Congratulations to Tutor of the Year medical education awardees!

Each year, outstanding teachers in the Alfred medical undergraduate teaching program are recognised in the Tutor of the Year Awards. Congratulations to the 2014 winners!

• PBL Tutor of the Year: Professor Russell Gruen
• CBL Tutor of the Year: Professor Stephen Jane
• Bedside Tutor of the Year: Dr Indi Rasaratnam
• Consultant of the Year: Dr Indi Rasaratnam 
• HMO/Registrar/Intern of the Year: Dr Wee Chee & Dr Azhar Munas
• Wednesday Lecturer of the Year: Dr Indi Rasaratnam
• Other Tutor of the Year: Dr David Elder & Dr Jorge Zavala
• Admin Staff Member of the Year: Ms Jean Martyn

Congratulations! First Australian to receive new MS grant

L-R: PhD student Jae Lee
with Dr Steven Petratos

Congratulations to Monash University’s Dr Steven Petratos, who is the only Australian recipient of the International Progressive MS Alliance first round of grants. Dr Petratos, Department of Medicine, is doing research into new therapies to stop progressive Multiple Sclerosis (MS), a chronic condition that worsens over time disrupting the flow of information within the brain and body. Progressive MS takes away vision, mobility, cognition, and the ability to work. See Monash story. For more photos of Steven's lab group and students, see Photo gallery.

Award for best paper by the Australasian Gene Therapy Society

The Australasian Gene Therapy Society have awarded "Best Paper" for 2014 to Associate Professor Frank Alderuccio's paper, first authored by his PhD student Jie-Yu Chung (pictured). The paper is titled "Gene therapy delivery of Myelin Oligodendrocyte Glycoprotein (MOG) via hematopoietic stem cell transfer induces MOG-specific B cell deletion" and was published in the Journal of Immunology. Reference

Media mentions

09/06/2014 Professor Jayashri Kulkarni, Monash Alfred Psychiatry Research Centre, commented that the higher doses of anti-psychotics during pregnancy increases the need for special care after birth with 43 per cent of babies placed in a Special Care Nursery or a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, almost three times the national rate.
The Bub Hub http://www.bubhub.com.au/hubbub-blog/news-fertility-and-cancer-kidnap-attempt-new-iv-iron-drugs-in-pregnancy/
10/06/2014 Same subject as above, on Radio 4BC

12/06/2014 Professor Jayashri Kulkarni discussed the psychological effect on sports team supporters when their team loses and the World Cup. She said that identification with players is also a large part of it, and that problems come up when people don't have other elements to their lives. ABC North West WA
11/06/2014 Department of Gastroenterology research has found cognitive performance significantly improved with strict adherence to a gluten-free diet and was also strongly correlated with evidence of mucosal recovery and/or healing.
Six Minutes, Gastroenterology Update

http://www.6minutes.com.au/news/latest-news/coeliac-fog-is-real-experts

Dr Michael Roche

11/06/2014 Professor Jamie Rossjohn, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Assoc. Professor Allen Cheng, Department of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, Associate Professor Terence Haines, Department of Physiotherapy, and Dr Michael Roche, Department of Infectious Diseases, recognised with NHMRC Excellence Awards. See Michael's story. www.nhmrc.gov.au http://www.nhmrc.gov.au/media/releases/2014/top-researchers-recognised-nhmrc-excellence-awards