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7 October 2009
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Researchers at Monash and the Berman Center for Outcomes and Clinical Research will lead an international clinical trial to test whether taking aspirin contributes to good health in the elderly.
The trial, ASPirin in Reducing Events in the Elderly (ASPREE), has been awarded US$50 million from the US National Institute on Aging, adding to funding of $3.5 million from the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council.
The study - the largest prevention trial to be undertaken in Australia - will recruit 12,500 healthy men and women aged 70 years and over in Australia and 6500 in the US.
Over five years, half will take daily low-dose aspirin and half a placebo tablet to determine if daily consumption helps them remain physically active and improves cognitive and cardiovascular function.
Principal investigator Monash University's Professor John McNeil said the health and wellbeing of older Australians was at the centre of the study.
"We want to look at the potential of aspirin to improve the health of older Australians. This age group has not previously been studied in sufficient numbers to inform health guidelines," Professor McNeil said.
"Doctors know that aspirin should help to prevent heart attacks and some forms of stroke and research indicates that aspirin may also prevent mental decline and some forms of cancer.
"However aspirin is also known to have side effects that may offset its benefits."
Professor McNeil said the study followed international debate about the role of aspirin for prevention of disease in healthy individuals.
"Its outcome will determine whether health practitioners around the world should routinely recommend low-dose aspirin for older patients," he said.
Research team member Professor Mark Nelson from the University of Tasmania said the involvement of Australian GPs was crucial to the success of the study.
"We will work closely with GPs, initially across Victoria, Tasmania and the ACT and later in other states, to invite suitable volunteers to participate in the study," he said.
7 October 2009
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| Dr Malcolm Clark |
An international study has predicted the effect global warming will have on the Earth's plant life.
The study, led by Dr Malcolm Clark from the School of Mathematical Sciences and Professor Roy Thompson from the University of Edinburgh, predicts that some plants will flower up to 50 days earlier by the year 2080.
They investigated the responses of 79 species of plants to air temperatures by examining old records from Edinburgh's Royal Botanic Garden and also climate records.
Using this data they established the relationship between air temperature and first flowering date and have used their new statistical model to predict likely changes in spring flowering in Scotland based on three potential global warming scenarios.
They predict that spring flowering will begin approximately 11 days early for every one degree Celsius that the climate warms. For an increasingly oceanic climate (greater winter than summer warming) their model predicts shifts in the botanical season ranging between 16 days at the start of spring and 12 days at the end of spring. For an increasingly continental climate, predictions range between seven days at the start of spring and 11 days at the end of spring.
"Although the study is based on plant life in Scotland, our phenological models apply across regions spanning hundreds of thousands of square kilometres," Dr Clark said.
Using their results Dr Clark and Professor Thompson have constructed a global map demonstrating the ‘desynchronisation' of plant and animal life in the year 2080.
The map shows the botanical calendar of maritime climates including Western Europe, the American Atlantic coast, New Zealand, Chile and North Africa will move out of sync with the seasons. As a result temperature-sensitive plants will flower up to 50 days earlier that now.
7 October 2009
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A team from the engineering and arts faculties will develop a system to produce competitively-priced chemicals and alternative diesel fuels from second-generation feedstocks such as waste construction wood and plantation residues.
Professor Gil Garnier from the Department of Chemical Engineering and Associate Professor Damon Honnery from the Department of Mechanical Engineering will lead the three-year $1.4 million project, which has been funded by the Federal Government Department of Resources, Energy and Tourism and the Renewable Oil Corporation.
The team will develop a pyrolysis biorefinery at the Clayton campus to produce the alternative fuels.
The subsequent fuels will then undergo a series of engine and vehicle tests as well as be examined for their ability to provide carbon, energy and financial savings to ensure they are sustainable for commercial use.
Professor Garnier said the Monash team was one of only a few in the world capable of conducting the research.
"Our team has the necessary skills to research and develop alternative fuels from the feedstock right through to their point of use in a vehicle," Professor Garnier said.
Associate Professor Honnery said the research was a major step forward in the ongoing development of alternative fuels for the transport sector.
"It links the economic benefits obtainable from production of low-volume high-value specialist chemicals to relatively low value, but large volume, fuel production," Associate Professor Honnery said.
7 October 2009
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| Monash AUG team captains Tom Forde and Clare Alomes |
In the closest finish in its history, Monash has taken out top honours in this year's Australian University Games (AUG).
Successfully defending its champion title, the Monash team beat rivals the University of Melbourne by just two points, 1050 to 1048. The University of Sydney finished third.
Monash Sport athlete support coordinator Carolyn Kenny said the win proved that in these types of events, every point counted.
"The win was a great team performance and we are ecstatic about the result," she said.
The week-long event was well-contested by all competitors, but Monash proved to be a dominant force, claiming overall victory in many events including women's basketball, netball and tennis, men's athletics, Kendo Kyu, taekwondo, and for the first time in AUG history, swimming.
Monash claimed overall silver in another three sports and overall bronze in eight.
Monash Sport director Martin Doulton said AUG 2009 was filled with brilliant performances from both individuals and teams.
"Monash students from all campuses were integral to the victory," Mr Doulton said.
"To add to the victory, more than 30 Monash students were selected by the games' governing body Australian University Sport as best in their sport and elevated to the Green and Gold team for 2009."
This year's Australian University Games featured a record number of competitors. Monash, which has won the event three times, had this year's biggest team with 448 participants.
To see the full AUG results visit the Monash Sport website.
7 October 2009
The annual Vice-Chancellor's Public Debate at Clayton campus next week will debate a solution to the Israel/Palestine conflict.
The debate, hosted by the Monash Association of Debaters (MAD), will be chaired by Monash Vice-Chancellor Professor Ed Byrne and examine the topic: "That the West should engage with Hamas: A solution to the Israel/Palestine conflict?"
Former Prime Minister of Australia, Malcolm Fraser will be joined by Public Advocate for Australians for Palestine, Michael Shaik and Monash's Global Terrorism Research Centre academic Debra Smith to speak for the affirmative.
Speaking for the negative will be Federal Labor MP Mark Dreyfus, President of the Zionist Council of Victoria Dr Danny Lamm and Australasian debate champion Tim Jeffrie.
MAD Vice-President Colette Mintz said MAD chose the highly-contentious topic as it had received significant attention both on campus and in the wider community.
"Given the complexity of the issues surrounding the Israel/Palestine conflict, MAD has taken the responsibility of providing an academic forum for discussion of the problem," Ms Mintz said.
The debate will be held in Building 63, Central 1 lecture theatre at Clayton campus on Tuesday 13 October commencing at 6.30 pm.
Light refreshments will be provided prior to the commencement of the debate.
For more information visit the MAD website.
7 October 2009
Monash law students have won every category of the recent Victorian Council of Law Student Societies (VCLSS) Inter-university Championships - the most prestigious law students' competition in Victoria.
Each of Victoria's five law schools sends its best students to participate in the championships, with teams competing in mooting, client interview, negotiation and witness examination.
The competitions simulate various aspects of everyday legal practice, requiring exceptional written and oral advocacy, and often extensive legal research.
Students are judged by senior members of the Victorian legal profession, including judges from the County and Supreme Courts, as well as partners from the competition's sponsor, commercial law firm Blake Dawson.
For mooting winners Alex Fawke and Michael Beaconsfield, this was the second consecutive year of taking out the top prize.
The pair, whose team this year also included Matthew Eglezos, said the championships were a fantastic opportunity to improve their skills in advocacy and legal analysis.
"To appear in front of some of the state's top legal minds has been an invaluable experience, and to win was a great bonus," fourth-year arts/law student Alex said.
Other winners were first year students Vivien Tabe and Matthew Persico, who took out the client interview competition, Sofia Hopper and Hugh Bastiaan who won the negotiation section, and Drossos Stamboulakis who won the witness examination competition.
7 October 2009
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| Ms Lindley and her students trial the new tablet PC technology. |
A trial of tablet PC technology in the Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences is enhancing the student learning experience.
Senior lecturer Jennifer Lindley uses the new touchscreen mobile computers to incorporate fresh elements into her classes, such as asking students to label diagrams and microscopic images that they send back to her tablet PC. She can then spark a discussion from their answers.
About 60 first-year radiography students and selected staff have trialled the high-end Hewlett Packard tablet PCs. Each tablet is loaded with free interactive teaching software called Classroom Presenter.
It is part of the MyLearningSpace project run by the Monash eEducation Centre, established to support and nurture the use of technology in teaching.
"The tablets allowed me to be a lot more interactive with the students," Ms Lindley said.
"You can gauge how they're going in terms of understanding the learning material and it made the lectures a lot more interesting for the students as well as for me as a teacher."
Academic Director of Information Technology Dr George Kotsanas is overseeing the trial. He sees the tablet PCs becoming a dominant teaching tool, as they allow staff to be creative in how they teach, and give students flexibility in their study methods.
"I think that this will be the more pervasive technology used within lectures or even tutorials and practical classes in the future," Dr Kotsanas said.
"Students can take them home, into a clinical environment, or anywhere else, and continue studying with their material all together on one device."
Following the success of the trial among radiography students, the tablet PCs have been introduced into the Bachelor of Physiotherapy course for second semester.
Planning is also underway to make tablet PCs available to all staff teaching in undergraduate medicine courses commencing in 2010.
7 October 2009
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Staff and students can now sign an online pledge to cement their commitment to environmental sustainability. The Monash Environmental Pledge, launched recently by the Vice Chancellor's Environment Group, asks staff and students to take simple actions to reduce water, energy and waste, and the impact of travel and food production on the environment.
The pledge, available at the Monash Environment website, takes about two to three minutes to complete. As an added incentive, the University will commit $5 to onsite renewable energy projects each year for every staff and student who pledges their commitment.
Monash Sustainable Transport Month, which runs until 18 October, forms part of the environmental pledge.
During Sustainable Transport Month all Monash students and staff are asked to consider how they travel to campus and are encouraged to walk, ride, take public transport or carpool to show their commitment to the environment.
One of the key events will be Ride to Work Day on Wednesday 14 October. A free breakfast will be provided to staff and students who ride to campus on the day. To register, visit the Ride to Work website.
Other events during the month include Confidence to Commute training, the Staff and Student Travel Survey, Walk to Work Day and the 10,000 Steps program.
For further information visit the Sustainable Transport Month website.
7 October 2009
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| Oxfam's Lucy Delahey and Ben Sylvan with Phillip Abramson (centre) |
A Faculty of Information Technology student is undertaking a 22-week Industry-Based Learning (IBL) placement with Oxfam Australia, helping to develop the functionality and user-friendliness of its intranet.
Third-year science/computer science student Phillip Abramson is being kept busy managing the upgrading of the leading aid agency's internal staff website.
Phillip's stint at Oxfam is a milestone for the faculty's IBL program, being its first student placement with a not-for-profit organisation.
Phillip said he was enjoying the opportunity to apply his skills to a broad project that involved extensive research and liaison with a range of Oxfam staff.
"I'm doing a whole range of different things, but my main task has been the upgrade of the intranet; at the moment it is not very user-friendly or easy to navigate," Phillip said.
After conducting a large content audit of the site, Phillip has been running planning and consultations with staff from Oxfam divisions to ensure the end product meets their requirements.
"One of the things I have learnt is that there are never any perfect solutions: we don't live in a perfect world and you have to be able to compromise and develop solutions that are the best possible in the circumstances," he said.
The Oxfam placement is being funded by the faculty's IBL partners with the support of the Victorian Government. Monash University recently celebrated the one-year anniversary of its strategic partnership with Oxfam.
7 October 2009
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Name: Erin Quigley
Course: Honours degree, Bachelor of Arts
Year level: 4
Campus: Clayton
What is it about your course and the University that helped you to choose Monash?
I did my Bachelor of Arts at Monash and absolutely loved history. The department is fantastic and the units really appealed to me. I also think the teaching is of a high standard. Monash is also great because as a student you are given a lot of opportunities to study abroad.
What is your favourite subject and why?
I took an International Studies unit at the Monash South Africa campus. We also went to Rwanda. The course examined South African apartheid and Rwandan genocide. It was such a good opportunity to travel, meet new people and learn about a different culture.
What challenges are ahead for you this year?
My thesis!
What will be your ideal career when you graduate?
I would like to be a professional historian working in Holocaust and genocide studies. It will involve doing lots of research and working with archives.
What is it about your course that holds your interest or is particularly satisfying?
Honours gives you a lot of freedom to further research in a particular area you find interesting. I didn't study the Holocaust in detail in my undergraduate degree so it allows me to specialise in another field. I think writing a thesis is a huge learning curve, and I am enjoying the experience.
What is your favourite place in the world and why?
I would love to go back to Lancaster, England where I did an exchange. I want to visit my exchange friends and do more travelling around the UK.
What is the best piece of advice you have received?
Seize every opportunity you are given.
What is something about yourself that most of your fellow students wouldn't know?
I would love to go trekking in Nepal. I think Nepalese culture is really fascinating, and I think it would be a real challenge.
7 October 2009
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In acknowledgement of Sir Edward ‘Weary' Dunlop's connection with what is now the Monash Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, a small but important piece of his legacy has made its way on to the Parkville campus.
Sir Edward's wooden medicine chest, with empty medicine bottles that once contained eucalyptus oil, Epsom salts, sulphur ointment, ammonia, bicarbonate of soda and compound liquorice ointment, is on loan to the faculty where he began his illustrious medical career 85 years ago.
The chest travelled the world alongside Sir Edward, whose most distinguished work was among Prisoners of War in Singapore and Burma in World War II.
During the course of his life he received numerous honours and awards in recognition of his achievements. In 1977 he was named Australian of the Year and in 1988 one of the 200 Great Australians. He died in 1993 and his state funeral, held in Melbourne, attracted 10,000 mourners.