Getting their scrubs ready

Congratulations to the 2023 Graduating Year 5D MD students as they finish their student life and head off to their intern programs. This graduating cohort had many challenges along the way, including the restrictions to their placements during the Covid years, but have proven themselves to be resilient and focussed on their journey to being a doctor, and we wish them all well as they continue on the next steps in their careers. The students were asked to wear fascinators for this photo and unfortunately only one complied. 

Well done Sue

Medical student, Sue Liu won the Medical Student Prize in the 2023 Victorian Scientific Research Awards. Sue said, “It is an honour to receive this award for my work with Dr Maurizio Pacilli, Associate Professor Ram Nataraja and the wonderful support of the nursing team. Many of the parents and patients were extremely excited about the technology and I hope to see this in practice in the future.”

Throw it on the floor – but then pick it up

The mice at Monash desperately need toilet rolls – not toilet paper – toilet rolls. They need cardboard to rest on and play with, and used toilet rolls are perfect. Please bring all your finished toilet rolls to the level 5 kitchen in Block E and put them in the box near the door. The rolls must not have any glue or paper on them. It makes the mice sick. Thanks in advance.

Sub-Faculty meeting

Inaugural Dean of the Sub-Faculty of Clinical and Molecular Medicine (SF-CaMM), Professor Eric Morand, spoke at the first hybrid meeting of the Sub-Faculty after a catered lunch on 1 December.

Eric spoke of the opportunities available by being a sub-faculty and showed graphical representation of SF-CaMM’s vast breadth and depth. Eric also presented the results of the recent online survey and highlighted avenues for improvement in how we interact and operate as a united front. The critical point was made that if you have something to say about the sub-faculty, you are welcome to say it to Eric. Get on it!

More photos from the meeting:

Front of mind – Developmental Regression

Developmental regression experts, Professor Katrina Williams and Dr Kirsten Furley assisted in the preparation of this article for The Australian Parenting Website. raisingchildren.net.au.

The article explains in simple terms how developmental regression is defined and identified.

Read the article.

Emerging Leaders meeting

The Sub-Fac of Clinical and Molecular Medicine held its second Emerging Leaders Meeting on 9 November.

Set up to provide professional support for members, the group comprises mid-career staff from several disciplines.

This month, Dr Kim Huynh, SCS Research Manager, gave a comprehensive update on funding, staffing, training, resources, and onsite IT access. Kim also provided Monash University statistics for recent grants and tenders. 

Karen Sims, SCS Communications Manager, spoke about the importance of having a social media presence, how to react to incoming media, and provided some handy tips on planning outgoing media.

Associate Professor Rachel Hill from the Department of Psychiatry spoke about her project stemming from a recent breakthrough in her laboratory that identified a new mutation in a gene called ARX in a patient with schizophrenia. Rachel is now working on the functional consequence of this mutation.

Facilitated by Associate Professor Jun Yang, the meeting is a pleasant way to catch up with colleagues and hear what they’re working on.

Photo: This woman is now 23. When she was six and in grade two, she persuaded her whole class to go to the school principal's office with her to report a librarian who was bullying a student. Now that's leadership!

End-of-year recruitment deadlines

From the recruitment team

We are pleased to share with you our end-of-year recruitment deadlines. You may notice that they are earlier than usual. We are delighted to share that we have support from HR leadership to set these dates so that we are not as rushed to get everything done as we usually are at this time of the year. This also recognises the tremendous work that has occurred throughout the year. There will be some flexibility for urgent requests which we will consider before progressing.

Important Recruitment dates for year-end:

• Monday 27 November - Last day to submit advertised job cards in REX
• Monday 4 December - Last day to submit non-advertised job cards in REX
• Friday 8 December - Last day for job postings
• Monday 11 December - Last day for recruitment to issue contracts

World Stroke Day 29 October

Stroke is the leading cause of disability worldwide and each year more than 12 million people have strokes. But there is hope. Up to 90 per cent of strokes are preventable and by addressing a small number of risk factors responsible for most strokes, the world can be #GreaterThan stroke. Professor Dominique Cadilhac, Co-director and Research Lead of the Stroke and Ageing Research Group, spoke with Peter Greco from Vision Australia about managing risk factors of stroke, many of which display almost immediate benefits – stopping smoking is one of them. The interview is here (November 4 edition, begins at minute 61).

Novel Pharmacological Approaches

Well done, Dr Connie Wong! Connie won a Future Leader Fellowship for her project, Identifying novel pharmacological approaches for limiting stroke-associated neuroinflammation and pneumonia. Connie said, “I express my most sincere thanks to the donors for the support of the Future Leaders Fellowship.” We have it on good authority that Connie is an excellent mentor to others in the cardiovascular community.”

Congrats and thank you, Connie.

Ruth Fantozzi completes (yet another) marathon!

The amazing Ruth Fantozzi ran her 15th Melbourne Marathon on 15 October. Executive Assistant to Peter Ebeling, Ruth has run many marathons, including in Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra and Traralgon AND has run numerous Great Ocean Road ultra-marathons.

Congratulations Ruth! We are in awe of your endless abilities.

Ruth is sticking to half marathons from now on. Slacker.

Do I have to? Yes, it’s mandatory.

By Karen Sims

A friendly reminder for people who have not yet completed the mandatory Introduction to Cyber Security module, it is a condition of your terms of engagement.

The module covers:

• Phishing emails
• Malware
• Login credentials
• Protecting your devices
• Sharing files
• Online safety

To complete the Introduction to Cyber Security module:

1. Please click here
2. Select Launch to start the ‘Introduction to Cyber Security’ module

Here’s a tip. I allocated some time to complete the module and promised myself a big salad* when finished. Worked a treat.

For any technical issues, please contact Access HR via hr@monash.edu.

Here is the Mandatory Compliance Training Procedure.

*By salad I mean a block of chocolate, family size.

Kindness Cup of Courage

Valuable discussions took place at the Department of Nutrition, Dietetics and Food's Voice Referendum afternoon tea on Wednesday 11 October.

The Department of Nutrition, Dietetics and Food kindly shared some resources: 

• The Uluru Statement from the Heart - where the call for a First Nations Voice originated in 2017. Only takes five minutes. 
• There is also a good list of Voice FAQs.
• The Voice website has resources: 
• Translated resources for languages other than English
• The Design Principles of the Voice
• The Voice Co-Design Process Report 2021 (proposed structures from a two year co-design process with First Nations Australians).
• Yes23 has a great little conversation guide. 
• AEC Disinformation Register: corrects incorrect statements about the referendum process 

Thank you to Amanda Hill and Julia McCartan for the information. 

School of Clinical Sciences Guess Who? End-of-Year Lunch

Guess what?  The moment you have been waiting for is here (umm...maybe only for some of us). It is time to clear your calendar and pencil in the date of our SCS End-of-Year party!  Our theme this year is "Guess Who?"  Come dressed as any famous iconic character (TV, movie, singer, celebrity, historical dude, etc) and let everyone guess who you are!  There will be prizes to be won for best dressed and best guess.  Peter Temple-Smith and Fabrizzio Horta from ObsGyn are (again!) signed up with their band to play live dance music. A two-course lunch will be provided with drinks to be purchased from the bar.  We hope you can join us in your best "Guess Who?" outfit and together with your SCS colleagues celebrate the end of the 2023 working year.

• Date: Monday 18 DECEMBER 2023
• Time: Noon - 3PM
• Venue: Beaumaris Motor Yacht Squadron ( Beach Rd opposite Cromer Rd, Beaumaris) Onsite parking available
• RSVP HERE. monash.edu login required. This event is for SCS paid staff and grad res students only

My Cousin Has That

There are around 100 autoimmune diseases – most people reading this newsletter know they are expensive, painful, and life-limiting.

The seven episodes of the podcast "My Cousin Has That" feature Associate Professor Joshua Ooi and Dr Julie Monk talking about treatments and cures for five common autoimmune diseases – Type 1 Diabetes, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Lupus, Multiple Sclerosis, and Sjögren's Syndrome.

Josh and Julie discuss coping mechanisms and lifestyle advice with lived experience community members, and meet clinicians and researchers working on curative therapies.

The podcast is available HERE and on all the big platforms.

Communicating Endometriosis Through Art

As an expert researcher on endometriosis, Dr Thomas Tapmeier, Senior Research Fellow and Group Head, was invited by the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany to attend the opening of the exhibition 'Communicating Endometriosis through Art: Artists Respond' at the Gender Institute in Canberra. 

Thomas’s invitation is indicative of Monash's national and international standing in endometriosis research. As many patients would agree, endometriosis research needs collaboration across areas such as academia, healthcare, government, and consumer communities.

On the photo are, from left to right:

• Prof Fiona Jenkins, Convenor, ANU Gender Institute,
• Ms Melissa Parker, Canberra Endometriosis Centre,
• Ms Kimberley Coulson, Science Officer (Health Portfolio), Embassy of France,
• Prof Russell Gruen, Dean, ANU College of Health and Medicine,
• Dr Susanne Ilschner, curator of the exhibition, artist and PhD student at the ANU,
• Mr François-Ronan Dubois, Attaché for Science and Higher Education, Embassy of France,
• Dr Thomas Tapmeier, Senior Research Fellow and Group Head, Monash University, SCS, Department
• of Obstetrics and Gynaecology,
• Ms Julia Kaute, First Secretary, Head of Science and Innovation, Embassy of the Federal Republic of
• Germany,
• Ms Marianne Murat, journalist for SBS French Service and author of the ‘Happy Endo’ podcast.

Photo courtesy: Neha Attre, ANU College of Arts and Social Sciences.

See some of the art HERE.

Platform Access Grants 2023

Congrats to the winners of Platform Access Grants 2023.  Please find the recipients' details below:

Dr Chunni Lu, Department of Medicine - Are stem cell-like memory T cells and self-reactive T cells the ‘container’ and the ‘contained’ in auto-immune Goodpasture disease?

Dr Jessica Biesiekierski, Department of Nutrition, Dietetics and Food - Two-eggs-a-day: Understanding the role of dietary egg intake on protein fermentation indices.

Dr Sarah A. Marshall, Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology - Metabolomic Profiling of the Placenta and Maternal Blood in Pregnancies Complicated by Obesity.

Dr Sandesh Panthi, Department of Psychiatry - Betacellulin: a cross-diagnostic biomarker of treatment-resistance in psychiatric disorders. 

José Agustín Cota-Coronado, Department of Psychiatry -  Understanding the molecular basis of schizophrenia using genetically modified human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs).

SCS staff receive Dean's Awards for Excellence

The Dean's Awards for Excellence were announced recently and SCS is delighted to report that eleven staff members have been recognised for their outstanding achievement within the Faculty.   

• Professor Katrina Williams, Department of Paediatrics - Excellence in Research: Engagement and Impact (Team)
• Professor Suzanne Miller, Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology - Excellence in Research: Postgraduate Research Supervision
• Danielle Busacca, SCS Graduate Research Programs Officer - Exceptional Performance by Professional Staff
• Dr Nicola Rivers, Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology - Excellence in Teaching: Outstanding Contribution to Student learning (ECR)
• Professor Helena Teede, Dr Wafa El-Adhami, Dr Belinda Garth, Dr Jenny Proimos, Dr Mariam Mousa, Ifeoluwa Adesina, Mihirika Pincha Baduge, Monash Centre for Health Research and Implementation - Excellence in Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (Team)

Find out more about SCS staff Dean's Awards for Excellence from the videos below:

Professor Katrina Williams	Professor Suzanne Miller
Danielle Busacca	Dr Nicola Rivers
MCHRI team

Please visit the Dean's Awards website for a full list of recipients in the faculty.

Yes, I am and thank you for asking

We had heaps of scrumptious food and flowing conversations at our RUOK? morning tea.

We’re making it an annual event thanks to wellbeing gurus, Lyn Cyrill and Jin Graham.

If you have any wellbeing ideas, drop in to see Lyn in SS10 on Level 5 or drop her a line on scs.ohs@monash.edu.

And take it from us in SS10, every conversation about life, feelings, food, and families helps. We’re all in this together, especially our own Christine seen here explaining why Mint Slices are healthy.

How did RUOK? start?

R U OK? is an Australian non-profit suicide prevention organisation, founded by advertiser Gavin Larkin in 2009. It revolves around the slogan "R U OK?" and advocates for people to have conversations with others.

Sim Workshop Evaluation Award

Obstetric and Gynaecology Resident, Dr Namrata Prasad, recently won Best Rural Health Abstract at the Australasian Simulation Congress. Namrata’s award is for her evaluation of online interprofessional simulation workshops for obstetric and neonatal emergencies – through COVID-19 and beyond. Such vital work.

Said Namrata, “Thank you Australasian Simulation Congress for the opportunity to present our work in the online simulation and interprofessional education space that can be used to assist students in remote or resource-limited settings. I feel privileged to have won the award for best rural health abstract.” 

Congratulations Namrata!

Could have been better

You know the adage that people need to hear a message nine times before it resonates? [For some husbands, it’s more like 900.] Our Honours Information Session last Monday could have been better attended. We’re asking everyone who takes on students to plant the honours seed many times throughout the year, not just for the month preceding the information session. Dropping it into the conversation, talking about successful honours graduates, mentioning topics that would be fruitful honours projects – that kind of thing – would be greatly appreciated.