Volume 203 Issue 1

Closing the gap by growing the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander medical workforce

Tammy Kimpton BMed, FRACGP · Peter J Smith MD, FRACP, FRCPA

A different approach may provide more effective early detection of diabetes

Stephen Colagiuri MB BS, FRACP

We need to share data to enable efficient and timely research

Zhiqiang Wang PhD, MSc, BMed

An overview of recent advances and ongoing challenges in exercise participation-related risk

Kade Davison BAppScHMS, BHealthSc(Hons), PhD · Christopher D Askew PhD, BAppSci(Hons)

Road safety should remain a public health priority, not a political issue

David J Read MB BS, FRACS

Improving health care access in northern Australia

Simon Quilty BEng, MPhilPH, FRACP · Lisa Bachmayer BAppSc(OT) · Andrew Congdon BAppSc(OT)

Should antenatal care of women in northern Australian communities include S. stercoralis ELISA testing in routine screening?

Russell Hays MB BS, DTM · Robyn McDermott FAFPHM, MPH, PhD

The problem of amphetamine-type stimulant use in Indigenous communities must be faced now

Alan R Clough PhD, MSc · Michelle Fitts PGradDipCrim · Jan Robertson DPH, RN

Our best opportunity to reduce melanoma mortality still lies with early detection

Sarah L Smithson MB BS · Yan Pan MB BS(Hons), BMedSc(Hons), FACD · Victoria Mar MB BS, FACD

Implementing the roadmap to close the gap for vision — progress and more work to do

Marian Abouzeid BPhysio, MB BS, DPH · Mitchell D Anjou AM, MScOptom, FACO · Hugh R Taylor AC, MD, FRANZCO

Patients and providers reflect on a clinical trial in an Indigenous health context

Hueming Liu BA, MB BS, MIPH · Tracey-Lea Laba BSc, BPharm(Hons), PhD · Luciana Massi BBusComm, MIPH · Stephen Jan BEc, MEc, PhD · Tim Usherwood MD, MB BS, FRACGP · Anushka Patel MB BS, PhD, FRACP · Noel E Hayman MB BS, MPH, FRACGP · Alan Cass MB BS, FRACP PhD · Anne-Marie Eades BSc(Nursing), MN · Chris Lawrence PhD, MAppEpidemiol · David P Peiris MIPH, PhD, FRACGP

Assessing HbA1c levels may detect diabetes in remote communities more efficiently than glucose tests

Julia V Marley PGDipSc, PGDipPolSt, PhD · May Sian Oh MB BS,FRACGP, MIH · Nyssa T Hadgraft MPH, BSc(Hons) · Sally L Singleton MPH · Kim Isaacs MB BS, FRACGP, BCom · David N Atkinson MB BS, MPH

A nurse-led coordinated care intervention was equivalent to standard care for patients with chronic illness

Natalie A Plant MHSc, BSc(Hons) · Patrick J Kelly BMath(Hons), PhD · Stephen R Leeder MD, FRACP, PhD · Mario D’Souza PhD, MSc · Kylie-Ann Mallitt BSc(Hons), MSc · Tim Usherwood MD, FRACGP, FRCP · Stephen Jan PhD, MEc, BEc · Steven C Boyages MB BS, PhD, FRACP · Beverley M Essue MPH, PhD · Justin McNab PhD, MPhil, BSc · James A Gillespie PhD, BA(Hons)

The first imported case of Lyme neuroborreliosis in Australia highlights the importance of a thorough travel history in a patient presenting with chronic meningoencephalitis

Shradha Subedi MB ChB · David J Dickeson BSc, MPH · James M Branley FRACP, FRCPA, DTM

While vemurafenib induces ultraviolet A photosensitivity, it is important to consider alternative diagnoses when minimal response to therapy is attained

Rachael Anforth BMed · Giuliana Carlos MB BS · Noemi Eiris MB BS · Arthur Clements BSc(Med), MB BS, FRACP · Pablo Fernandez-Peñas MD, PhD, FACD

Alcohol-based hand sanitisers are toxic and should not be given to children to play with

Michael J Barrett MB, MRCPI · Franz E Babl MD, MPH

Being competent to perform careful endotracheal intubation in an isolated rural setting can save lives

Graham M Slaney MB BS, MPH,FACRRM · Anthony Guiney MB BS, FRACS · Yvonne Hezel RN · Philip Weinstein MB BS, PhD, FAFPHM

Use of a medical intervention to deal with a perceived social problem should concern clinicians

Fiona Lander MB BS(Hons), LLB(Hons), MPH · Dennis Gray MA, MPH, PhD · Edward Wilkes AO, BA

The challenge of multiculturalism is for the community to recognise, appreciate and accommodate cultural differences

John B Best AO, MD BS, PhD, DSc(Hon)

The Leslie Cowlishaw Collection is a priceless collection of rare medical books tracing the evolution of medicine from Hippocrates to the early 1940s. It is housed at the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons in Melbourne and will shortly be showcased during Rare Books Week

Cate Swannell

The Clem Jones Research Centre for Stem Cells and Tissue Regenerative Therapies at Bond University will receive $395 000 per year for the next three years, for further research into acute macular degeneration (AMD). The Centre has developed a clinical grade transplantable disc comprising a synthetic mimic of the Bruch’s membrane coated with retinal pigment epithelial cells, with engraftment at the back of the eye expected to restore retina and photoreceptor function to AMD patients. The new infusion of funding from the Foundation will allow research to progress to the testing phase, with a view to clinical trials in the future. http://bond.edu.au/news/46770/visionary-research-one-step-closer-restoring-sight Almost $5 million in grant funding — for three national palliative care projects — has been awarded to Flinders University from Australian Government funding of $52 million for palliative care projects in Australia. The grants have gone towards a range of palliative care projects which will benefit people nearing the end of their lives and their families, and support the medical, nursing and allied health staff who provide their care. http://blogs.flinders.edu.au/flinders-news/2015/06/16/flinders-recieves-5m-for-palliative-care-projects/ James Cook University’s Professor Sandra Harding has been re-appointed as Vice Chancellor and President, until the end of 2021. “I am so proud of the University and its talented students, researchers, teachers and professional staff. Building on the work of so many since the University began, the contemporary JCU has achieved much over the past few years, and there is much more work to be done”, she said. http://www-public.jcu.edu.au/news/JCU_148126 Monash University has partnered with Nature Publishing Group to publish npj Regenerative Medicine, a new open access research journal that will explore the potential of organisms to restore and regenerate damaged cells, tissues and organs. Professor Nadia Rosenthal, Director of the Australian Regenerative Medicine Institute, based at Monash University, has been appointed Editor-in-Chief of the new journal. http://monash.edu/news/releases/show/introducing-npj-regenerative-medicine-a-new-open-access-journal-fromnature-publishing-group-and-monash-university Four early career researchers from the University of New South Wales have received funding from the Society for Mental Health Research (SMHR). A total of 13 grants of $100 000 each were awarded by the SMHR. The UNSW researchers are Dr Lexine Stapinski from the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre (NDARC), for a project titled “Making INROADs: interrupting the cycle of anxiety and drinking”; Dr Nicola Newton from NDARC for “Getting it together: engaging parents to improve the prevention of substance use and mental disorders in young people”; Dr Christina Marel from NDARC for “Roads less travelled: improving clinical pathways for people with heroin dependence”; and Dr Simon Rosenbaum from the School of Psychiatry and based at The Black Dog Institute for “Muscling up on mental illness (MuMi): investigating the role of strength training in the treatment of mental illness”. Postdoctoral researchers Dr Mark Larsen and Dr Bridianne O’Dea from the UNSW-affiliated Black Dog Institute also received grants. http://med.unsw.edu.au/news/unsw-mental-health-early-career-researchers-recognised The University of Queensland’s Professor Ian Frazer, co-creator of the cervical cancer vaccine, has won a 2015 European Inventor Award. Professor Frazer won the Popular Prize section, which was decided by public vote and announced at a ceremony in Paris on 11 June. The awards acknowledge inventions that have made major contributions towards social, technological and economic progress. http://health.uq.edu.au/article/2015/06/cervical-cancer-vaccine-hero-wins-international-award A University of Queensland clinical scientist has won a prestigious European award for potentially life-saving antibiotic drug therapy research. Professor Jason Roberts said the European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases Young Investigator Award was an important acknowledgement of the work created by a network of UQ researchers. It was awarded in recognition of Professor Roberts’ research into preventive treatments for dangerous multidrug-resistant bacteria, or superbugs, as part of his work on immunity and infectious diseases at UQ’s School of Medicine and the UQ Centre for Clinical Research. http://health.uq.edu.au/article/2015/06/european-honours-young-investigator-of-year The University of Sydney has established the Maurice Blackmore Chair in Integrative Medicine in order to facilitate better “understanding [of] complementary medicine’s role in healthcare, research and teaching”. Made possible through a $1.3 million donation by the Blackmores Institute, the new term Chair honours Maurice Blackmore, a pioneer of Australian naturopathy. “Over the next five years the Maurice Blackmore Chair in Integrative Medicine will undertake research into the impact of complementary medicines in health outcomes, including how complementary and alternative medicines interact with the current standard treatments prescribed by medical professionals”, the Dean of Sydney Medical School Professor Bruce Robinson said. http://sydney.edu.au/news/84.html?newscategoryid=1&newsstoryid=15028

Cate Swannell

This calendar will be updated each month. If you have an event you would like to add, please include relevant details in an email to cswannell@mja.com.au

Cate Swannell