Around the Precinct – 9 December 2021

The research on our precinct takes place on a broad spectrum, from examining the tiniest of cells under a microscope to analysing population trends and patterns among millions of people. This week, researchers from the Australian Centre for Blood Diseases have found a new way to deliver drugs to targeted cancer cells, while senior research fellow Karin Hammarberg from Monash School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine investigates the ongoing downward trend in Australia’s fertility rate, and what’s behind it.

Elsewhere on the precinct, Victorian Minister for Mental Health James Merlino visited The Alfred’s Child and Youth Mental Health Service this week to announce additional funding for their Early Intervention Mobile Outreach Service, and the hospital launched state-of-the-art technology that will improve treatment for cancer patients undergoing radiation therapy.

Monash SPHPM

An article by Karin Hammarberg at Monash SPHPM has examined the reasons behind Australia’s declining fertility rate.

Alfred Health

Funding boost for youth mental health
Alfred Health’s Early Intervention Mobile Outreach Service will soon be able to help more young people thanks to a $1.4 million funding boost.
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Trauma admissions on the rise
An increase in patients presenting at The Alfred’s Emergency and Trauma Centre as a result of road trauma has doctors urging motorists and pedestrians to stay safe this festive season.
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Lifting the bar in radiation therapy
All cancer patients at The Alfred receiving external beam radiation treatment will now have access to state-of-the-art technology, thanks to the introduction of a new $3.15 million Linear Accelerator (LINAC).
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Monash University – Central Clinical School

Researchers develop a world-first antibody-drug delivery system
It sounds like the stuff of science fiction: a man-made crystal that can be attached to antibodies and then supercharge them with potent drugs or imaging agents that can seek out diseased cells with the highest precision, resulting in fewer adverse effects for the patient.
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Monash University – School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine

Real world impact of social care researcher acknowledged through Sax Institute award
The Sax Institute has recognised the real-world impact of research by Dr Claire Blewitt, Research Fellow with the School’s Health and Social Care Unit (HSCU), by awarding her at their 2021 Research Action Award ceremony.
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Half of women over 35 who want a child don’t end up having one, or have fewer than they planned
At age 35, one in four Australian women and one in three men were hoping to have a child or more children in the future. But by age 49, about half report they haven’t yet had the number of children they hoped for.
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The subtle art and science of COVID vaccine (and booster) influencing
How do we enable people to make evidence-based, health and life-protecting choices in a pandemic?
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Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute

You cannot be what you cannot see: why medical mentoring matters
The importance of medical mentoring will be a focus of the Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute’s free educational symposium in Alice Springs this week.
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