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SCS research and awards news

For all our research and awards news, please visit our news page.

Thursday 14 May 2015

Cytokines: Names and Numbers You Should Care About.

Dr Poh Yi Gan
Stephen Holdsworth and Poh Yi Gan published in the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology.

Read article here.

The longitudinal effects of persistent periodic breathing on cerebral oxygenation in preterm infants

Dr Karinna Fyfe
Karinna Fyfe and Rosemary Horne published in Sleep Medicine.

Read article here.

The Effect of Gestational Age at Birth on Post-Term Maturation of Heart Rate Variability.

Dr Karinna Fyfe
Karinna Fyfe and Rosemary Horne published in Sleep.

Read article here.

Preterm Infants Exhibit Greater Variability in Cerebrovascular Control than Term Infants.

Dr Karinna Fyfe
Karinna Fyfe and Rosemary Horne published in Sleep.

Read article here.

Haemodynamic assessment in pregnancy and pre-eclampsia: A Guytonian approach.

Euan Wallace published in Pregnancy Hypertension.

Read article here.

Fixed-dose combination therapy with daclatasvir, asunaprevir, and beclabuvir for noncirrhotic patients with HCV genotype 1 infection.

Professor Sievert
William Sievert published in JAMA.

Read article here.

Does fetal growth restriction lead to increased brain injury as detected by neonatal cranial ultrasound in premature infants?

Atul Malhotra, Graham Jenkin and Graeme Polglase published in the Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health.

Read article here.

Somatic Mutations of FOXE1 in Papillary Thyroid Cancer.

Michael Mond published in Thyroid.

Read article here.

Googling Stroke ASPECTS to Determine Disability: Exploratory Analysis from VISTA-Acute Collaboration

Professor Phan
Professor Thanh Phan published in PloS One.

Read article here.

Monday 11 May 2015

Monash-led research team announces latest advice about SIDS

Professor Horne
The most up-to-date information for parents and healthcare professionals about sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) and infant safety while sleeping was published last month in the prestigious journal, The BMJ.

The international clinical review led by The Ritchie Centre’s Deputy Director, Professor Rosemary Horne reveals the latest advice and recommendations against a background of currently confusing guidelines.

“Although the incidence of SIDS has more than halved after public health campaigns publicised the known major risk factors in the early 1990’s, SIDS remains the leading cause of unexpected death in infants in western countries,” said Professor Horne.

According to most recent statistics, 2671 infants died from SIDS in the United States in 2010 and there were 50 deaths in Australia in 2012.

“In the last thirty years it has become well known that sleeping position (face down on the stomach) is the major risk factor for SIDS, and parents have generally accepted this and sleep their baby on their backs” said Professor Horne.

New Monash University Department of Imaging created at Monash Health

Professor Stuckey
Education and research in the field of imaging will benefit from the creation of a new Monash University Department of Imaging based at Monash Health.

Established in the School of Clinical Sciences at Monash Health (SCS), the new Department of Imaging, will enhance existing Monash Health and Monash University facilities and expertise.

Director Diagnostic Imaging and Head of MRI at Monash Health, Professor Stephen Stuckey will be the new Head of the Department of Imaging.

 “The new Department brings Monash Health imaging into line with the majority of other clinical departments in formalising a relationship with the university,” said Head, School of Clinical Sciences at Monash Health Professor Eric Morand.

“Furthering the imaging education of undergraduate, postgraduate and vocational healthcare professionals will be a key focus of the Department.”

"This exciting formal union of Monash Imaging with a new University Department of Imaging is a major  milestone that will result in tangible benefits for patients, the community we serve and researchers," said Professor Stuckey. 

"Monash Imaging at Monash Health is a premier academic department with abundant quality research talent," added Professor Stuckey, "the new University Department of Imaging will facilitate, coordinate and augment Monash Imaging teaching and research efforts."

“In collaboration with clinical colleagues, the Department will also undertake research in advanced imaging technologies to aid the understanding and treatment of a range of human diseases, including developing and improving imaging practice,” said Professor Morand.

The combined imaging staff of Monash Health and Monash University, including academic clinical researchers, industry partners and support staff will be the first Australian facility of its kind or scale to be located in both clinical and translational research facilities.

“By providing a unified platform, the new Imaging Department will facilitate and recognise imaging and its multifaceted roles in today's healthcare,” added Professor Morand, “assisting Monash Health and Monash University to secure their positions as leaders in the field of imaging and healthcare.”


Dr Connie Wong receives "John Casley-Smith Travel Award"

Congratulations Dr Connie Wong, who won the "John Casley-Smith Travel Award" at the Australian and New Zealand Microcirculation Society (ANZMS) conference in Leura this month.

"It is now increasingly accepted that stroke results in impairment of the immune system, and this contributes to the associated life-threatening sequelae of overwhelming infection," said Connie. 

"We were the first to directly image and describe the activities of the peripheral immune system in living mice after stroke."

Connie recently performed a pilot human study and revealed similar stroke-induced immune impairment in stroke patients. 

Based on her findings, she proposed a more selective modulation of the immune system following stroke could be beneficial. 

"Indeed, identifying a new and better targeted approach to reduce bacterial infection in stroke patients will bypass the growing problem of antibiotic resistance, ultimately improving patient outcomes."

Connie will use the award ($1500) to present at the World Congress for Microcirculation in Kyoto, Japan this September.

Minister for Industry and Science visits MHTP

Industry-research collaboration making gains for Australia.

Advances in Australia’s science and research infrastructure are laying the platform for significant community and economic benefits, Minister for Industry and Science Ian Macfarlane said last week while visiting three cutting-edge facilities at Monash University and the Monash Health Translation Precinct (MHTP), illustrating the advantages of greater research and industry collaboration.

Mr Macfarlane said the Computer Aided Virtual Environment (CAVE2), the Monash Centre for Additive Manufacturing, and the Translational Research Facility (TRF) being constructed at the MHTP are examples of the diverse range of fields in which Australian researchers have a competitive edge.

“These facilities at Monash University’s Clayton campus and the Monash Health Translation Precinct provide crystal clear examples of the type of collaboration the Australian Government wants to encourage across all of the economy, because they are turning world-class scientific research into real-world and commercial applications,” Mr Macfarlane said.

Get your flu vaccinations

Influenza is a communicable disease and about 3,000 people, generally very vulnerable, children or elderly with compromised health die each year in Australia as a result of influenza. If you get the flu, you can get sick and can spread the flu to others at home, at work, and in the community.
To reduce the risk of illness for yourself and others Monash Health is offering free flu vaccinations from Tuesday 5 May 2015.

Venue: Infection Control Unit, Clayton hospital (on level 2 and through the corridor beyond Seminar Room 3 and opposite the hospital Social Services Office).
Day/Time: Monday - Friday/7:15am - 4:00pm*

If you have any questions please contact the Infection Control Unit on 959 42623.


Australia's Biggest Morning Tea

You are invited to join the Centre for Endocrinology and the School of Clinical Sciences for the 2015 Australia's Biggest Morning in support of the Cancer Council of Victoria.

Thursday 28th May in the level 4 Seminar Room.   Details attached here.

Grand Rounds- Emergency - 13 May 2015

Presented by Professor Andis Graudins, "Pharmacological management of acute behavioural disturbance: Old drugs - new evidence"                               

Date: Wednesday 13th May 2015
Time: 12.30pm to 1.30pm

Venue: Main Lecture Theatre, Monash Medical Centre, Clayton
Details here.

MIMR-PHI seminar 14 May:Tyrosine kinase signalling networks in human cancer

Professor Daly
This week's MIMR-PHI Seminar will be held from 4pm-5pm, Lecture Theatre 1, Monash Medical Centre.   The speaker will be Prof Roger Daly - Head, Dept of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Monash University.

Talk title: "Tyrosine kinase signalling networks in human cancer".  
More details here.


Light refreshments to follow presentation outside the Lecture Theatre.


Centre of Inflammatory Diseases (CID) Seminar - TOMORROW

Invited speaker Dr James Vince will be presenting:

"Dissecting the ripoptosome: a novel driver of inflammatory disease?"

Tuesday 12 May, 12-1pm in the Medicine Seminar Room

Level 5, Block E, MMC




NGS solutions for tiny amounts of starting DNA/RNA as well as the very latest targeted genomic, transcriptive & epigenetic approaches

The seminar will cover a range of the very latest techniques using NuGEN’s innovative solutions for:
RNAseq - SPIA using 500pg RNA
RNAseq - Selective depletion
Target enrichment, genomic, transcriptomic and epigenetic solutions

Attend for a chance to win a free NGS project!  Flyer attached here.

WHEN: Thursday 14 May 2015
TIME: 12.30PM - 1.30PM. Lunch will be provided for registrants
WHERE: Board Room, Level 3, MIMR-PHI Building

So you want to get your story out there? How do I publish my news in the media?

The outlet
From the newspapers to Crikey, each news organisation has science writers trawling through dozens of story ideas each day. Science media outlets like the Conversation, New Scientist and Cosmos will have a different target audience, so choose your outlet wisely. Who are the readers - who do I want to target? Is the editor going to give you final say over your article? Browsing through the science articles in these outlets will give an indication of how they write.

The pitch
The pitch is just like an abstract submission, only cooler. It's a couple of hundred words with an eye-catching title that will stop people in their tracks. It has a brief outline, structured with the conclusion at the beginning. Which is why scientists find it hard to write for the news!!!

The process 
At SCS, Katherine Greenberg will take you through the whole process, from writing the pitch to editing articles, if need be. Katherine will also give you advice about how to handle a media interview and support and guide you if you’re faced with TV crews chasing you down the corridor (when you’ve discovered the next big cure).

Adding finesse
What jazzes up a news article is images, and people (and anything else you can think of). Katherine can help you source or produce good images to accompany your story. And by including a storyline in the article about the researchers, or the students, or most importantly, the people affected by the research, the article will gain a human angle making it much more attractive to publishers.

By Clare Westhorpe, your ECR rep

Three Minute Thesis Competition Registration Deadline: TODAY at midnight


The Three Minute Thesis (3MT) Competition is an opportunity to promote your research and challenges you to develop skills in explaining your project succinctly and in an engaging way to a general audience.

All SCS students are encouraged to participate in this fantastic event.  Participation by MIMR-PHI (Dept Molecular & Translational Sciences) students is mandatory unless supervisor permission to opt out is given (as per 2014); participation in all other Departments is determined locally.  Heats are to be organised at Dept/Centre level, with 1-3 students per Centre/Dept proceeding to the School final*. Centre / Departments heats are to be completed prior to 30 July.

This year the MIMR-PHI Student Society will host a School of Clinical Sciences Final for all PhD students in week 1 or 2 of August, with the winner to compete in the Faculty final on August 21st (1-2:30 pm).
Great prizes will be on offer for students competing in the School Final, including a new SCS Travel Grant, additional cash prizes for the top ranked students (selected by supervisors) and a Peoples Choice Award of $100.  There will be additional prizes for students ineligible to progress to the Faculty MNHS Final (those who have not completed their Confirmation milestone prior to the end of August 2015).
Online registration required for Monash students entering (only eligible students can enter) closes at midnight Monday, 11 May 2015.  
http://intranet.monash.edu.au/migr/seminars/events/3-minute-thesis/


Preparing competitive PhD student scholarship applications

Dr. Jen Scott, Faculty Manager, Research Degrees, will run a H1E and scholarship (RASSA) training session for supervisors on Thursday May 14th at 9:30-10:30 am in the MIMR level 2 meeting room. 

This is particularly relevant for staff intending to support student applications in the mid-year (deadline 30 May) and end-of-year (deadline 30 October) application rounds.

Postgraduate Meeting (Open Forum) - Weds 20 May at 4pm

Prof Loveland
Prof Kate Loveland will hold several 'Open House' sessions each year for all graduate research students to discuss issues or to come and hear from an invited speaker.

The first session will be held:

Date: Wednesday 20th May
Time: 4.00-5.00pm
Location: MIMR-PHI Level 2 Meeting Room, 27-31 Wright Street Clayton

Kate will speak for half hour on matters relating to Preparing for Milestone meetings and Thesis preparation (structure) followed by an open discussion forum.  

GSK Award for Research Excellence 2015 – Nominations NOW OPEN

The 35th GSK Award for Research Excellence (ARE) is now open for nominations. The award acknowledges outstanding Australian researchers and their work and provides an $80,000 (tax free) independent research grant to the award recipient’s employing organisation to further the recipient’s work and knowledge.

The award targets high calibre mid-career clinicians and researchers undertaking human medical health research predominately in Australia.

The judging criteria are weighted as follows:
·  40% - potential for the researcher’s contribution to science to directly or indirectly lead to improvement in human health
·  30% - potential for the nominee to continue to make research contributions in the field of human health; and
·  30% - nominee’s accomplishments based on academic and employment record, research grants and awards received, cited publications and other examples of research productivity.


Further information about the award and the online nomination form are available at 
GSK Award for Research Excellence website.

Nominations close on 
3 July 2015. The award will be presented at the Research Australia Awards Night on Wednesday 18 November 2015.

Queries regarding the award should be directed to 
are.arenominations@gsk.com

DoD Funding Oppotunities for the Peer Reviewed Cancer Research Program

T​he FY15 Defense Appropriations Act provides $50 million (M) to the Department of Defense Peer Reviewed Cancer Research Program (PRCRP) to support innovative, high-impact cancer research

FY15 PRCRP Program Announcements and General Application Instructions for the following award mechanisms are posted on the Grants.gov website.

Congressionally Directed Topic Areas: To be considered for funding, applications for the FY15 PRCRP must address at least one of the Topic Areas as directed by Congress. Research applications in the areas of breast, prostate, lung (excluding mesothelioma), or ovarian cancer will not be accepted.

The FY15 PRCRP Topic Areas are listed below:

Academic Promotion round 2015 now open

Further to the announcement in the Monash Memo that the Academic Promotion Round is now open, here is some further information for staff intending to apply this year.

If you have not already done so, please make the necessary arrangements with your performance supervisor and Head of Unit, ensuring that they have adequate time to complete their sections of the Case for Promotion form by the due date.

You are strongly encouraged to make an appointment to meet with the relevant Associate Deans to discuss your application.

Internal Faculty Deadlines
Please note that faculty specific deadlines apply before the close of the round on 26th June 2015.

Biosafety and Radiation Safety Officers and Floor Wardens URGENTLY needed

Josh Ooi has been the Biosafety and Radiation Safety Officer for several years and we need to find replacements for both these roles. Josh will continue to perform both roles in the interim and will be happy to assist anyone interested in either position for a transition period. Monash training will also be provided for both roles. Neither are terribly onerous but are absolutely required to be filled for the Research that we undertake.


Additionally, we need to find another 2 floor wardens for the 5th floor of E-Block. There are 4 emergency zones on the floor and each one should be manned in an emergency. This is not a time consuming task and would involve initial training of 1-2hrs and an annual refresher taking about 1hr. Please contact Dale if you would like to assist in any of the above.

Risk management training

As outlined at previous School meetings, by the end of 2015, the Head of School is required to sign-off on the SCS OHS Plan and submit to Faculty. One element of this plan requires all Risk Assessments and SOPs (Standard Operating Procedures) to be updated, which must only be done once every three years. There are currently approximately 80s Risk Assessments to be updated in total across the School. The University policy identifies Research and Lab Group Heads with the responsibility of ensuring that all Risk Assessments for their areas are current.

Sudden infant death syndrome and advice for safe sleeping.

Professor Horne
Rosemary Horne published in The BMJ.

Read article here.

Symptom attribution and symptom reporting in Australian Gulf War veterans

Professor Clarke
David Clarke published in the Journal of Psychosomatic Research.

Read article here.

Smartphone app to improve sleep

Dr Sarah Biggs, Department of Paediatrics, presented concerns around new smartphone technology that is designed to monitor and improve sleep at a conference in New Zealand.  Listen to Radio National interview here.