Congratulations on your grant success!

Dr Kirk Kee has received an Abstract Scholarship to attend the 2014 American Thoracic Society (ATS) International Conference in San Diego, on behalf of the Assembly on Sleep and Respiratory Neurobiology (SRN).

Associate  Professor Glen Westall received  a support grant   from Commonwealth Serum Laboratories to establish a lung tissue bank for Interstitial Lung Disease (ILD) at the Alfred. ($216,000)

Ivan  Cash  Lung  Foundation  of  Australia  Grant ($5000) awarded to Dr Ian Glaspole: "The effect of persistent anxiety and depression in IPF."

Photo of the week: Monash University Surgery Interest Group

Monash University Surgery Interest Group participants, at a 2012 workshop

Professor Frank Rosenfeldt has coordinated surgery workshops for interested MBBS students for a number of years. In 2012, the faculty photographer attended for the first time, and took some wonderful photos, now shared via CCS Monash's Google+ photo gallery. See the associated report below. For more information about Surgery education, see www.med.monash.edu/surgery/alfred.

Events calendar

What's on for this week

Mon May 19	12:30 PM	►	Baker IDI seminar - Prof Leon Bach
	12:30 PM	►	Psychiatry Professorial Grand Round - A/Prof Stuart WG Derbyshire
Tue May 20	11:00 AM	►	PhD Mid-candidature review - Ms Kai Lee
	11:00 AM	►	ACBD and Dept Med Seminar Series 2014
	3:30 PM	►	Confirmation of Phd Candidature: Mr Man Lee
Wed May 21	7:45 AM	►	MIDS seminar
	12:30 PM	►	PhD pre-submission review - Ms Ying Kong
Fri May 23	12:00 PM	►	Baker IDI seminar
	12:30 PM	►	Research Forum

Forthcoming events

Mon May 26	12:30 PM	►	Psychiatry Professorial Grand Round
Tue May 27	11:00 AM	►	ACBD and Dept Med Seminar Series 2014
	12:30 PM	►	Confirmation of PhD Candidature - Mr Andrew Guy
Thur May 29	9:00 AM	►	Lung Health Education Program - Respiratory Update
	12:00 PM	►	Postgraduate Milestone review seminar (Ms Danielle Couch)
	6:00 PM	►	BMedSc(Hons) Information night
Fri May 30		►	ASMR Medical Research week: Victorian Student Research Symposium
	12:30 PM	►	Mid-candidature review seminar - Ms Janine Trevillyan
Sat May 31		►	Molecules to Medicines Intern program - Application due

Major CCS events

10 July 2014 CCS Public lecture "Challenges of living well with HIV: Where to from here?"

Professor Jenny Hoy

CCS is holding its annual public lecture for 2014 on 10 July, on a viral infection that has changed our world, the Human immunodeficiency virus infection (HIV). Professor Jennifer Hoy has 30 years' experience in HIV clinical research and patient care, particularly on how HIV contributes to the increased likelihood of chronic illness such as cardiovascular disease and osteoporosis. She will describe how the lives of people with HIV transform, how her current research is changing the way doctors help people with HIV, and outline the challenges ahead. See web page with detail & RSVP link.

Congratulations to Dr Steven Petratos

Congratulations to Dr Steven Petratos, who has been successful in obtaining a highly competitive grant to further his research on multiple sclerosis (MS). The award was made by the US based National MS Society. It is a pilot grant for USD40,000, and the topic is "Delineating the role of the monocarboxylate transporter 8 (MCT8) in driving oligodendrocyte precursor cell maturation". MCT8 carries thyroid hormone, and when it doesn't work there's a problem with myelination, as with MS.

Donate to lupus research

Professor Fabienne Mackay

Professor Fabienne Mackay leads a research team dedicated to the development of new therapies to treat lupus. Professor Mackay's work has been instrumental in the development of a new treatment called belimumab. This is the first new treatment for lupus in over 50 years. While this is an advance in medicine it is only effective in a subset of patients. There is still a large number of patients awaiting an effective treatment. The team includes Dr Fabien Vincent, a rheumatologist whose research is aimed at understanding why lupus develops differently in different groups of people.

• See more.
• Direct link to Lupus donation page.
• Twitter: @FabienneMackay @FabOzy

Research highlights

Department of Gastroenterology FODMAP diet updates: Coconut water

 The Translational Nutrition research group receives many enquiries about the FODMAP content of coconut water. Recent testing has shown that coconut water, at a standard serving size of 250 ml (8.45 fluid oz), is high in FODMAPs (overall rating is red).  The serving size of 250 ml contains high amounts of the Polyol- sorbitol and moderate amounts of the Oligos-fructans.  Intake at this serving size should be avoided. See link: www.med.monash.edu/cecs/gastro/fodmap/diet-updates/coconut.html

Media mentions

14/05/2014 Researchers in the Monash Alfred Psychiatry research centre have found mood stabilisers and high doses of antipsychotics taken during pregnancy increase the likelihood of babies requiring specialist care following delivery.
Medical Observer

Professor Peter Gibson

15/05/2014 Professor Peter Gibson, Head of the Department of Gastroenterology, on his follow up study from previous research in 2011 which suggests that FODMAPs are a more likely cause of the gastrointestinal problems attributed to gluten intolerance. 

Forbes http://www.forbes.com/sites/rosspomeroy/2014/05/15/non-celiac-gluten-sensitivity-may-not-exist/

If you're not celiac, you're probably not gluten intolerant.

Huffington Post: http://m.huffpost.com/ca/entry/5327420
Real Clear Science http://www.realclearscience.com/blog/2014/05/gluten_sensitivity_may_not_exist.html 

eSolutions Live - Self Help Central

eSolutions has launched a self help portal which would be the first point of help for any IT related issues such as equipment, phones, printing, wireless, audio visual and Email & Collaborations.  The portal can be accessed by clicking the "Need help? Click here" box in the:

• Staff Intranet website 
• Student Intranet Website
• Monash intranet eSolutions page
• IT Service Management page
• IT Services Catalogue page

Alternatively, you can book mark the self help portal page:
https://sites.google.com/a/monash.edu/esolutions/?pli=1

Social media at CCS

Social media platform at Central Clinical School

Central Clinical School started its social media experiment in September 2012, with the launch of its youtube channel. As the power, reach and flexibility of the media has become evident, we have developed the suite. Anyone wanting to follow CCSMonash can do so at any of these channels: