UNSW Medicine & Health

👏 Congratulations to FunWattle, which has taken out the Dean of Medicine & Health Award at the UNSW Peter Farrell Cup 2024!

Sports-related concussions (SRC) may not be associated with long-term cognitive risks for non-professional athletes, a recent study led by Dr Matt Lennon from the UNSW Centre for Healthy Brain Ageing (CHeBA) suggests. The study, involving researchers from UNSW, the University of Oxford, the University of Exeter and Harvard University, analysed data from more than 15,000 participants between 50- to 90-year-olds, and is the largest study to date examining the long-term cognitive effects of SRC. “While these results do not indicate the safety of any sport in particular, they do indicate that overall sports may have greater beneficial effects for long-term cognitive health than the damage it causes, even in those who have experienced concussion,” says Dr Lennon.

Professor Georgina Chambers and her team at the UNSW Centre for Big Data Research in Health have received $1.7 million from the federal government to establish a world-first fertility database. The Fertility Medicine Data Asset for Australia (FM-DATA) platform will be a valuable tool in researching and developing new technologies in reproductive medicine. “The most common, and valid, concern of patients undergoing fertility treatment, is whether treatment is safe for them and their future child, particularly in the long run,” says Prof. Chambers. The platform will be transformative for the one in seven Australians who experience infertility, because of its ability to generate real-world evidence on the effectiveness and safety of existing and emerging fertility treatments, Prof. Chambers says.

UNSW Senior Research Fellow Dr Ursula Sansom-Daly and Postdoctoral Fellow Dr Holly Evans will help establish a Centre of Research Excellence for Paediatric Palliative Care in Australia. They are part of an interdisciplinary team of experts, led by researchers at QUT (Queensland University of Technology), who have received a $3 million grant from the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) for the new centre. Researchers will focus on new models of care for geographically dispersed and diverse populations, new approaches to ensure care reflects the wishes of children and their families, and methods to better measure their experiences and outcomes. ”We hope to build on the quality and accessibility of current Australian paediatric palliative care services, using new research to understand the facilitators and barriers to this care,” said Dr Evans. “This will be done in partnership with young people and their families to ensure outcomes from this grant reflect what patients want and need.” Dr Sansom-Daly said, “Our team is excited to continue to partner closely with Palliative Care Australia through this centre, to achieve some big and meaningful changes for young people with life-limiting illnesses, and their families.”

The BYO Innovation Challenge was an incredible day of health innovation and collaboration! Participants came in with their own ideas and left with personalised mentorship, practical workshops, and the tools to take their projects to the next level.   Throughout the day, participants from the Ignite Your Impact program and UNSW Medicine & Health worked alongside experts to refine their medical and health solutions. The event wrapped up with live pitching, where they competed for their share of $3,500 in cash prizes!   A massive thank you to everyone involved for making this event so special—your energy and dedication were truly inspiring! Curious to see the highlights? Check out the video below to watch these innovative minds in action and get inspired!   #BYOInnovationChallenge #UNSWFounders #Mentorship

👏 Congratulations to Professor Stuart Tangye who was awarded the UNSW Eureka Prize for Scientific Research in honour of his significant research in the field of human immunology. Prof. Tangye is a pioneering researcher in discovering, diagnosing, understanding and enabling treatment of rare immune diseases, and works across both UNSW Medicine & Health and the Garvan Institute of Medical Research. Prof. Tangye said receiving the Eureka Prize was an opportunity to shine a light on rare immune diseases and the patients and their families affected by them. “I’d really like to thank the patients and their families who’ve allowed us to help them hopefully improve their journey through their diagnostic odysseys,” Prof. Tangye said. Read more: https://bit.ly/3XhBQDW

Parents Vanessa and Simon Khoury knew something was wrong with their newborn daughter Gabby, despite doctors telling them she seemed fine. After a lengthy diagnosis journey, Gabby was diagnosed with Kleefstra Syndrome (KS), a rare genetic condition, at 11-months-old. Only approximately 500 families in the world are known to have child affected by KS. “I remember the distinct words of the doctor when I asked ‘what does this mean?’,” says Vanessa. “Her response was ‘just take her home and enjoy her’. My heart sank. I remember at that point feeling like my whole world just fell apart.” Determined to learn more about KS and what they could do to help their daughter, Vanessa and Simon connected with Dr Emma Palmer and the genetics team at UNSW Sydney and Sydney Children’s Hospital Network Randwick. Together they have been pushing for treatments and the best care possible for families affected by KS. To help realise this goal, the Khoury family are hosting a cocktail night that will raise funds to continue the work of nurse-led navigation and clinic for families dealing with KS. “So far this has been invaluable in transforming fragmented care to wrap around care, linked to international best practice,” says Dr Palmer. “Your generosity will support continuation of this clinic and groundbreaking research to move to better therapies and the hope of precision treatments.” Support Gabby, the Khoury family and the life-changing research led by UNSW. Register to attend the fundraiser, here: https://lnkd.in/gKPg5-ZX

Make sure to tune into New Ideas in Ageing, a podcast series by the UNSW Ageing Futures Institute. Scientia Professor Rebecca Ivers AM FAHMS FRSN, Head of the School of Population Health at UNSW, is among the experts featured in this new series which explores the future of ageing in our rapidly changing word. Hear Professor Ivers dive into the challenges and inequities that can impact our ability to age well, in episode 7. 🎧 Listen here: https://bit.ly/3Tgiwp8

Scientia Professor John Kaldor from the Kirby Institute, UNSW Sydney will lead the new ENGAGE Centre of Research Excellence, which has been awarded $3 million by the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) to accelerate the progress of eliminating neglected tropical diseases (NTDs). “Neglected tropical diseases have devastating health, social and economic consequences, particularly for populations in remote and low-income settings,” says Professor Kaldor. ENGAGE - Ending the Neglect through Greater Access and Greater Effectiveness - will combine the expertise of health researchers and service organisations from across Australia and the Asia-Pacific region. “By the end of our five years of funding, we anticipate ENGAGE will have provided partner countries and their communities, and our region more broadly, with crucial new knowledge on how to track, prevent and control endemic NTDs,” says Professor Kaldor. https://bit.ly/3Mww2S4

Could your friends or family explain your PhD? At our recent graduations, we asked some PhD superstars to explain their research, but first we asked their friends and family to try to explain it. Congratulations to our newest Doctors and to all the people who supported them on their PhD journey 🎓 UNSW Centre for Healthy Brain Ageing (CHeBA) Kirby Institute, UNSW Sydney Garvan Institute of Medical Research UNSW