30 Nov 2014

Photo of the week: Immunology symposium

L-R: Professor Fabienne Mackay, HOD, Department of Immunology; Dr Irina Caminschi, Laboratory Head, Dendritic cell biology and Immunotherapy, Burnet Institute; Professor Jacques Banchereau, The Jackson Laboratory (JAX), USA; Professor Virginia Pascual, Baylor Institute for Immunology Research, USA; Professor Paul Hertzog, Monash Institute of Medical Research; Dr Mireille Lahoud, Laboratory head, Dendritic Cell Receptors, Burnet Institute; Associate Professor Mark Wright, Laboratory Head, Leucocyte Membrane Protein Laboratory, Department of Immunology; Dr Meredith O’Keefe, Head, Dendritic Cell Research Lab, Burnet Institute; Professor Ken Shortman, Walter and Eliza Hall Institute
The Monash University Department of Immunology and Burnet Institute hosted a symposium on 24 November 2014 featuring two international guest speakers, Dr Virgina Pascual and Dr Jacques Banchereau. It was very well attended. See:

Events: HDR seminars, public events, general notices

All event notices are maintained on the CCS Events calendars (including local events such as professional development and trade fairs and HDR calendars). For a consolidated view, details of events and to see all events and deadlines, see Announcements.  Various Departments have their own calendars: See CCS seminar index: www.med.monash.edu.au/cecs/events/seminars.html

What's on for this week

Tue Dec 2 12:00 PM ACBD and Dept Med Seminar Series 2014 - Joan Heath
Wed Dec 3 12:00 PM Clinical Pathology Review (CPR)



Forthcoming events

Sat Dec 6 8:00 AM
DS Rosengarten Prize competition and award
Tue Dec 9 11:00 AM PhD Mid-candidature review - Ms Amani Alrehaili
Thur Dec 11 4:00 PM Central Clinical School Christmas Party RSVP: catherine.wong@monash.edu cost $10 per person
Fri Dec 12 2:00 PM Head of School presentation: Prof Stephen Jane

Congratulations to our recently completed PhD students Aislin Meehan and Andris Ellims!

Congratulations to two of our PhD students who have recently been awarded their degrees.

Aislin Meehan

Aislin's thesis was entitled "Investigating the function of natural killer cells during Immunological responses following human lung transplantation" and her supervisors were A/Prof Glen Westall, Dr Nicole Mifsud and A/Prof Tom Kotsimbos (Department of Allergy, Immunology and Respiratory medicine).

Andris Ellims

Andris' thesis was entitled "Ventricular remodelling in cardiomyopathy - impact on ventricular physiology and cardiovascular outcomes". Andris's thesis was completed through the Department of Medicine. Andris was supervised by Associate Professor Andrew Taylor, Head of Clinical Imaging at BakerIDI.

Well done to our PhD graduates! 

Research highlights: brain changes in bipolar disorder; low FODMAP diet

FODMAP foods
This week's research highlights include:
  • MAPrc researcher Dr Jerome Maller recently published an article which looks at volumetric, cortical thickness and white matter integrity alterations in bipolar disorder type I and II. Read more.
  •  What is the long term impact of adopting a low FODMAP diet? Department of Gastroenterology research investigates the effect of dietary restriction on gut microbiota. Read more
  • Beating the bloat - how dietary manipulation makes a difference. Read more

Education highlights: 20th International Symposium on Hepatitis C virus (HCV) and related viruses

Approximately 420 international researchers attended the 20th International Symposium on Hepatitis C Virus and Related Viruses in Melbourne, Australia, from October 6–10, 2013. Since the discovery of hepatitis C virus (HCV) in 1989, significant advances have been made in our understanding of the molecular biology and host response to this significant pathogen, many of which have been presented at this symposium. Infectious diseases and immunology researchers have published a summary of the highlights, gaps in knowledge and 'Where to now?' ideas from the meeting in the journal Gastroenterology. Read more DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1053/j.gastro.2014.05.022

Media mentions

24/11/2014 Professor Jayashri Kulkarni, MAPrc, received a "Contribution to Community by an Individual" award in the 2014 Melbourne Awards.   Jayashri was recognised as a world leading pioneer and a passionate advocate for women’s mental health, who has delivered a range of reforms including the establishment of MAPrc; development of a world-first treatment approach for women with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and depression; and establishment of a national register for managing pregnant women needing antipsychotic medications. Herald Sun