Health Check Issue 15 2007 ( PDF 439k) - Griffith University

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Inside this issue 3 CAM on the curriculum 3 Australian Teacher of the Year 3 First social work graduates 3 Innovation challenge win! Research overview Griffith Health’s research strengths have been recognised by a best ever outcome in the recent national competitive research rounds. Researchers in Health won 10 of Griffith’s recently announced 36 grants across the ARC Discovery, ARC Linkage, ARC Linkage International, and NHMRC Project Grants. Total funding awarded to health researchers was $4,012,947 for projects ranging across the biomedical sciences, health services, psychosocial and public health research.The funded work will address a diverse range of key health issues including understanding basic biomolecular processes involved in tumour formation, prevention of infection in intravenous catheters, and a randomised trial of counselling programs to address post natal depression. Our goal is to do research that will benefit people’s health, and this year’s success gives us the funding to push ahead with that agenda. I congratulate all our successful researchers on gaining the crucial funding to support their work. Griffith Health’s success reflects a combined effort to ensure researchers develop the best possible applications. Peers in our Schools and Research Centres help each other develop and refine the research ideas, training sessions on the funding bodies and application processes are offered by the Office for Research, and feedback on draft applications is provided. Our processes are intended to make sure our best creative ideas are developed to quality applications. For the forthcoming grant round we need to make sure we keep building on our current success. Professor Kim Halford, Director of the Griffith Institute of Health and Medical Research. Bone Research Team: Sebastien Stephens, Dr Alex Stephens, Rouha Granfar, Associate Professor Nigel Morrison and Niki Koutifides Bone research win Bone cell research in the School of Medical Science has received a significant boost with the awarding of two National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) grants to Associate Professor Nigel Morrison. Together with another NHMRC funded study already underway into the regulation of bone formation, the grants bring $1.4million over four years to a better understanding of bone metabolism. According to Associate Professor Nigel Morrison, his research group is one of the few who investigate both the underlying drivers of bone formation and bone resorption. The two processes need to be in careful balance to avoid bone disease such as osteoporosis. One of the new projects will investigate the internal chemical controls over the development and activity of osteoclasts, the cells which resorb or destroy bone. “A number of proteins known as chemokines are involved in the early differentiation of osteoclasts from their precursors. It appears that the first stage of differentiation may be an inflammatory process, with these chemokines signalling and drawing in other cells to form the giant, highly specialised osteoclast.” Associate Professor Nigel Morrison said his primary motivation for the research was intellectual curiosity. However chemokines have also been recognised as potential targets for new therapies for disease such as arthritis. “The basic science of this cell is fantastic. If osteoclast differentiation and activity can be controlled, the skeletal side effects can be reduced and disease ameliorated.” The other new project with colleagues Professor Ifor Beacham and Dr Ian Peak will investigate the body’s response to infection with Burkholderia pseudomallei. The bacteria causes the potentially fatal disease melioidosis, which is endemic in tropical and subtropical regions. “Immune cells known as macrophages would normally kill bacteria in the body by absorbing the intruders and then committing cell suicide. Instead, Burkholderia seems to avoid the immune system by turning the macrophage into an osteoclastlike cell.” He said bone was an unappreciated site of latent infection with B pseudomallei but the way the bacteria appeared to subvert the normal host response was intriguing. Associate Professor Nigel Morrison has been at Griffith for ten years and during that time has mentored numerous undergraduates into promising research careers. “The advantage of teaching is to recognise and encourage good students,” he said. He describes his research and that of his team as ‘the green jungle of discovery’ where ‘every time time you go in, you find something new’. “Interesting things are happening all the time. I like new discovery and having a research group that are your intellectual equals and are constantly generating new ideas. The mix of expertise in a group means people are seeing things differently and can contribute in a synergistic way.” 2 Health check
Nursing research to review management of peripheral catheters Professor Claire Rickard Painful, timeconsuming, costly and wasteful – that’s what some experts think about the practice of routinely removing and re-inserting the peripheral catheters that provide patients with life-saving fluids. Now a definitive study led by acute and critical care specialist Professor Claire Rickard, from Griffith’s Research Centre for Clinical and Community Practice Innovation, will help provide the evidence on whether or not the practice is ineffective and unnecessary. “In Australia each year about ten million peripheral catheters are inserted in patients’ arms or in the backs of their hands to administer blood products, fluids or medications,” she said. “Many of those catheters are routinely re-sited every few days because we thought that helped prevent infection, however there is little evidence to justify the practice.” Professor Rickard said unless there was a clinical reason for moving a catheter such as a blockage or irritation of the vein, it was probably more convenient and cost effective to leave them alone. “Our previous trials in subgroups of patients in Queensland, Victoria and Tasmania have found no difference in infection risk with routine re-siting of catheters.” “Patients have to undergo the pain of another needle, it is disruptive to their therapy, and it wastes the time of both doctors and nurses. Plus there is the environmental costs of all that plastic waste,” she said. The study, to be conducted at the Gold Coast, Princess Alexandra and Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospitals, will involve more than 3,000 patients. It is funded by a $428,750 grant from the National Health and Medical Research Council. A healthy start to life Accurately identifying women at risk of emotional distress after childbirth and providing an effective and accessible intervention to improve their mental health is the aim of a new study funded by the National Health and Medical Research Council. Led by Professor Debra Creedy, Dean (Academic) of Griffith Health, and Master of Midwifery Convenor Dr Jenny Gamble, the study will support a more positive transition to motherhood for many women. “Previous studies have shown surprisingly high rates of depression, anxiety and stress in women following childbirth,” Professor Creedy said. “More than 30 per cent of women experience distress as a result of factors such as the pain, fear and even unexpected medical interventions associated with childbirth.“ “Yet previous studies have found only 14 per cent of new mothers report anyone asking them about their birth experience. Sadly, there appears to be a gap in regards to our emotional care of women at this important time.” She said mental health problems in new mothers could also contribute to problems with infant attachment, and tensions in couple relationships and broader family interaction. The randomised controlled trial will test the impact of brief counselling by trained midwives for new mothers while in hospital and four to six weeks after the birth of their babies. A control group of mothers will receive the same level of contact with a midwife but the content will focus on babycare. “This study has the added advantage of improving the skill base of midwives to support and promote the mental health and wellbeing of women in their care.” Happy, healthy mothers are best for babies. She said a pilot study found that women who received counselling were less depressed, less stressed, had less selfblame and were more confident about a future pregnancy than other women. The new study, involving collaborators from Curtin University of Technology, Charles Darwin University, University of Melbourne and Karolinska Institute in Sweden, will recruit some 1200 women in their third trimester of pregnancy from public and private hospitals across Queensland and Western Australia. 3 www.griffith.edu.au/health
Page 1: 3 Health check Griffith Health news
Page 5 and 6: Research supports CAM education Dr
Page 7 and 8: Bree Somer (pictured with Lifeline
Page 9 and 10: Dental implant specialist Professor
Page 11 and 12: Nesdale A. School Bullies and Victi

Health Check Issue 15 2007 ( PDF 439k) - Griffith University

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