Alcohol-related harm taking a toll in hospital emergency departments—more than half a million admissions each year

Associate Professor Egerton-Warburton

A world-first research study investigating the burden of alcohol harm has revealed that almost one in ten presentations to hospital emergency departments is alcohol-related.

Led by Monash University researcher and Monash Health Director of Emergency Medicine Research Associate Professor Diana Egerton-Warburton, the first large-scale international, multisite, prospective study into the total burden of alcohol harm presenting to emergency departments (EDs) shows the burden is higher than previously thought.

Alcohol is a major cause of death and disability internationally, resulting in an estimated 5.9% of all deaths.

Associate Professor Egerton-Warburton said alcohol-related harm accounts for 3.3 million deaths annually and is also linked to over 200 diseases.

“EDs are at the frontline of treating the health and social consequences of alcohol-related harm,” Associate Professor Egerton-Warburton said.

“Our study is the first in the world to include the total burden of alcohol-related harm, including physical injuries, intoxication, medical conditions and indirect injuries caused by a third party affected by alcohol.”

“It’s shocking that more than half a million people every year present to our EDs in Australia as a direct result of alcohol—bearing in mind these are preventable admissions.”

Eight hospital EDs across Australia and New Zealand—representing metropolitan, rural and regional populations—screened nearly 8500 patients over a seven-day period in December 2014.  Of these, 801 presentations (or 9.5%), were identified as being alcohol positive according to the study criteria.

“These findings verify previous data that demonstrated high levels of alcohol-related presentations overnight during weekends, but also demonstrate that patients with alcohol-related conditions are presenting to EDs at all times throughout the week,” Associate Professor Egerton-Warburton said.

Patients with alcohol-related harm are more likely to be younger, male, be triaged for immediate care, and arrive via ambulance or police.

Associate Professor Egerton-Warburton said these types of patients are resource intensive, and may be violent and aggressive to staff and other patients. 

“They have been found to disrupt the function of the ED and negatively impact on the care of other patients,” she said.

“Our previously published clinical survey found that nine out of 10 emergency clinicians had experienced violence from alcohol-affected patients over the last year.”

“Alcohol consumption has a significant impact on the healthcare system as reflected in the prevalence of alcohol-related presentations occurring daily in our EDs, and as alcohol-related harm is an inherently preventable condition, this represents a strong case for preventative public health interventions,” Associate Professor Egerton-Warburton said.

“Restricting the availability of alcohol through early closing of licenced venues has demonstrated a significant reduction in ED alcohol-related presentations internationally.”

Associate Professor Egerton-Warburton said this research adds to the compelling argument for widespread introduction of restricted trading hours to reduce harms and healthcare costs.

Setting the priorities for paediatric emergency medicine research

Associate Professor Simon Craig

A large collaborative study of paediatric emergency researchers across Australia and New Zealand, including researchers at Monash University, has identified asthma management, emergency intubation, imaging of suspected cervical spine injuries and management of sepsis as priority areas for future multicentre research.

Published in the Emergency Medicine Journal and conducted through the Paediatric Research in Emergency Departments International Collaborative (PREDICT) network (www.predict.org.au), the research collaboration includes all hospitals with major paediatric emergency departments across Australia and New Zealand.

Monash University researcher and Monash Health paediatric emergency medicine physician Associate Professor Simon Craig was co-author on the study that surveyed practising senior paediatric emergency physicians to identify priorities for future research.

“We identified a number of key areas which clinicians believe should be a focus for acute paediatric research in the next few years: high flow oxygenation in intubation, fluid volume resuscitation and vasopressor use in sepsis, imaging in cervical spine injury, and intravenous therapy for asthma,” Associate Professor Craig said.

“These topics are relevant to clinicians practicing anywhere in the world, and have been independently identified by similar studies in the UK, Ireland and North America. Given the nature of paediatric emergency medicine, we are likely to need global collaboration to answer these research questions.”

Associate Professor Craig said there have been concerns raised regarding research waste, either through poor design, lack of publication, or incomplete reporting.

“Crucially, it has been estimated that around half of all research studies do not take into account lessons and results from previous related research,” Associate Professor Craig said.

“An understanding of the research priorities for practicing clinicians allows us to ensure that these topics are systematically examined to identify gaps in evidence, and/or gaps in knowledge translation, prior to the design of future trials.”

“Interestingly, we also identified a number of areas where practicing clinicians identified research questions which had already been answered by existing studies – either by clinical trials or systematic reviews. This highlights the importance of translating research knowledge into clinical practice which remains a challenge for acute paediatric care.”

CSIRO Synthetic Biology Future Science Fellowships

Aim: To attract outstanding national and international early- to mid-career post-doctoral researchers to expand Australian research capacity in synthetic biology.

More information could be found here

Funding

Funding can be used to support the Fellow’s salary and on-costs, reasonable operating costs, travel, equipment, and other expenses directly related to the Future Fellow’s research. The CSIRO cash commitment must be at least met 1:1  

Eligibility Requirements

Must hold a PhD conferred between 1st July 2010 and 1st July 2018, (Allowances will be made for career interruptions).

The scheme is open to researchers at Academic Levels A and B. In exceptional circumstances funding for a level C position may be approved for a truly outstanding candidate. Applicants who hold a continuing/tenured/permanent/faculty/indefinite position are NOT eligible to apply.

Application Process

Monash University (i.e. MRO) nominates the applicant. 

Proposals under the five identified Application Domains need to be submitted to MRO through Pure, and necessary internal approvals must be completed by 21 February 2018.

The Applicant will have to have made contact with a CSIRO mentor and must obtain a Letter of Support from them.  

The Application form can be found here. 

Key Dates

Scheme Opens:	10 January 2018
Draft applications due via Pure for MRO review:	21 February 2018
Full application due to funder:	05 March 2018

Pure Record Instructions

Applicants must create an Application Record in Pure:   

·            Select Funding Organisation:CSIRO

·            Select Funding Opportunity: CSIRO Synthetic Biology Future Science Fellowships

Please attach a draft application form to the Pure record and submit it to Pre-approval when ready, before the internal deadline. 

For any further questions, please email the MRO <mro-applications@monash.edu>.

NHMRC Early Career Fellowship (ECF) Applications are open in RGMS

Applications for this scheme are now open in RGMS.

All relevant NHMRC funding rules and guidelines for this scheme are available via GrantConnect.

The MRO is updating the offline templates & guidance documents for this scheme based on the guidelines released today. These will be available on the MRO ECF intranet page by the end of this week. If you do not have access to our intranet page, please email us for copies of these documents.

Attached HERE is a copy of the MRO submission process document for this scheme for your information.
 
Key application dates:

Please contact us if you have any queries or concerns and keep in touch with us to let us know how you are progressing.

NHMRC Project Grant Applications are Open in RGMS

Reminder: A reminder that the maximum number of applications any CI (CIA-CIJ) may submit in the 2018 Project Grant round is two. The maximum number of Project Grants a CI (CIA-CIJ) can hold is six. This applies for all applicants except those who are an NHMRC Program Grant CI (who are limited to holding, and applying for, no more than 1 Project Grant).

All relevant NHMRC funding rules and guidelines for this scheme are available via GrantConnect - search for NHMRC Project Grants.

The MRO has updated the key changes and other relevant information for this scheme based on the new guidelines - these are available on the relevant MRO intranet pages.

Attached here is:

• the MRO submission process document,
• a QRG for creating your Pure application record,
• consent template for CIs and AIs. 

New Investigator (NI) Project Grants - Form MUST be Certified by COB Mon 22nd Jan 2018
All CIs (CIA-CIJ) need to be assessed and be confirmed as a NI by NHMRC. Where one or more CIs have not submitted a request or have not had their NI status confirmed, the application will progress as a standard Project Grant application. 

All NI applicants must:

• update the RGMS CV-RF and CV-ORF sections of the RGMS profile & CV, AND
• fully complete and certify the online NI status request form in RGMS by COB 22 January 2018. The MRO will then submit your NI request form before the NHMRC close date of 5pm AEDT 24 January 2018. 

No additional explanatory information will be accepted after the NI status request form has been submitted - so include all relevant details on the NI form. 

Even if you have applied in previous years for NI status, you must request NI status again this year. Confirmation of NI status will be sent to the MRO prior to the close date of Project Grants to allow the applicant(s) time to adjust the CI team if they do not meet the eligibility criteria.

Key application dates:

If you have any eligibility or compliance queries with regard to your NHMRC grant applications, please contact us at mhs@monash.edu

We look forward to reviewing your applications!

ARC LIEF EOI - Now open!

Funding Opportunity: ARC LIEF EOI 

The EOI process for LE19 is now open and will close at 5pm on Wednesday 31st January 2018.  For bids led by a Victoria-based university, an EOI should be submitted by the lead CI only.  If the bid is lead interstate, the Victoria-based CI should submit an EOI for their involvement. 

Monash Cash Contributions

For Monash-led bids, it is expected that the overall cash contribution from Monash would total between 40% and 60% of the total request for funds, and that this would likely comprise 1/3 from the relevant School or Department, 1/3 from the relevant Faculty, and 1/3 from Central.

For non Monash-led bids, Central cash funding may be requested following the 1/3; 1/3; 1/3 model.

To secure Central funding, School/Department and Faculty funding must be signed off as part of the EOI process.  Evidence of internal cash commitments and a request for Central cash support is achieved via the Monash Cash Contribution form.

Submitting an EOI

Further information on the EOI process including the Monash Cash Contribution form can be accessed from the MRO intranet.  The EOI form can be accessed through the VicLIEF portal.  

EOI Outcomes 

All EOI's submitted State-wide will be discussed at a meeting in mid-February 2018 which is attended by the DVCR's of the Victoria-based universities, or their delegates.  Only those EOI teams that receive approval from this meeting will be supported to submit a full ARC LE19 application.

Key Dates

Scheme Open:	Now
EOI Close	5pm, Wednesday 31 January 2018
DVCR's Meeting	Monday 12 February 2018
EOI Outcome Nofications	Tuesday 13 February 2018

ARC Close

5pm, Wednesday 28 March 2018

Pure Record Instructions

The EOI does not need to be reflected in Pure at this stage.  Only bids that receive DVCR support to proceed to full submission to the ARC, will need to create Pure records to reflect the lead or non-lead status of their involvement.

If you have questions or need advice, the MRO would be happy to assist.  Please contact us at mro-applications@monash.edu  or phone 99059895.

Applications for DECRA 2019 are now open in RMS

1. Please find the Instructions to Applicants (HERE) and Funding Rules (HERE) for the Discovery Program attached.

Please note that there have been significant changes to proposals in RMS, particularly the ROPE section. Ensure you read ITA documents thoroughly before starting your proposal in RMS. 

2. If you received your PhD prior to March 2013, you will need to apply for an eligibility extension. If you have not already, please contact the MRO as soon as possible.

3. ARC dates, internal deadlines and guidance documents for each scheme are available on the MRO intranet page here: http://www.intranet.monash/researchadmin/find-and-apply/standard-page-two

Please note that the internal deadline for forwarding your proposal to the MRO is 22/02/2018. Any queries regarding this scheme should be directed to mro-applications@monash.edu

Fellowship Opportunity: CSIRO Synthetic Biology Future Science Fellowships

Aim: To attract outstanding national and international early- to mid-career post-doctoral researchers to expand Australian research capacity in synthetic biology.

More information could be found here

Funding

Funding can be used to support the Fellow’s salary and on-costs, reasonable operating costs, travel, equipment, and other expenses directly related to the Future Fellow’s research

The CSIRO cash commitment must be at least met 1:1  

Eligibility Requirements

Must hold a PhD conferred between 1st July 2010 and 1st July 2018, (Allowances will be made for career interruptions).

The scheme is open to researchers at Academic Levels A and B. In exceptional circumstances funding for a level C position may be approved for a truly outstanding candidate. Applicants who hold a continuing/tenured/permanent/faculty/indefinite position are NOT eligible to apply.

Application Process

Monash University (i.e. MRO) nominates the applicant. 

Proposals under the five identified Application Domains need to be submitted to MRO through Pure, and necessary internal approvals must be completed by 21 February 2018.

The Applicant will have to have made contact with a CSIRO mentor and must obtain a Letter of Support from them.  

The Application form can be found here. 

Key Dates

Scheme Opens:	10 January 2018
Draft applications due via Pure for MRO review:	21 February 2018
Full application due to funder:	05 March 2018

Pure Record Instructions

Applicants must create an Application Record in Pure:   

·            Select Funding Organisation:CSIRO

·            Select Funding Opportunity: CSIRO Synthetic Biology Future Science Fellowships

Please attach a draft application form to the Pure record and submit it to Pre-approval when ready, before the internal deadline. 

For any further questions, please email the MRO <mro-applications@monash.edu>.

Slides from the NHMRC ECF and Project Grant Eligibility and Compliance Seminars

For anyone interested in the ppt slides presented yesterday at the NHMRC ECF and Project Grant eligibility and compliance seminars, please find them attached HERE and HERE.

Eradicate Cancer 2018 – conference travel support opportunity (Entries Close 31st January)

To support Australian and New Zealand research in the fight against cancer, In Vitro Technologies is inviting Australian and New Zealand researchers to participate in a travel rewards programs. 

To assist Eradicate Cancer 2018 delegates, In Vitro Technologies & ASN Events are offering 5 travel grants and Registrations

Enter your details on the form on this page for the chance to receive one of these generous travel grants and accelerate your research internationally! 

The grants will include:  5 grants for travel expenses up to $500 AUD for Australian and New Zealand researchers including FREE conference registrations.

Details HERE.

Victorian Cancer Agency 2018 Early Career Health Services Research Fellowships - Closing 31 January

The Victorian Cancer Agency is a unit of the Department of Health and Human Services that funds translational cancer research to improve clinical practice and outcomes for Victorian cancer patients.

The following funding scheme is now open and will close at 11.59pm on 31 January 2018:

• Victorian Cancer Agency Early Career Health Services Research Fellowships

Information on additional funding schemes will be made available in 2018.

More information, including guidelines, funding rules and a link to the application forms can be found on our website: http://www.victoriancanceragency.org.au/index.php/2018funding-round

Answers to frequently asked questions can also be found on the website, however should you have further questions, please call on 1300 664 737 or send an email via
victorian.canceragency@dhhs.vic.gov.au

Ai-Ming Wong's confirmation of candidature, "Clinical predictors of obstructive sleep apnoea resolution following surgical interventions", 23 January

All staff and students are invited to Ai-Ming Wong's PhD confirmation of candidature. 

10-11am,  23 January, TRF seminar room 2

Presentation Title: Clinical predictors of obstructive sleep apnoea resolution following surgical interventions (upper airway surgery and surgical weight loss).

Synopsis:

Obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) is a highly prevalent condition and results in significant daytime sleepiness and fatigue, depression, increased risk of motor vehicle accidents, cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Only 50% of patients can tolerate the “gold” standard treatment, continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP). Upper airway surgery is a critical alternative treatment with the potential to cure OSA but only does so in approximately 25% of patients. Similarly, surgical weight loss can resolve OSA, but its resolution cannot be predicted by their starting weight or post-intervention weight loss.  The key problem is that current clinical tools cannot accurately predict treatment response for either approach. My research aims to use novel OSA physiological traits to predict treatment response to these interventions (upper airway surgery and surgical weight loss).

Supervisors:  A/Professor Garun Hamilton, Dr Bradley Edwards, Dr Simon Joosten, A/Professor Darren Mansfield

Edmond Kwan's PhD confirmation, "Androgen receptor variants: predictive and prognostic biomarkers, and overcoming treatment resistance in advanced prostate cancer", 30 January

All staff and students are invited to Edmond Kwan's PhD confirmation

30 January, 11.30am - 1pm, Level 7 boardroom, TRF

Presentation title: 

Androgen receptor variants: predictive and prognostic biomarkers, and overcoming treatment resistance in advanced prostate cancer

Synopsis: 

The last several years has seen the approval of multiple new therapies for advanced prostate cancer, particularly targeting the androgen receptor (AR) axis. Despite improvements in clinical outcomes, resistance to these agents is inevitable.  This project aims to characterise a predictive biomarker for resistance to AR-axis targeted agents, and determine alternative treatment approaches to overcome this resistance. 

Supervisors:

A/Prof Arun Azad, Dr Sarah To, Prof Eva Segelov

FIJI BASICS WORKSHOP 1 Monash Micro Imaging at MHTP, 6 March

Registration is now open for MMI-MHTP’s 1st FIJI Basics Workshop of 2018!

Tuesday 6th March, 9am-1pm, including morning tea break 
Translational Research Facility, Level 4 Room 4R.03 (large meeting room) 

In 2018 MMI-MHTP is once again running their popular FIJI Basics Image Analysis Workshop. This year the FIJI workshops will be split into 3 session: Basics, Intermediate and Advanced. Topics covered this year will vary slightly from last year’s workshops.

This half day FIJI Basics workshop will provide a great introduction to working with FIJI analysis software to manage your images and create figures. Perfect for new students or anyone just starting out in imaging. The FIJI basics workshop will be run several times throughout 2018 to accommodate as many people as possible. Sessions are open to all staff and students.

You do not have to be a registered MMI user to attend.

 Topics covered include: loading images and using the bio-formats importer, different file saving formats, basic image adjustments, channels and colours, setting scales and adding scale bars to images, ROIs and working with stacks.

To Register: Email your details sarah.creed@hudson.org.au.

Cost: $50 – which will be covered by MMI registration fees for users. Non-MMI users must provide a cost centre when registering.

Please ensure you include full details in your email: full name, department and group, position, best contact email and cost centre if not a registered MMI user. Registrations are open until Friday 23rd of February 2018, unless places are filled sooner.

Register now! Places are limited and these workshops filled fast in 2017!

Stayed tuned: More sessions for FIJI Basics, Intermediate & Advanced will be announced throughout the year

New printers and photocopiers being installed this week

The new multi-function printers are being rolled out this week.

Installation process:
• During installation, the old printer will be turned off whilst the new printer is installed and set up. It is expected that there will be no more than one hour's downtime for each printer. 

• Staff are asked to redirect their printing during this time to other older working printers in the vicinity or to the new MPS printers as they are installed.

We will shortly send you instructions about using the new print process.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Kristian Goree (kristian.goree@monash.edu).

For more information about the new print service go to the program website - https://sites.google.com/a/monash.edu/cards-print-pay/new-print-service-for-staff

or read the Print Principles. - https://sites.google.com/a/monash.edu/cards-print-pay/new-print-service-for-staff/print-principles

Hudson positions vacant

The following positions are currently being recruited for:

Research Assistant - Bioinformatics/Computational Biology

RSS Y (Full Time) - Sam Forster Closing Sunday 28 January.  

Research Assistant - Microbiology  

RSS Y (Full Time) - Sam Forster Closing Sunday 28 January.  

Postdoctoral Scientist RES A (Full time) - Patrick Wester 

Closing Sunday 28 January.  

Postdoctoral Scientist

RES A (Full time) - Flora Wong

Closing Sunday 4 February 2018

Further information on the roles and PDs are available at http://hudson.org.au/careers/

Are you concerned about your cholesterol levels? Could you take a daily supplement?

Contact Margaret to find out more

Email: margaret.murray@monash.edu

Phone: 9902 4199

Or follow the link to our online screening survey:

https://tinyurl.com/MonashSeaweed

Two world-frst Aussie trials for new myeloma therapies

Associate Professor Jake Shortt in Myeloma News.

Read article here (page 3)

What actually causes those gut problems during exercise?

Ricardo Costa published in Australian Triathlete

Read article here.

A Comprehensive Protocol Resource for Performing Pooled shRNA and CRISPR Screens

Jake Shortt et al. published in Inflammation and Cancer.

Read article here.

Epigenetic supersimilarity of monozygotic twin pairs

Melissa Southey et al. published in Genome Biology.

Read article here.

Alcohol-related harm in emergency departments: a prospective, multi-centre study

Diana Egerton-Warburton et al. published in Addiction.

Read article here.

Germline variants in IL4, MGMT and AKT1 are associated with prostate cancer-specific mortality: An analysis of 12,082 prostate cancer cases

Melissa Southey et al. published in Prostate Cancer and Prostatic Diseases.

Read article here.

Computed Tomographic Coronary Angiography–Derived Plaque Characteristics Predict Major Adverse Cardiovascular Events

Nitesh Nerlekar, Adam Brown et al. published in Circulation: Cardiovascular Imaging.

Read article here.

How to do health services research in stroke: A focus on performance measurement and quality improvement

Dominique Cadilhac et al. published in the International Journal of Stroke.

Read article here.

Prospective Surveillance of Pediatric Invasive Group A Streptococcus Infection

Jim Buttery et al. published in the Journal of the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society.

Read article here.

Quality of life and mood in children with cystic fibrosis: Associations with sleep quality

Rosemary Horne et al. published in the Journal of Cystic Fibrosis.

Read article here.

The effect of smoking on exacerbation risk in eosinophilic patients with COPD

Phil Bardin et al. published in the European Respiratory Journal.

Read article here.

Underdiagnosis of Chlamydia trachomatis and Chlamydia psittaci revealed by introduction of respiratory multiplex PCR assay with Chlamydiaceae family primers

Maryza Graham et al. published in Diagnostic Microbiology and Infectious Disease.

Read article here.

Progesterone concentrations and dosage with frozen embryo transfers - What's best?

Beverley Vollenhoven et al. published in the Australian & New Zealand Journal of Obstetrics & Gynaecology.

Read article here.

Formyl peptide receptor-2 is decreased in fetal growth restriction and contributes to placental dysfunction

Padma Murthi et al. published in Molecular Human Reproduction.

Read article here.

Associations of components of sarcopenic obesity with bone health and balance in older adults

David Scott et al. published in Archives of Gerontology and Geriatrics.

Read article here.

Gilz-Activin A as a Novel Signaling Axis Orchestrating Mesenchymal Stem Cell and Th17 Cell Interplay

Eric Morand et al. published in Theranostics.

Read article here.