Around the Precinct – 27 May 2021

Plenty of news this week as Melbourne heads back into lockdown. Grants for important research continue to flow through as our researchers explore everything from mental health, to silicosis, asthma, HPV, brain cancer, diabetes and the risks of sedentary behaviour. Plus, our experts provide the latest updates and insights into COVID-19 and vaccines, and we look at clinical trials and career opportunities at the Alliance.

ALFRED RESEARCH ALLIANCE

Further your career at the Alliance

A career at the Alfred Research Alliance allows you to work with world-leading organisations within an exciting, collaborative research and education community on one, conveniently located precinct in the heart of Melbourne. Learn more about the advantages & opportunities in the newly-released Further Your Career  brochure, now available on the Alliance website. A student-focused Launch Your Career  brochure is also available.

International Clinical Trials Day  

Last week on 20 May was International Clinical Trials Day. Many Alfred Research Alliance members are involved in this vital part of the translational research process, from first-in-human trials right through to Phase IV.  You can read more about clinical trials at the Alliance, in the 2020 Alfred Research Alliance Annual Research Report.

DEAKIN UNIVERSITY AND MONASH UNIVERSITY

MRFF grant to support new national collaboration on Mental Health 

A new national collaboration to transform the way mental health treatment is developed and tested will be led by Deakin University and key partners including Monash University, with $12 million support from the Federal Government’s Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF). The Mental Health Australia General Clinical Trial Network (MAGNET) will start as a five-year project funded through the MRFF’s Million Minds Mission. Read more…

MONASH CENTRAL CLINICAL SCHOOL

International grant for getting to zero new HIV infections in Australia

Congratulations to A/Prof Jason Ong from the Melbourne Sexual Health Clinic (MSHC) at CCS, who is one of two Australian recipients of Gilead Sciences Australia New Zealand’s Getting to Zero Grant Program 2021, a global initiative supporting projects aimed at getting to zero new HIV infections. A/Prof Ong received the funding for a project looking to improve access to HIV Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) for newly arrived overseas born men who have sex with men (MSM). Read more…

Céline Pattaroni Awarded Grant for Asthma Research

Congratulations this week to Céline Pattaroni, who was awarded the 2021 Carty Signature Grant for her research on mechanisms of asthma in early childhood. Céline has been awarded $300,000 over a period of three years to undertake the research. She is the third Carty Signature Grant recipient. With up to 1 in 9 Australians affected and an incidence on the rise, there is a clear need to understand the mechanisms driving asthma. Read more…

MONASH SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH & PREVENTIVE MEDICINE

$1.6 million windfall for silicosis treatment & prevention research

A deadly and incurable lung disease afflicting Australian tradies could be successfully treated and prevented from progressing, following a multi-million federal funding boost to silicosis research. Monash University’s SPHPM and Hudson Institute of Medical Research have received more than $1.6 million in MRFF funding towards research investigating ways to prevent and treat silicosis. Read more…

Clinical trials acknowledged at awards ceremony

Congratulations to those at SPHPM who have worked to deliver the PEPTIC and REMAP-CAP trials, both of which were acknowledged in the Australian Clinical Trials Association’s Trial of the Year Awards this week. The awards honour the remarkable Australians who advance our health system by designing, conducting or participating in ground-breaking clinical trials, and promote the importance of clinical trials and the expertise and complexity of work involved. Read more…

MONASH UNIVERSITY AND ALFRED HEALTH

HPV vaccine shows success in gay, bisexual men

A study by Monash University and Alfred Health found a 70 per cent reduction in one type of human papillomavirus (HPV) in gay and bisexual men after the implementation of the school-based HPV vaccination program. The HYPER2 study led by A/Prof Eric Chow, found there was a significant reduction in all four vaccine-preventable genotypes in gay/bisexual men aged 16-20 years following the introduction of the vaccine for boys in 2013. Read more…

ALFRED HEALTH

A journey through brain cancer treatment

Treating brain cancer is a team effort, when a person is suspected of having a brain tumour they’ll begin their journey through treatment, starting with the first stop: The Alfred’s Neuroradiology department. Find out more about the journey of patients presenting with symptoms that could be caused by a brain tumour from The Alfred’s team of expert clinicians. Read more…

BAKER HEART AND DIABETES INSTITUTE

Article provides the latest facts on vaccines, blood clots and the risk/benefit analysis

An excellent article this morning from Baker Institute’s Prof Karlheinz Peter and Dr James McFayden, both of whom are also clinicians at The Alfred, explaining the rare blood clotting disorder triggered by the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, what symptoms to look for, advances in treatment, and what the real risks are. A great article to share. Originally published in The Conversation. Read more… 

The danger of sedentary behaviour: Sit less, move more, say experts

A review led by researchers from the Baker Institute explains new ways GPs, cardiologists and other health practitioners could encourage their patients to sit less and move more to reduce their risk of cardiovascular disease. Such advice could be particularly beneficial for patients with multiple chronic health conditions such as arthritis and angina says the report, published in Nature Reviews. Find out more and check tips for better health by reading more here…

New diabetes drugs effective way to tackle kidney disease

Almost 7000 Australians could be saved from end-stage kidney disease over the next 20 years if we focussed on widespread delivery of newer diabetes medications, say Baker Institute researchers. A recent study published in Diabetes Care, modelled the impacts of different interventions on the future incidence of end-stage kidney disease, one of the most expensive and burdensome complications of diabetes. Read more…

BURNET INSTITUTE

AAS Fellowship for Prof Brendan Crabb

Burnet Institute Director and CEO Prof Brendan Crabb AC is among 22 scientists acknowledged for their outstanding contributions to science with election as Fellows of the Australian Academy of Science (AAS). The Director & CEO of Burnet Institute, Prof Crabb is also a past-President of AAMRI, the peak body for independent medical research Institutes in Australia, and current Chair of the Victorian Chapter, VicAAMRI. Read more…

COVID-19: What’s next?

Epidemiologist Prof Mike Toole AM has been a leading voice in Australia’s COVID-19 response and brings more than 40 years’ experience in international health to the Burnet Institute’s research team. This week, as Melbourne headed back into lockdown, he shared his thoughts on what’s ahead in the coming months and years in the new, post-COVID world. Read more…