Monday, 12 December 2016
Monash doctors give back life
 |
| Monash Health patient Grace Day |
Until July this year, Grace Day had never had a sick day in
her life. The 85-year-old swam 3km three
times a week and regularly won gold medals in her age group at Masters swimming
competitions.
It came as a total shock when Grace was diagnosed with stage
4 lung cancer. A non-smoker and
teetotaller, Grace’s cancer was caused by passive smoking—she had worked at
Australia Post her entire life surrounded by colleagues who smoked.
After several months of chemotherapy at Monash Health,
Grace’s lung cancer was contained and stabilised, however, as is often the case
for many cancer patients, the cancer spread into her bones.
“I’d been mowing the lawns, doing all the gardening and
housework, and then out of the blue I had intense and sudden pain in my back,”
said Grace. “Until then I’d had
absolutely no pain at all.”
Grace said the pain was so severe she couldn’t walk or see
properly.
“I couldn’t put two sentences together because of the pain,”
said Grace.
 |
| Dr William, Dr Yoong and A/Prof Chandra at McCulloch House |
Due to the severity of her pain, oncologist Dr Peter Briggs
referred Grace to McCulloch House, the specialist inpatient unit of the
Supportive and Palliative Care service of Monash Health. However, less severe
symptoms may have led Grace to the OncoPain clinic, also run by the palliative
care service.
“Monash Health provides a unique cancer pain clinic, not
available at other
health services,” said palliative care physician Dr Leeroy
William.
“Moreover, patients with cancer pain can also rapidly access
procedures to reduce pain though a recently developed multidisciplinary clinical
collaboration.”
The multidisciplinary team includes the palliative care
physicians, interventional radiologists and neurosurgeons.
“We aim to get patients into palliative care as early as
possible—not because they’re dying but rather to manage their pain and prevent
them having treatment breaks,” said Dr William.
Dr William said that evidence shows patients who start
palliative care earlier have a significantly improved quality of life and also
live longer.
In order to best manage her pain, Grace was referred to Associate
Professor Ronil Chandra, an interventional neuroradiologist with expertise in the
minimally invasive procedures of vertebroplasty and kyphoplasty.
“When I heard about Grace, the back pain from her fractures was
so severe that it was causing her to become virtually bed-bound,” said Associate
Professor Chandra.
“I organised further imaging and reviewed Grace at McCulloch
House, which confirmed that her fractures were amenable to treatment by
kyphoplasty.”
“Kyphoplasty is an interventional radiological procedure
where we navigate a small needle through the skin of the back under x-ray
guidance directly into the bone, inflate a balloon to create a small space and
inject medical cement to stabilise the fracture which reduces the pain.”
New evidence shows that patients with severe pain from a
recent spinal fracture have significantly less pain after vertebroplasty or
kyphoplasty.
Associate Professor Chandra said the procedure takes under
an hour to perform and is generally done under conscious sedation.
“Until the procedure, I couldn’t stand, I couldn’t walk, and
the pain just stopped me dead in my tracks,” said Grace.
“Immediately after the operation, I felt no pain—for the first
time in two months I had no pain and I could walk straight away.”
“What Associate Professor Chandra did is unbelievable—he gave
me back my legs and also my life. I can
drive again, and am living independently and doing everything I used to.”
“I’m so grateful to all the staff at Monash Health and I
just want to tell everybody what a positive and wonderful experience I’ve had
at Dandenong Hospital, Moorabbin Hospital and Monash Medical Centre. McCulloch House was just the icing on the
cake,” said Grace.
Grace plans to be back in the pool early in the New Year.
A Monash University case report highlighting the benefits
of sacroplasty (another type of vertebroplasty) for cancer pain, was published
last week in Pain
Practice. The lead author is
palliative care physician Dr Jaclyn Yoong, in collaboration with Associate
Professor Ronil Chandra, Dr Leeroy William, Associate Professor Michael Franco,
Associate Professor Tony Goldschlager, Dr Fiona Runacres and Associate
Professor Peter Poon.
NHMRC scholarships will benefit research into prostate cancer and lupus
 |
| Dr Melissa Northcott |
Two Monash Health doctors have received competitive National
Health & Medical Research Council (NHMRC) scholarships to undertake postgraduate
research at Monash University.
Medical Oncology Fellow Dr Edmond Kwan and Rheumatology Registrar
Dr Melissa Northcott will start their PhD programs at the School of Clinical
Sciences at Monash Health (SCS) next year, with the support of the scholarships
each valued at $125,000 over three years.
Currently a Medical Oncology Clinical Fellow at the Peter
MacCallum Cancer Centre, Dr Kwan will commence at Monash Health and Monash
University in February.
 |
| Dr Edmond Kwan |
Dr Kwan hopes his research project will pave the way for the
future development of new effective drug therapies to improve the outcomes of
prostate cancer
patients.
“In men with metastatic castration-resistant prostate
cancer, we have previously identified an association
between treatment outcomes with the androgen receptor inhibitor enzalutamide
and aberrations detectable in plasma cell-free DNA and whole-blood RNA,,” said
Dr Kwan.
“Using serial blood samples, we aim to
identify genomic and molecular changes linked to treatment outcomes on
enzalutamide, and identify potential mechanisms and predictors of drug
resistance.”
Dr Kwan said he is very excited about
coming to the Monash Health Translation Precinct to undertake his PhD, and
believes the MHTP will provide an amazing opportunity to produce high quality
clinical translational research.
Dr Kwan’s PhD will be supervised by
Associate Professor Arun Azad from the Department of Medicine at SCS and
Consultant Medical Oncologist at Monash Health.
Under the supervision of Dr Sarah Jones and Head of SCS and
Director of Rheumatology at Monash Health Professor Eric Morand, Dr Northcott will
investigate the role of a protein named GILZ in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus
(SLE).
“Lupus is an autoimmune condition which causes inflammation
in many different organs and can lead to considerable suffering and even death
in some patients, many of whom are young,” said
Dr Northcott.
“Currently there is inadequate treatments for many patients
with this condition and GILZ is thought to reduce inflammation and may be a
future treatment target.”
Dr Northcott thanks Professor Eric Morand and Dr Sarah Jones
for their help with her NHMRC application while Dr Kwan is grateful for the
significant support of Associate Professor Azad.
Outstanding teaching recognised at SCS
 |
| Associate Professor Bruce Jackson |
Outstanding teaching and student supervision at the School of
Clinical Sciences at Monash Health (SCS) was celebrated at the annual Monash Health Senior Medical Staff dinner last week at
the Kooyong Tennis Club.
Chaired by Professor Barbara Workman, the dinner is an
annual highlight for Monash Heath senior doctors who were entertained on the
night by comedian Dave Hughes.
The event was also an opportunity
for SCS to celebrate the outstanding teaching at the School by awarding
excellence in teaching and student supervision.
The winners of the SCS teaching awards 2016 are:
 |
| Dr Han Mei Pan and Professor Julian Smith |
Teaching Service Award – Associate
Professor Bruce Jackson, who has been a dedicated teacher and student mentor as
Clinical Dean at Casey Hospital for many years.
Final Year Supervisor award - Dr Han Mei Pan, a
geriatrician at Kingston who is very generous with her time and extremely
dedicated to teaching and supporting all students.
Monash Physiotherapist recognised for research to help balance exercise training in older patients
 |
| Director, Allied Health Research Unit Professor Terry Haines and Melanie Farlie |
Congratulations Monash Health physiotherapist and Monash
University PhD candidate Melanie Farlie, who was awarded Best Student Oral
Presentation at the 7th Biennial Australian and New Zealand Falls
Prevention Conference in Melbourne last week.
A Maxwell King PhD scholar at Monash University, Melanie is developing
and validating a scale to rate the intensity of exercises that challenge
balance in older adults.
“Currently, there is no validated scale available to measure
the intensity of balance exercise training, unlike strength training and
aerobic exercise which have well established validated intensity measures,”
said Melanie.
“The implication of this is
that clinicians do not have an accurate measure of how hard patients are
working, and patients are unable to reliably self-monitor how hard they are working
during balance exercise training.”
Melanie said that a validated measure
of balance exercise intensity could potentially improve exercise prescription
efficacy—informing how hard people need to exercise to improve their balance
ability without undue risk.
“We don’t know if people need to
work to the level that they are just short of falling over to improve their
balance ability (currently the American College of Sports Medicine
guidelines),” said Melanie.
“Once a validated measure of
balance exercise intensity has been developed we can start trials of older
adults working at low, medium and high balance intensity levels to determine
the optimal training intensity and the optimal frequency and duration of
exercise programs, to both improve balance and prevent falls.”
In further good news, Melanie was awarded a Lions John
Cockayne Memorial Fellowship Trust Fund Travelling Fellowship last week, which
will enable her to attend the World Confederate of Physical Therapy (WCPT) congress
in Cape Town, Africa in July 2017.
Melanie will present her PhD findings at the WCPT congress,
and also bring back the most up-to-date practice information to the
Physiotherapy and broader rehabilitation teams at Monash Health.
SCS end of year trivia lunch 16 December
Date: Friday 16 December 2016
Time: 12noon
Venue: Dingley International Hotel, 334 Boundary Road, Dingley Village (parking available on site)
Enquiries and dietary requirements by reply email to jinleng.graham@monash.edu. Register here: https://my.monash.edu.au/news-and-events/bookings/mmcbs/view/178827/
BMedSc(Hons) student success 2016
 |
| BMedSc(Hons) student Masad Alfayadh |
E block level 1 refurbishment
Refurbishment of the level 1 tutorial rooms begins on Tues
13th Dec. Initially a ‘soft demolition’ to remove the furnishings
will take place, for the works in January. An internal wall will be removed and
there will be some upgrades to the mechanical and electrical services in that
area. The rest will be cosmetic changes to the rooms, and at this stage, the
anticipated date of practical completion is the end of February.
We have co-ordinated with the Animal House Manager, Monika
Generowicz, and researchers at the Animal House in E block to minimise the
impact of the tutorial room refurbishments on animal experiments. Researchers
will have ongoing access to the Animal House.
Please comply with any signs or instructions from the
builders when accessing the animal facility.
Future updates will be communicated via eNews, or email clare.westhorpe@monash.edu
Planned refurbishment of teaching spaces on L1 of E Block
We are undertaking exciting improvements to our undergraduate teaching spaces on Level 1 of E Block (MMC Clayton), with a complete refurbishment of the tutorial and meeting rooms.The following information for staff who use the Animal House in E Block, and also for those who have items stored in the adjacent rooms (Rm 1.AH.124 or Rm 1.AH.125).
A builder has been appointed to begin the works and would like to commence next week (12th Dec), pending confirmation from Monika Generowicz, Manager of the Animal House. If the works will affect critical animal experiments in the adjacent animal rooms, however, it can be postponed until mid-January.
The works will be minor, with one internal wall to be removed; there will also be some upgrades to the mechanical and electrical services in that area. The rest of the project will involve cosmetic changes to the rooms, and at this stage, the anticipated date of practical completion is the end of February.
Staff will still be able to access the Animal House during the refurbishment, however there may be dust curtains containing the work areas. Please comply with any instructions from the builders.
Dr Clare Westhorpe (SCS Safety and Lab Resources Officer) and I will attend weekly meetings with the Site Manager and we will ensure that all stakeholders are informed about progress and the plans for the following week.
If you have items stored in rooms 1.AH.124 or 1.AH.125 that you need to keep, please relocate them ASAP. Any remaining items will be given to the Monash Uni furniture recycling unit or will be disposed.
Please click here for pictures of the current content of both rooms: https://drive.google.
To access your items from those rooms, please make a time with Janet (Mon or Fri) or Bernadette (Tue, Wed, Thu) at SCS Reception on Level 5 of E Block and they can take you down to the rooms for you to label or remove your things.
CID Weekly Seminar: 12pm Tuesday 13 December, "New Roles for Complement in ANCA associated Vasculitis"
 |
| Dr Jonathan Dick |
12:00 - 1:00pm, Seminar
Room 1, Level 2, TRF Building
Dr Jonathan
Dick
Nephrologist,
Department of Nephrology, Monash Health
Postgraduate
Student, Centre for Inflammatory Diseases
New Roles for Complement in
ANCA associated Vasculitis
Dr Jonathan Dick is a clinician studying for a PhD
supervised by Professors Stephen Holdsworth and Richard Kitching. He read
Medicine at the University of Oxford and University College London before
training in General Medicine and Nephrology in London. His research interest is
in the role of the complement system in ANCA associated vasculitis.
Mr Nathan Kuk
Postgraduate Student, Centre for
Inflammatory Diseases
Human Amniotic Epithelial Cells in Hepatic and
Gastrointestinal Disorders
Human Amniotic Epithelial Cells
(hAECs) are an exciting new form of stem cell therapy used extensively in
dermatology, ophthalmology and most recently, respiratory medicine. Displaying
anti-inflammatory and anti-fibrotic properties, hAECs possess numerous
advantages over more traditional forms of cellular therapy. Their use in
hepatic and gastrointestinal disorders however is not as well documented.
Overtaking viral hepatitis and alcoholic liver disease as the main causes of
chronic liver disease, the incidence and prevalence of non-alcoholic fatty
liver disease (NAFLD) is dramatically increasing due to its association with
obesity and the metabolic syndrome. A proportion of patients with NAFLD
eventually develop steatohepatitis (NASH), increasing their risk of cirrhosis
and hepatic carcinoma. Alarmingly, there are no effective therapies for NAFLD
and NASH and transplantation remains the only cure in cases of cirrhosis. As
such, this posits the question, could hAECs
be used to treat NAFLD?
This is the last seminar for 2016.
CID seminars will commence again in mid February.
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]
PhD pre-submission seminar, Nok Srirattana, 19 Dec
All staff and students are invited to Nok Srirattana's pre-submission seminar:Thesis title: Manipulating the mitochondrial genome to generate more economically viable livestock
9.30 - 11.30am, 19 December, Hudson Board Room, level 3
Supervisors: Justin St John, Matthew McKenzie
The neuroendocrinology of human reproduction, 14 Dec
Hudson seminar, 2-3pm, 14 December
Lecture Theatre 1, Monash Medical Centre.
Speaker: Professor Peter Richard
Anderson,
Professor of Clinical Reproductive Science, University of Edinburgh
Consultant in Reproductive Medicine, Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh
Head of Section, Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University of Edinburgh
Professor of Clinical Reproductive Science, University of Edinburgh
Consultant in Reproductive Medicine, Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh
Head of Section, Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University of Edinburgh
Light refreshments to follow presentation outside the Lecture Theatre.
Please Note: This will be the last
Seminar for the year.
Undergraduate training in medicine and PhD at MRC Brain Metabolism Unit in neuroendocrinology with George Fink. Training in Obstetrics and Gynaecology in Edinburgh as WHO Research Fellow in Hormonal Male Contraception. Training in Reproductive Medicine at the University of Edinburgh and a year in Sam Yen’s lab in San Diego. Returned to the MRC Human Reproductive Sciences Unit in 1998 with a Consultant post in Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh. Appointed Chair of Clinical Reproductive Science at the University in 2005.
Professor Anderson has established a group investigating female reproductive lifespan, with laboratory and clinical aspects particularly related to the adverse effects of cancer treatment on fertility. He has also conducted clinical studies developing our understanding of the novel neuropeptides kisspeptin and neurokinin B in human reproductive function in men and women.
Support for NHMRC and ARC Fellowship Applications 2017
Are you thinking of applying for an ARC or NHMRC
Fellowship in 2017 or do you simply want to know about the requirements and
processes involved?
If you missed the SCS information session the presentation
is attached HERE.
For those applying for ECF and CDF's the SCS will be
providing feedback on applications in addition to that provided by the Faculty.
If you are intending on applying for a ECF or CDF in
2017 please contact
rosemary.horne@monash.edu
so this can be arranged for you.
ARC Discovery Projects 2018 (DP18) - Now Open In RMS
Applications
for ARC Discovery Projects 2018 are now open in RMS and close 5pm on Wednesday 1 March 2017.1. Please find attached/linked the Funding Rules, FAQ, ARC Medical Policy and Instructions to Applicants. These documents (and any updates) may also be downloaded from the ARC website: http://www.arc.gov.au/discovery-projects
2. Please start your proposal in RMS as soon as possible so we know that you intend to apply. A Pure Application Record will also need to be started in myResearch/Pure (for guidance refer to: Creating an Application Record)
Key
Dates:
DP 2018
|
MRO close date
|
ARC close date
|
Funding Rules 22 Sept 2016
|
||
Open in RMS 7 December 2016
|
||
Proposal closing date
|
1
Feb 2017
|
5pm
1 March 2017
|
Request Not to Assess
|
8
Feb 2017
|
5pm
15 Feb 2017
|
Rejoinder Process
|
tba
|
tba
|
Announcement
|
Oct/Nov
2017
|
|
For queries, please contact the
MRO ARC Pre-award Team (mro-arc@monash.edu).
PhD Scholarship at Monash Lung & Sleep
Monash Lung & Sleep Institute
offers three PhD Scholarships for 2017-2018.
Scholarships are for research into Lung/Respiratory and Sleep Disorders;
applications close on December 31, 2016.
The Scholarships are valued at $30,000
per year and may be renewable. Respiratory and Sleep Physicians wishing to
embark on PhD studies will be given preference. Further information can be obtained
from Prof Philip Bardin (philip.bardin@monash.edu),
A/Prof Garun Hamilton (garun.hamilton@monashhealth.org)
or Dr Paul King (paul.king@monash.edu).
Compulsory OHS training for graduate research students, 23 February
Please
find information for OHS training available in early 2017.
OHS
Training day: Thurs 23rd Feb 2017
- 10:00am-1:00pm Student
Project Safety (Risk Management)
- 2:00-4:00pm
Biosafety level 1 (Microbiologicals)
- 4:00-5:30pm
Biosafety level 2 (OGTR / AQIS)
Please note:
· Student
Project Safety is compulsory for all research
students to complete (once only).
· Biosafety
level 1 is compulsory for students undertaking clinical
or laboratory research.
· Biosafety
level 2 is compulsory for students handling genetically
modified organisms - they should speak to their supervisor to see if
they need to do this.
Registration
is via the my.monash booking system - the link is here.
Students
need to register using their Monash student authcate for registration (not a staff account).
Staff OHS training opportunity, 23 February
Registration is now open for the following OHS training
modules:
Student Project Safety
(Risk Management) - compulsory for
students (once only)
Biosafety level 1
(Microbiologicals) - for clinical and
lab researchers
Biosafety level 2 (OGTR /
AQIS)
These modules will be held on
the 23rd Feb, 2017, in the TRF seminar room 1.
Registration and further
information is here. Students - please register via your student
authcate account (not a staff account). Places are limited so please register
as soon as possible.
Is my OHS training up to date?
You can check your training portfolio in ESS via My Monash
Training Qualifications.
What training do I need to do?
Please refer to the OHS
training guide or email clare.westhorpe@monash.edu
Further training opportunities will be advertised in 2017,
so stay posted!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)