Watch video HERE.
Monday, 4 September 2017
M2: accelerating the development of life-changing medicine
Watch video HERE.
Early and Mid-Career Researcher mentoring and personalised grant writing advice now at MHTP
 |
| Professor Rosemary Horne |
An interesting fact you may not know about Professor
Rosemary Horne is that one of her first jobs was as a biologist, studying the
diet of hares in New Zealand and then penguins in Antarctica. With a fascinating career spanning four
decades, and one of our most successful researchers at the Monash Health
Translation Precinct (MHTP), Rosemary has a new position as ECR Advisor and Mentor
at the School of Clinical Sciences at Monash Health (SCS).
Originally from New Zealand, Rosemary had aspirations to
become a vet. Unfortunately, she wasn’t
successful in gaining admission (where it’s more competitive than medicine in
her native country) so she completed her Bachelors and Master’s degrees in zoology.
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| Rosemary in Antarctica |
“I counted sea birds and studied the diet of penguins,”
Rosemary said.
“If you wonder how you do that, you put a tube down their
throat and fill them up with water. Then
you turn them upside down over a bucket, so they vomit into the bucket, and you
can see what they’ve been eating.”
Rosemary’s extremely successful career as a sleep scientist
began when she did her PhD at Monash University in the 1980s, investigating
arousal responses in lambs in relation to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS).
A mother of three, Rosemary is very familiar with the
challenges of raising a family and pursuing an academic career in science.
“I was working full time as a Research Officer at the Centre
for Early Human Development (now known as The Ritchie Centre), and completed my
PhD part time over six years,” Rosemary said.
“During my PhD I also had my daughter, and I submitted my
thesis two weeks before my son was born.”
Rosemary worked as a post-doctoral researcher at the Bernie
O’Brien Centre, St Vincent’s Hospital, the Howard Florey Institute and Deakin
University before returning to the Department of Paediatrics at Monash
University in 1995.
“I worked part time for fifteen years but maintained my
output by publishing two to three papers per year consistently,” Rosemary said.
“It isn’t easy because working part-time, you still have to
be productive and show that you’re better than the rest.”
“One of the best pieces of advice I received was to set up
my CV with the time fraction I’d worked every year, showing that I’d worked
part-time and still been productive.”
“The other advice I received at that stage of my career was
to apply for an NHMRC Fellowship—I did and was successful.”
Rosemary has had continuous NHMRC funding since 2004,
including an NHMRC Senior Fellowship for 11 years. She has also received project and
philanthropic funding, and has had NHMRC interviews every year for the past four
years. She is a member of many prestigious international committees
in her field.
“We are certainly the leading paediatric sleep research
group in Australasia and second in the world, in terms of publications,”
Rosemary said.
“We’ve had a very productive relationship between clinicians
in the sleep lab and basic scientists.”
Rosemary has published more than 150 papers, and successfully
supervised twelve PhD students (with another three due to complete this year),
and over 30 honours students. She is
proud that all have finished in minimum time.
Rosemary brings a wealth of experience to her new role as Early
Career Researcher Advisor and Mentor.
“My expertise is 30 years’ in the NHMRC system, writing
grants, writing fellowships and mentoring,” she said.
Rosemary said she’s thoroughly enjoyed her career, the
students, the science, the international travel and colleagues around the
world. Now she is very excited about
helping young researchers develop their careers in science.
“I’m very passionate about passing on my experience and
expertise to early and mid-career researchers, particularly in the current
environment of shrinking grant opportunities,” Rosemary said.
Rosemary is available at rosemary.horne@monash.edu for
anyone seeking advice, assistance or mentoring.
Or you can visit her in her office, Department of Paediatrics, Level
5, Monash Children’s Hospital.
Monash Imaging research in bone trauma receives top award
 |
| Dr Aaron Wong |
Monash
Imaging radiology registrar Dr Aaron J Wong was recognised for his clinical
research in bone trauma, receiving the top award at The Royal Australian and
New Zealand College of Radiologists (RANCZR) Victorian branch trainee
presentation event last week.
Dr Wong’s research presentation on the “Efficacy of Dual Energy CT Bone Oedema Detection in Suspected Fractures,” highlighted an advanced imaging technique for improving the diagnosis of subtle and occult fractures which are sometimes not detected with standard X-ray radiographs.
Dr Wong said that bone oedema, also known as bone bruising, is commonly associated with trauma, but previously only seen on MRI.
Dr Wong’s research presentation on the “Efficacy of Dual Energy CT Bone Oedema Detection in Suspected Fractures,” highlighted an advanced imaging technique for improving the diagnosis of subtle and occult fractures which are sometimes not detected with standard X-ray radiographs.
Dr Wong said that bone oedema, also known as bone bruising, is commonly associated with trauma, but previously only seen on MRI.
“Dual
energy CT is a new form of CT imaging that uses two different spectra of X-rays
at different energy levels,” Dr Wong said.
“It
enables removal of the calcium signal in bone through image post-processing
software, such that bone oedema appears conspicuous.”
Dr
Wong’s research demonstrated that in patients who have sustained recent trauma,
experience ongoing pain, and have no definite fracture on X-ray, this new, dual
energy CT technique will help ensure that a bone injury is not missed.
“Although
this feature is only available on newer scanners, like the Siemens Somatom
Force CT at Dandenong Hospital, it does not require any additional radiation or
scan time,” Dr Wong said.
“The
information can be obtained quickly, helping doctors make the correct diagnosis
in a timely manner.”
Head
of CT and Head of Thoracic Imaging at Monash Health, Professor Ken Lau said Dr
Wong’s findings confirm
the clinical importance of this CT technique, which could transform future
fracture imaging pathways.
“Monash Imaging is proud of Dr Wong’s success, as the Award recognizes
the hard work and dedication needed in research,” Professor Lau said.
Dr Wong will represent Victoria at the RANZCR ASM 'Branch of origin'
research presentation in Perth in October. Monash Imaging registrars have won
the top award at the annual RANZCR (VIC) Trainee Presentation Event for the
past 3 years.
Dr Wong acknowledges the ongoing support and guidance of his supervisor, Professor Kenneth Lau, and collaborators, Mr Peter Kutschera and Mr Beven Jong. He also thanks Director of Diagnostic Imaging, Professor Stephen Stuckey and Director of research, Professor Stacey Goergen, for promoting the research culture at Monash Imaging.
Monash PhD student reveals barriers and opportunities to improve secondary stroke prevention
 |
| Muideen Olaiya |
Recently awarded his PhD from Monash University's Stroke and Ageing Research Group, Dr Muideen Olaiya has identified for
the first time specific risk factors for secondary stroke prevention.
“It is well known that stroke is a traumatic life
event that often results in severe and life-changing consequences,” Dr Olaiya said.
“Luckily for us in Australia, there are care options
within Medicare to help survivors overcome these challenges.”
Dr Olaiya’s research, a clinical trial, investigated
the effectiveness of these care options to better manage survivors of stroke
after they are discharged from hospital to the community.
“Importantly, despite the fact that these care
options are already embedded in the health care system in Australia, uptake in
clinical practice remains poor,” Dr Olaiya said.
“In my thesis, I was able to identify the barriers
and facilitators to the uptake of these care options in order to appropriately
inform practice and policy decisions on how to better manage people with stroke
in the community.”
In an Australian first, Dr Olaiya’s research has
provided evidence that despite a robust and pragmatic approach to the
management of stroke, secondary prevention outcomes remain poor in survivors
living in the community.
“For instance, uptake of recommended lifestyle
habits was sub-optimal among this high-risk population.”
“Similarly, our survivors of stroke had poor
knowledge of risk factors and medications for secondary prevention, and
significant unmet needs, especially needs in areas of post-acute care and
secondary prevention,” Dr Olaiya said.
Supervisor Professor Amanda Thrift said Dr Olaiya had
been a fantastic student, with six papers already arising from his PhD and
others imminent.
“Muideen’s willingness to listen to feedback and make changes to
his work based on these comments contributed to his success,” Professor Thrift
said. “He was extremely hard-working, having managed this clinical trial
since he commenced his PhD.”
Dr Olaiya has just recently commenced a post-doctoral fellowship at the National Institutes of Health, in Phoenix, Arizona, USA.
Dr Olaiya expressed his deepest appreciation to his
supervisors Professors Amanda Thrift, Dominique Cadilhac and Velandai Srikanth,
his PhD mentor Dr Joosup Kim and colleague Lana Coleman. He is also grateful for Monash University
financially supporting his PhD program.
Monash researcher receives 2017 Pink Hope Outreach Ambassadors Award
 |
| Dr Daniella Brasacchio |
Monash
University researcher Dr Daniella Brasacchio has received the 2017 Pink Hope Outreach Ambassadors
Award in recognition of her scientific and public advocacy work, raising awareness
of hereditary breast and ovarian cancer.
A senior
research fellow in the Blood Cancer Therapeutics Laboratory, School of Clinical
Sciences at Monash Health, Dr Brasacchio has been recognised by the
preventative health organisation Pink Hope for helping
to raise awareness of hereditary cancer, promoting the work of Pink Hope and
supporting high risk families.
Pink Hope works to ensure every individual can assess,
manage and reduce their risk of breast and ovarian cancer, while providing
personalised support for at risk women.
It is estimated that there are 660,000 women at moderate to high risk of
breast and ovarian cancer.
Dr Brasacchio said Pink
Hope not only promotes awareness of hereditary breast and ovarian cancer
(HBOC), it provides a forum for affected women to connect.
“I have
personally been effected by HBOC through my family history predisposing me to
an increased risk of breast and ovarian cancer,” Dr Brasacchio said.
“I learnt
this through the loss of my mother to ovarian cancer and her sister to breast
cancer four and ten years ago, respectively.”
“I have
positively benefited from Pink Hope by gaining information that has influenced
my health both mentally and physically.”
A not-for-profit
charity, Pink Hope aims to decrease the risk of those affected by HBOC of
developing cancers.
Dr Brasacchio
said it was important for her to use her scientific skills to help and inform
others about the progress and development of research in this field.
“It was my
way of giving back to a charity that has positively affected my life,” she
said.
While Dr
Brasacchio’s research at Monash University is not connected to HBOC—she
investigates blood cancers including myeloma and lymphoma—she believes it’s
extremely important for scientists to use their skills and knowledge to
positively communicate research to the community.
“This award
shows that it’s important for the community to connect with medical research
advancements through effective scientific communication.”
Dr Brasacchio
said she is honoured to be part of a wonderful charity—Pink Hope—and is
grateful for the ongoing support of her Laboratory Group Leader, Associate
Professor Jake Shortt who helps make it possible.
Learning & Teaching Travel Grants, Round 1 2018
The Deputy
Dean - Education is pleased to announce the next round of the Faculty of
Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences Learning & Teaching travel grants has
been released. The scheme is designed to assist academic staff to attend
and/or present papers at conferences that will develop their educational
skills and teaching and learning research activity.
The grants are
allocated by the Office of the Deputy Dean (Education) on a competitive
basis.
The closing
date for applications is 30 November 2017.
Round 1, 2018
will cover attendance at conferences commencing between: 1 January 2018 and
30 June 2018.
The guidelines
and application form can be accessed under Teaching Grants and
Outcomes section of Staff Resources via:
Please note:
Staff from Malaysia are eligible for travel grants,
however, there are restrictions applied. The restrictions are that it can be
up to $1,000 and for travel to
Australia to attend a conference or collaborate with Monash Australia staff.
PLEASE NOTE:
completed applications will need to be sent to the DDE Applications
email address: FMNHS-DDE@monash.edu
|
New Funding Rules for ARC Discovery Program and Linkage Program
The ARC have released Funding Rules for both the Linkage and Discovery
Programmes. Dates for upcoming schemes
have been posted on the ARC web site, but are listed as
"indicative time frames and subject to
change". Please visit the ARC important
dates page for any updates.
IMPORTANT: Please be advised that there has been a major
change to eligibility rules for Future Fellows. Candidates may now apply
THREE times over the period in which they are eligible (See section
C6.1.2 of Discovery Funding Rules).
Additional guidance material on the major rule changes is
available on the respective Funding Rules pages. Please direct queries to the ARC,
Grants & Contracts Team at MRO (mro-applications@monash.edu).
The
Funding Rules include rules for the following funding schemes:
- Australian Laureate
Fellowships 2018
- Future Fellowships
2018
- Discovery Early Career
Researcher Award 2019
- Discovery
Indigenous 2019
- Discovery
Projects 2019
- Industrial Transformation
Research Hubs 2018
- Industrial Transformation
Training Centres 2018
- Linkage Projects 2018
- Linkage Infrastructure,
Equipment and Facilities 2019
Additional
guidance material on the major rule changes has also been made available on the
respective Funding
Rules pages.
The ARC will provide
further notification when schemes open and the RMS Proposal Forms and other
relevant scheme documentation become available.
CID seminar: "Die And Let Live? Proapoptotic therapies in tuberculosis", 5 September
Summary:
Tuberculosis,
caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis, is a leading infectious killer worldwide,
with an estimated 10 million people affected and 1.5 million dying per annum.
Treatment encompasses a prolonged course of numerous antimicrobials, with a
growing trend of multi-resistance and limited repertoire of available
therapies. In combating this challenge, an understanding of the host-organism
interactions was sought, in particular, characterisation of various adaptor
proteins involved in TNF signaling, a cytokine that has been shown to be
essential in maintaining control of the organism. The presented work explores
Mtb’s effect on various cell death proteins using an aerosolized model of
murine tuberculosis, simultaneously exploring the effect of pro-apoptotic
therapies on bacterial burdens in mice and shows that induction of macrophage
death may have a role as novel immunomodulatory therapies in the fight against
Mtb.
Samar graduated from Monash University and completed
her basic physician and Infectious diseases training at Monash Health, before
moving to Sydney where she competed training in clinical immunology and
immunopathology. She currently works at Monash in adult ID and within the
Infection and Immunity unit at Monash Children's Hospital. She recently
completed a PhD through the University of Melbourne, at the Walter and Eliza
Hall Institute, where she set up a murine tuberculosis model which formed the
basis of her work on cell death in tuberculosis.
Lunch will be served from 11.45am outside the seminar room.
CiiiD seminar: "IL-37: from promise to product", 5 September
CiiiD's Tuesday seminar this week feature:
A/Prof Claudia Nold, Head of the Interventional
Immunology in Neonatal Diseases Group in The Ritchie Centre and Department of
Pediatrics, and,
Dr Ina Rudloff, Research
Fellow in The Ritchie Centre and Department of Pediatrics.
1-2pm, Tuesday 5 September, Seminar Room 1, Level 2, TRF
Chair: Dr Michael Gantier
At 12pm in Seminar Room 1,
Level 2, TRF, CID will hold its weekly seminar. The CID seminar schedule can be
found here: http://www.med.monash.edu.au/scs/medicine/cid/seminar-series.html.
Kyra Chan's PhD confirmation seminar: "Ventilation-induced brain injury in preterm neonates", 13 September
13th Sept (Wed), 10am, TRF Level 2 Seminar Room 1
Presentation Title: Ventilation-induced brain injury
in preterm neonates
Synopsis: Inadvertently injurious ventilation in the
delivery room causes brain injury in preterm babies. This project aims to
provide insight into the mechanisms of ventilation-induced brain injury and to
evaluate the therapeutic benefits of existing treatments that target these
pathways of injury.
Supervisors: A/Prof Graeme Polglase, A/Prof Suzanne
Miller, Ms Vanesa Stojanovska
Monash Haematology Journal Club: "I hate HITS", 6 September
6 September, 7.30am Breakfast & 7.45am Presentation
Monash Medical Centre, Level 2 - Lecture Theatre 3
‘I hate
HITS’
Presenter:
Dr Ashwini Bennett
Economics of Health Inequalities Workshop, 16 October
Monday 16 October, 9.15 am – 3.30 pm
Plenary Room, Monash University, Level 7, 271 Collins St Melbourne CBD
Poor individuals are likely to be sicker and to die younger than rich individuals. To successfully combat such inequalities, we need to appropriately measure, compare and evaluate population health, the determinants of health and healthcare use across socioeconomic groups. The aim of the workshop is to showcase the latest evidence and methods to measure health inequalities and to model the impact of policies on inequalities. The workshop will consist of a series of lectures and discussions from international and Australian experts and will leave room for participants to interact and discuss important health inequality issues with the speakers. It provides a forum for the exchange of expertise between researchers, policy makers, students and other stakeholders. Participants will be asked to provide details of questions or topics of particular interest which may be discussed in the final session.
Click HERE to register (registrations close 11/10/17)
Cost: Early bird (before 19/9) $350; Full $500; Student early bird (before 19/9) $150; Student $200
More information HERE.
Upcoming Mental Health First Aid training for staff
Thursday 26th & Friday
27th October
|
9:00am
- 4:30pm
|
Peninsula
|
Thursday 9th & Friday
10th November
|
9:00am
- 4:30pm
|
Parkville
|
Thursday
16 & Thursday 23 November
|
9:00am
- 4:30pm
|
Clayton
|
Book via MyDevelopment https://monash.csod.com/samldefault.aspx?ReturnUrl=%252fDeepLink%252fProcessRedirect.aspx%253fmodule%253dlodetails%2526lo%253d1d8f15f0-926e-46b2-839e-939a044fdd9f
Acknowledgement of Country
Message from Chair of Diversity & Inclusion Professor Charlotte Rees
In the spirit of celebrating Diversity & Inclusion last week at
Monash University, we would like to raise your awareness about Acknowledgement
of Country.
We understand that many staff and students would like to give an
Acknowledgement of Country but are not quite sure how to do it. So please
find attached HERE a brief document from Reconciliation Australia that explains the
difference between Welcome to Country and Acknowledgement of Country, why they
are important and with examples of wording.
You might also want to add your Acknowledgement of Country to your
email signature, using words such as: I acknowledge the Traditional Owners
and Custodians of the lands on which I live and work and pay my respect to
Elders past, present and future.
For further information, please read the Monash University
Reconciliation Action Plan (see attached HERE). And remember, you can access
Monash’s cultural safety program at: http://www.monash.edu/about/indigenous/cultural-diversity
Offered free to
Monash staff and students, there are a few workshops available. Students
and staff can self-enrol online for ‘Indigenous Cultural Awareness’ and for
staff, you can enrol through myDevelopment for ‘Cultural safety - Indigenous:
Introduction’ (half-day) and/or ‘Cultural safety - Indigenous: Level 2’
(full-day).
CSIRO and Monash University partner to launch M2 medical precinct
Read story from Startupdaily HERE
Arvind Sehgal in the Herald Sun
Self-Reported Exercise Prevalence and Determinants in the Long Term After Stroke: The North East Melbourne Stroke Incidence Study
Amanda Thrift et al. published in the Journal of Stroke and Cerebrovascular Diseases.Read article here.
Global Cardiovascular and Renal Outcomes of Reduced GFR
Read article here.
Association of Epicardial Adipose Tissue and High-Risk Plaque Characteristics: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
Nitesh Nerlekar, Dennis Wong et al. published in the Journal of the American Heart Association.Read article here.
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