
Associate Professor Azad said he is very pleased to receive this
promotion, which is a nice recognition for his clinical and academic endeavours
over recent years.
Working towards prevention of acute kidney injury in patients undergoing cardiac surgery
 |
| Michael Zhu |
Congratulations to School of
Clinical Sciences at Monash Health (SCS) student Michael Zhu, the recipient of
the Young Achiever's Award at the Annual Scientific Meeting of the Australian
and New Zealand Society of Cardiac and Thoracic Surgeons (ANZSCTS) in Cairns
last week for his research into acute kidney injury.
A Surgery BMedSc(Hons) student
in 2016, Michael’s research study may help prevent acute kidney injury in
patients undergoing cardiac surgery.
“Acute kidney injury (AKI) after
cardiac surgery is a common, yet difficult problem to tackle,” said Head of
Department of Surgery Professor Julian Smith, one of Michael’s supervisors.
“Michael’s research may allow
clinicians to detect the real-time risk of AKI intraoperatively, offering an
opportunity to predict AKI up to 1-2 days earlier than current methods of
diagnosis.”
The prospective study undertaken at
Monash Medical Centre and Monash University used a clinically translatable and minimally
invasive technique, involving a fibre optic oximetry probe deployed in the
urinary catheter, to evaluate the relationship between urinary oxygen tension (PO2)
and the development of AKI after cardiac surgery requiring cardiopulmonary
bypass (CPB).
“The data indicate that patients
who later developed AKI experienced significantly longer and more severe
periods of urinary hypoxia intraoperatively; with a median of 14 min per hour
of surgery in the AKI group, compared to just 30 seconds per hour of surgery in
the non-AKI group,” said Michael.
The promising study has shown that
real-time monitoring of risk of AKI during cardiac surgery is feasible and may
be prognostically useful. This may in-turn offer clinicians the opportunity to
intervene in the operating theatre to minimise the risk of AKI.
Michael said the next step will be
to investigate, in a large animal model, whether intraoperative interventions (e.g. during CPB) can result in
changes in renal and urinary oxygenation.
“This may translate to strategies
to reduce the risk of AKI in patients having open-heart surgery,” added
Michael.
Michael thanks his dedicated
supervisors, Professor Smith, Associate Professor Roger Evans and Associate
Professor Andrew Cochrane for their tremendous support throughout his Honours
year.
Monash project to improve Chinese Australians’ type 2 diabetes self-management
 |
| Tammie Choi |
Type 2 diabetes affects 80 per
cent of Chinese Australians aged over 60, significantly higher than the general
population, but many don’t access health management programs due to cultural reasons.
Monash dietitian researcher and
lead investigator, Ms Tammie Choi, said lifestyle
factors such as diet and exercise could reduce the disease’s impact on
individuals and the healthcare system, pointing to a need for a structured diabetes education
program for this group.
“Currently there is a lack of culturally appropriate
diabetes education for Chinese Australians to support them manage their blood
sugar levels.”
To address this, the pilot
project, ‘不再慌糖講座
Not Scared of Sugar’ will focus on Chinese Australians currently missing
out on structured diabetes education services.
Studies have shown that Chinese Australians don’t like the
translated diabetes care model and miss out on health professionals’ support
and care.
“They tend to rely on
unstructured and potentially misleading diabetes management information and
many of my Chinese patients expressed feeling lost and overwhelmed,” said Ms
Choi.
After being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes a few years ago,
a Hong Kong Melbourne couple attended translated consultations with a diabetes
educator and a dietitian.
“The individual consultations with professionals were good
but we’re not used to being at the centre of attention so we felt very
uncomfortable and didn’t return to the review appointments,” said Mr Lee.
Ms Choi said the Not Scared of Sugar pilot project
will enable Chinese Australians with diabetes to live well every day by
providing culturally-tailored diabetes education programs in a format that
matches their expectations while measuring its effectiveness.
“Through this study we hope to use the diabetes education
program as a forum to reconnect the affected Chinese people with health
services and support them better in their diabetes self-management.”
Chair of the ADEA
Diabetes Research Foundation Council, Professor Trisha Dunning, said the study would
lead to significant health benefits.
“This culturally
tailored Chinese diabetes education program has the potential to improve
clinical outcomes for participants and has implications for other populations
in Australia,” said Professor Dunning.
The ADEA Diabetes Research Foundation are funding three
universities in Australia and their partners to conduct research projects that
help Australians with diabetes to live well every day.
Watch a video about Tammie's project HERE.
Watch a video about Tammie's project HERE.
Ms Choi's project will be undertaken in partnership with Carrington Health, Box Hill.
CID Weekly Seminar: "Targeting HLA to Treat Anti-GBM Disease" Tuesday 15 November
Tuesday 15 November, 12:00 - 1:00pm, Seminar
Room 1, Level 2, TRF Building
Ms Megan Huynh, Postgraduate Student
Centre for Inflammatory
Diseases, Monash University
Associations between HLA and
autoimmune disease are often linked with an increased susceptibility to
disease. Such is the case in anti-glomerular basement membrane (GBM) disease, a
form of rapidly progressive glomerulonephritis strongly associated with the
HLA-DR15 allele. Though these associations are not well understood, they
provide ideal targets for specific therapy that may improve current, broadly
immunosuppressive treatments for autoimmune disease. Blocking the DR15 MHC with
a small molecule inhibitor in anti-GBM disease demonstrates the potential for
this type of therapy.
A light lunch is served prior to the seminar at 11:45am in the seminar room foyer, level 2, TRF Building.
Further information, including the link to add the seminar series to your google calendar, is available from CID Weekly Seminar Series website [http://www.med.monash.edu.au/scs/medicine/cid/seminar-series.html]
Grand Round Presentation-Rheumatology "Gout – new diagnosis and treatment options”, 16 November
Unit:
Rheumatology
Presenters: Dr Lynden Roberts and A/Prof John Troupis
Topic: "Gout – new
diagnosis and treatment options”
Date: Wednesday 16 November 2016
Time: 12.30pm to
1.30pm
Venue: Main Lecture
Theatre, Monash Medical Centre, Clayton.
"Immune modulation by bacterial pathogens" Friday 18 Nov
This week's Hudson
Seminar will be held from 18 November, 12-1 pm, Lecture Theatre 1, Monash Medical Centre.Our speaker will be Dr Maria Liaskos, Laboratory Head, Centre for Innate Immunity and Infectious Diseases, Hudson Institute of Medical Research.
Light refreshments to follow presentation outside the Lecture Theatre.
Dr Maria Kaparakis-Liaskos obtained her Ph.D from the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at the University of Melbourne in 2005, under the supervision of Professor Richard Strugnell. Since graduating, Dr Liaskos research interests have focused on understanding the mechanisms underlying the induction of inflammation and pathology in response to bacterial infection, and in particular, to the gastric pathogen Helicobacter pylori.
Dr Liaskos undertook her post-doctoral studies in the laboratory of Associate Professor Richard Ferrero at Monash University, where she examined innate immune responses to Helicobacter pylori. During this time, she and her colleagues identified bacterial outer membrane vesicles as a novel mechanism whereby all Gram negative bacteria, irrespective of their mode of infection, could be detected by the intracellular pathogen recognition receptor, NOD1.
12th Annual Kaarene Fitzgerald Public Forum Monday 5th December
This year we have three young SIDS and stillbirth
researchers speaking:
Dr Miranda Davies-Tuck, The Ritchie Centre,
Hudson Institute of Medical Research and Department of Obstetrics and
Gynaecology, Monash University, Melbourne
Setting the placental alarm clock: a way to
prevent stillbirth.
Dr Emily Cohen, The Ritchie Centre, Hudson
Institute of Medical Research and Department of Paediatrics,
Monash University, Melbourne
Being born too small and too early: effects on the
brain and the heart.
Dr Rita Machaalani, Department of Medicine
and the Bosch Institute, University of Sydney and Department of Paediatrics,
Children’s Hospital at Westmead, Sydney
Why smoking is a risk for SIDS.
Release of the Australian Medical Research and Innovation Strategy and related Priorities
The Australian Medical Research
Advisory Board (Advisory Board) has announced the release of the Australian
Medical Research and Innovation Strategy 2016-2021 (the Strategy) and
the Australian Medical Research and Innovation Priorities 2016-2018 (the
Priorities).
The Strategy provides a five year
vision for the Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF) and the Priorities identify
a reference list for investments over the next two years. The Government will
take both documents into account when establishing funding programs to be
agreed through Budget processes.
The release of the Strategy and
Priorities allows the Government to commence the disbursements from the MRFF this financial year.
The Advisory Board consulted with
more than 1,000 stakeholders to ensure these documents put forward an approach
that will meet the needs of consumers, the research community, and the broader
health system. The Advisory Board would like to thank those who took the time
to be engaged and contribute.
The Strategy and Priorities,
along with further information on the MRFF, are available from health.gov.au/mrff.
LUPUS 2017 & ACA 2017 - abstracts due 19 November
The abstract submission
deadline is fast approaching.
26-29 March 2017, Melbourne, Australia
Abstract Deadline: 19 November 2016
Early Registration Deadline: 19 December 2016
The 12th International Congress on Systemic
Lupus Erythematosus (LUPUS 2017) & the 7th Asian Congress on Autoimmunity
(ACA 2017) are proud to invite you to Melbourne, Australia, 26-29 March
2017. This exciting joint SLE Congress and Autoimmunity
Congress will be a platform for building bridges between clinicians and
basic researchers, focusing on global progress in translational research
in SLE and autoimmunity. The main theme of ACA will be "Microbiome,
nutrition and autoimmunity".
Join colleagues from multiple disciplines, including rheumatology, immunology, dermatology, nephrology and autoimmunity to explore the latest findings and practices at this highly anticipated joint congress.
LUPUS 2017 Chair: Prof. Eric F. Morand
Join colleagues from multiple disciplines, including rheumatology, immunology, dermatology, nephrology and autoimmunity to explore the latest findings and practices at this highly anticipated joint congress.
LUPUS 2017 Chair: Prof. Eric F. Morand
ACA 2017 Chair: Prof. Yehuda Shoenfeld
Call for applicants - PhD Scholarships for Indigenous students at SCS
More information HERE.
For applications, please contact:
Dr Jim Harris
Tel: 03 8572 2579
Email: jim.harris@monash.edu
Reporting Injuries and Hazards
Monash University needs to know if you are injured in the
workplace or on-site; which includes the Hudson Institute or at Monash Health.
What Do I Report?
Any work-related injury, whether it is a cut on your hand
that requires first aid, or a serious injury for which you need medical
treatment, they all need to be reported! Allegations of staff being subjected
to unacceptable behaviour is also considered an OHS incident that should be
reported.
The University also requires us to report hazards and
near-misses. Does something look dangerous? Is someone doing something that may
be unsafe? Has something changed that may be cause greater risk to you or your
colleagues? Was someone nearly injured? Anything that may pose a risk to a
person’s health or safety or to the environment, then we need to hear about all
of these.
Your Responsibilities
It is very important that you understand your responsibilities
to report incidents and hazards.
Employees, students, visitors and contractors: If you
are injured at work, or nearby, you must report it in the University Safety And
Risk Analysis Hub (S.A.R.A.H.) within 24 hours.
This online reporting tool provides staff and students with a user-friendly way
to report OHS-related hazards, incidents, and near-misses so that they are
investigated and recorded in accordance with Victorian OHS legislation.
Supervisors: If your employee or student is injured,
but is unable to report it immediately, you must do so instead.
How Do I Report An Incident?
Incidents are reported on-line via SARAH, which is available
on the University OHS webpage: http://www.monash.edu/ohs/report-incident-hazard
If you need any help, please speak to your supervisor, your
Safety Officer or your HSR.
For more information, please contact Dr Clare Westhorpe
(clare.westhorpe@monash.edu).
With thanks, from the SCS OHS team. Stay safe!
Change your settings to access the wireless network
Monash University's esolutions is making improvements to Eduroam, our secure wireless network service by
consolidating to a common authentication platform.
Moving
our Network Policy Services to the new infrastructure is required.
Important
settings and wireless access
Network
Policy Services controls access to our wireless network, its primary function
is to authenticate users trying to access Monash's Eduroam wireless network. For
the authentication to work a user must have a specific user name format.
Impact
to users
You
have been identified as possibly having an incompatible user name format. If
your user name format is not changed before 21 November, 2016 wireless network
access will not be possible.
What
you need to do
Please
go into your mobile device settings (such as smartphone, laptop or tablet etc.)
and ensure that your username is changed to look like: username@monash.edu.
Help
and support
A
user guide specific to your device is available on the intranet providing step
by step instructions on how to change your user name (https://monash.edu/esolutions/wireless-and-network/connecting-eduroam-wifi).
If you require additional support please contact your local Service
Desk.
Accessing
the wireless network at other universities
- As a Monash University
student or staff member you can access the Eduroam wireless network at
other Universities
- For a list of participating
Eduroam institutions please visit the Eduroam intranet page https://monash.edu/esolutions/wireless-and-network/connecting-eduroam-wifi
- When you go to connect to
the Eduroam network at a participating eduroam institution, their wireless
network will recognise that you are from Monash
- Students or staff from
participating Eduroam institutions can utilise Monash's wireless network
Migration
locations and dates
- Participating Eduroam
institutions & The Monash Centre in Prato (Italy)
- Tuesday 15th
November, 5-9pm
- Remote VPN service &
Hospitals sites (Alfred Health, Southern Health, Eastern Health)
- Wednesday 16th
November, 5-9pm
- Melbourne campus wireless
infrastructure
- Monday 21st November,
5-9pm
For
more information and support please contact your local Service Desk.
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