Bulletin 1, 2024

Safer breathing for preterm babies

Almost $2.5 million from the National Health and Medicine Research Council (NHMRC) has been granted to Professor Peter Dargaville.

The global research program is focused on improving the breathing of preterm babies. Innovative methods developed and patented by Professor Dargaville have allowed preterm infants worldwide to spend more time receiving non-invasive rather than invasive respiratory support, as well as establishing safe oxygen levels. This research program will apply Professor

Dargaville’s technology, which is currently used in more than 40 countries.

“At no time of life does it matter more to get the dosing of oxygen therapy right than for preterm infants with respiratory

issues,” Professor Dargaville said.

The program will start with the development of an enhanced oxygen control algorithm for preterm infants, creation and testing of a device

These findings will then be tested and studied and include a trial of automated oxygen administration for preterm infants in sub-Saharan Africa

to automatically adjust delivery of oxygen therapy, improvement of an existing oxygen control method for oxygen therapy in the delivery room, and a large-scale adaptation of a respiratory support device to allow automated oxygen to be administered in situations where resources are low. These findings will then be tested and studied and include a trial of automated oxygen administration for preterm infants in sub-Saharan Africa. This is a prestigious Investigator Grant that is extremely difficult to receive and is nationally competitive. The NHMRC received 1,666 applications and only 229 were successful.

We continue to partner with those people in the community with lived experience of the diseases we study

Director’s message

Welcome to our first Bulletin of the year, and we have already been so busy it is overflowing with news and information!

We co-hosted an information and research symposium on Parkinson’s disease, alongside the Wicking Dementia Research and Education Centre. You’ll be able to read more about our work in this important area in one of our stories and in our researcher profile.

In line with our commitment to sharing our research with the community, we also hosted a Mental Health in the Workplace public talk and we’ve been teaming up with several community organisations who have been fundraising and raising awareness of our work, including our new Cardiovascular Research

AS THE DAYS SHORTEN AND THE WEATHER COOLS, WE’RE LAUNCHING MENZIES WINTER APPEAL

Last winter, we raised an impressive $103,500. Thanks to our generous and loyal community we can fund projects such as one led by early career researcher Dr Nicholas (Nick) Blackburn.

First, a bit about Nick.

Nick grew up in the northwest of Tasmania and completed his undergraduate degree at the University of Tasmania in 2009 before moving on to Honours in 2010. He then completed his PhD in computational genomics at Menzies in 2015.

After spending nearly five years at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, Nick returned to Menzies.

“I was one of the first students to work in the new Menzies building back when it opened in

2010, and returning here was like coming home,” he says. “It’s a supportive and collaborative environment, and thanks to the support of our community, Menzies has a great depth of resources.”

Nick is now leading the Multiple Sclerosis (MS) Family Study. Putting it colloquially, he’s a “gene-hunter”.

“This means that I am

Menzies will be increasingly contacting our supporters via email.

If you would like to provide Menzies with your current email address, please email Menzies.Advancement@utas.edu.au or phone 6226 7707. Thank you.

looking for changes to genes in families that have multiple people diagnosed with MS,” he says.

“We have an exceptional opportunity to do MS research here in Tasmania where we have the highest prevalence of MS in the country.

“Our island population means that we can connect large multigenerational

Flagship. And we continue to grow our partnership with those people in the community with lived experience of the diseases we study through our consumer and community involvement program.

Kind regards,

Tracey Dickson Director

family trees, with many family members still connected to the state.

“Tasmania is changing, too. We have people moving here from interstate and overseas, and we are starting to see the growth these people bring to our state. The MS Family Study is growing, too. We started with three families, all from Tasmania –and now we’re working with 14 from all over the country.”

The work Nick is leading will discover why some families have multiple relatives diagnosed with MS. In turn, this will lead us to understand why MS starts in the first place – and hopefully ways to stop it.

As a member of our Menzies community, you should be very proud that this project has been funded by donations made by people like you. Together, we are changing the health outcomes for all Tasmanians.

Would you like to keep up to date with the latest Menzies news? Find us on Facebook and ‘like’ our page. You can read all our Bulletins and reports electronically at issuu.com Keep up with our news

Funding research that offers real benefits for people with multiple sclerosis

Four of our researchers have received funding to fast-track the translation of research into real benefits for people living with multiple sclerosis (MS).

Dr Laura Laslett, Dr Jessica Fletcher, Dr Xin Lin and Dr Julie Campbell

all received postdoctoral research fellowships from MS Australia for their cutting-edge projects that address several of the MS community’s top priorities for research. These include determining causes and enabling prevention, better treatments and cures via repair and

ABOUT THE PROJECTS

Dr Laura Laslett will study the link between poor sleep and MS to understand how changes in sleep patterns affect overall sleep quality in people with MS and improve treatment and management of sleep issues in the MS community.

Dr Jessica Fletcher is investigating why myelin, the coating around nerves, fails to repair in MS, building the knowledge base essential for the development of effective treatments to stop MS disease progression.

regeneration of cells. MS is the most commonly acquired chronic

Alarmingly, MS prevalence is on the rise in Australia

Dr Julie Campbell will measure the economic cost of MS, including the quality of life impact in the years leading up to formal diagnosis of MS and the burden and costs to the informal carers and supporters of people living with MS – with the aim to increase resources.

neurological disease affecting young adults who are often diagnosed between the ages of 20 and 40.

Alarmingly, MS prevalence is on the rise in Australia and worldwide at an accelerating rate, with more than 33,000 Australians diagnosed.

Dr Xin Lin is integrating multiple biological data types and clinical data to identify MS biomarkers, molecules that reflect MS-specific biological processes and may serve as key targets for diagnostic and therapeutic innovations.

Frontline: Clockwise from above, Dr Xin Lin, Dr Laura Laslett, Dr Jessica Fletcher, and Dr Julie Campbell.

Masonic support for medical research

We’re always grateful for the support of community organisations and have a rich history of collaboration among Tasmanian groups and associations.

One of these is the Tasmanian Masonic Medical Research Foundation (TMMRF), which has been supporting research for 16 years at the University of Tasmania across various disciplines and has raised more than $1 million in that time.

TMMRF Chair David

Louez says although they’ve supported a variety of projects undertaken by Menzies, they feel that the most rewarding experiences have been in the funding of many PhD scholarships for students working on Menzies Research Projects.

“We continue to enjoy

meeting young people with such enthusiasm and inspiration and have them visit out meetings and inform our members of the research they are doing,” he says. “The Foundation is particularly proud of the achievement of two of its scholarship holders, namely Professor Tracey Dickson and Associate Professor Catherine Blizzard.”

The most recently

We continue to enjoy meeting young people with such enthusiasm and inspiration and have them visit out meetings and inform our members of the research they are doing

supported PhD graduate, Dr Laura Reale, is about to commence post-doctoral studies at the prestigious Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore.

Rich history: From left, Menzies Director Professor Tracey Dickson, Masonic Medical Research Foundation Directors Michael Scott, Greg Jackson, Kerry Bowerman and David Louez, and Menzies Associate Professor Catherine Blizzard.

How will you be remembered?

In Memoriam

One sentence in your Will can fund life-saving medical research.

If you would like more information, please contact the Advancement Office on 03 6226 1920.

Bequests save lives by funding research. Thank you.

World Parkinson’s Day

We gratefully acknowledge gifts made from the following estates:

Estate of the late Ross Phillip Darvell

Estate of the late Marie Christina Featherstone

Estate of the late Alice Meredith Hodgson

Estate of the late Alice Isabell Lewis

Estate of the late Warrick Harry Lyndon Risby

Estate of the late Joan Lorraine Yaxley

We gratefully acknowledge gifts made in honour of:

Dennis Harry Morton

Jessie Thompson

Menzies has a long history of working on Parkinson’s disease, and now we have a new project aimed at improving the lives of people with Parkinson’s. The Tasmanian Parkinson’s Project aims to improve the lives of people with Parkinson’s through research, education and raising awareness within the community.

Parkinson’s disease is a progressive, degenerative condition of the brain. It’s the fastest growing neurological disease in the world, and only second to dementia in terms of current numbers.

It’s more common than breast, lung and prostate cancer combined. There are an estimated 3,000 people with Parkinson’s in Tasmania and about 200,000 in Australia. There is currently no cure or any drug to slow down its progression.

Common visible symptoms included stiff muscles, slowness of movement, a tremor, difficulty with walking and a soft voice. However, there are many unseen symptoms, including anxiety, fatigue, pain, sleep disturbances, loss of smell, constipation and cognitive impairment.

The Tasmanian Parkinson’s Project was launched at a University of Tasmania community symposium.

Parkinson’s disease is more common than breast, lung and prostate cancer combined. There are an estimated 3,000 people with Parkinson’s in Tasmania and about 200,000 in Australia

Anyone with or without Parkinson’s in Tasmania can sign up to find out about upcoming seminars and research projects. You can learn more, sign up and watch some of the symposium speakers by going to the website: parkinsons.utas.edu.au

The Tasmanian Parkinson’s Project is a collaboration led by Menzies and the Wicking Dementia Research and Education Centre and the WINGS for Parkinson’s special interest group.

RESEARCHER PROFILE

Michele Callisaya

Associate Professor

What is the focus of your research?

My work looks at understanding and improving treatments for neurological disorders such as dementia, stroke and, more recently, Parkinson’s disease. I worked for many years as a physiotherapist in rehabilitation, helping people with these conditions to regain, or improve, their ability to move and walk. I’ve always been interested in how the brain controls how we walk. So, after 10 years as a physiotherapist, I decided to split

my time between research and clinical practice to better understand how ageing, cognition and different areas of the brain contribute to how we move, and what we can do to improve it.

What are some of the recent findings from your work?

Commonly, there is a belief that changes in walking only occur in the later stages of dementia. My work found that walking starts to change in the very early stages and has an impact on how a person with dementia is able to access the community. Because

STAFF PROFILE

Alison McLeod Operations Manager

What brought you to Menzies?

I first came to Menzies in 2019 as Executive Officer supporting the Director and working within the Administration team. The role was only meant to be for 12 months covering

this isn’t commonly known, people with dementia aren’t being referred to physiotherapists or other health professionals. We also found that many physiotherapists don’t know a lot about dementia and lack confidence, even though there is evidence that exercise and remaining active can slow progression of dementia symptoms. My work is now looking at improving access to allied health professionals for people living with dementia. The work is supported through a Commonwealth Government Medical Research Future Fund grant.

What other research-based activities have you been involved with?

parental leave, but the opportunity to continue to work with Menzies was too good to miss. I’m so happy and grateful I’m still here.

What is your role within Menzies?

Working as part of

I was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease two years the Administration team, I provide co-ordination and management on a range of operational functions, such as planning, HR, finance, infrastructure, space utilisation, and work health and safety. A large part of my role is working in collaboration with the University’s People and Wellbeing team regarding new appointments, contract renewals and contract variations.

ago. It was a big shock, especially with my background as a physiotherapist seeing people with Parkinson’s in hospital, and my research into how ageing and the brain impact on walking. It has, however, put me in a unique position to advocate for better care and bring some of my knowledge and skills to the Parkinson’s field. I’ve been lucky to meet some fantastic people living with Parkinson’s, such as Harley Stanton, who has really helped raise awareness of Parkinsons in Tasmania. I am also now working with researchers who specialise in Parkinson’s, such as Associate Professor Jane Alty, a neurologist looking at early detection and precision tracking

What is the most interesting aspect of this work?

No one day is the same, there is always something new to do or learn when working with and providing support to our amazing staff and students.

What is the part of your work that makes you the proudest?

Providing admin support and guidance to researchers, students and their teams and being part of a

of Parkinson’s. Together with Jane, Harley and others, we have started The Tasmanian Parkinson project to work with the community to solve the Parkinson’s puzzle.

What do you enjoy doing in your spare time?

I love being active, but also relaxing. To be active, I walk with friends on Mt Wellington and do boxing sessions at the gym (which is great for Parkinson’s). My family has a shack on Bruny Island, which is my favourite place to relax, go to the beach and read a book.

close and supportive Administration team. I feel privileged to work with everyone here and I feel proud telling people that I work for Menzies.

What do you enjoy doing in your spare time? Spending time with family and friends, travelling as much as possible and trying not to get frustrated watching my various football teams.

future

for all Tasmanians. 100% of your gift will be used for research at Menzies.

My gift

Please accept my one-off gift of:

$25

$50

$100

$250

Other $

Gifts of $2 and over are tax deductible. or

My payment

Please accept my one-off gift of: $25 $50

$

Cheque/money order: Enclosed is my cheque/money order (payable to the Menzies Institute for Medical Research)

Credit card:

Please debit my Visa MasterCard

Credit card number Name on card

Signature Expiry date /

Please allocate my gift to: The current Menzies appeal Where most needed A specific area of research

My details

Title: Mr Mrs Ms Miss Other

Name Address

Telephone ( )

Email

I have already included a gift to Menzies in my Will Yes, I want to invest in a healthier

Postcode

Please send me information on remembering Menzies in my Will

Donate online

Donate by phone