21 September 2005
21 September 2005
Monash and Melbourne University researchers have received $1.2million for a research project that could lead to the development of a cancer vaccine.
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| Associate Professor Mibel Aguilar. |
Associate Professor Mibel Aguilar and Dr Patrick Perlmutter, from Monash, and Dr Tony Purcell from the University of Melbourne, received the funding from Circadian Technologies Ltd, in an agreement arranged by Monash Commercial.
The funding will help advance the researchers' work in developing a synthetic peptide (protein) that accurately mimics naturally occurring peptides in the body.
During infection or the transformation of cells into tumor cells, viral or tumor-specific peptides are presented on the surface of cells. T cells (white blood cells that help fight infection) are able to recognise these peptides and eradicate the dangerous cells.
In the past, immunologists have used synthetic peptides to stimulate immunity to viruses and cancers. However, many of these peptides have been unstable and have degraded in the blood and peripheral tissues.
Dr Aguilar, Dr Perlmutter and Dr Purcell have developed technology that stabilises synthetic peptides, increases their ability to reach the target area and improves the immune response.
The technology has been tested in mouse models and will soon be tested with peptides designed to target immune responses towards human melanoma cancer cells.
The two-year funding will be used for further testing and to develop a vaccine using the synthetic peptides.
The researchers said the vaccine could be applicable to a range of cancers including melanoma, breast, ovarian and bladder cancer and may have implications for chronic viral diseases including HIV and hepatitis.
21 September 2005
Two US experts in farm machinery safety visited the Monash University Accident Research Centre (MUARC) last week to investigate a world-leading model for tractor safety.
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| From left: Dr Eric Hallman, Dr Lesley Day and Dr Mark Purschwitz. |
Dr Eric Hallman, director of the Agricultural Health and Safety Program at Cornell University, and Dr Mark Purschwitz, from the National Farm Medicine Centre in Wisconsin, gave a joint seminar on US agricultural equipment safety.
They are now touring regional Victoria to explore organisational and technical issues associated with modifications to tractors, as well as meeting farmers, machinery dealers and Workcover officers.
Senior MUARC research fellow Dr Lesley Day said the US researchers had been eager to visit Victoria as the state was leading the way in farm machinery accident prevention as a result of the retrofitting of roll-over protection to older tractors.
She said an average of three people had died in roll-over incidents on Victorian farms each year before 1998, the year the retrofitting program and associated legislation were introduced. Since then, the average has fallen to one roll-over fatality per year, with no deaths recorded this year.
Dr Day said the Monash University Accident Research Foundation had partly sponsored the visit, as Dr Hallman, an engineer, had valuable expertise to contribute to a long-term MUARC study into serious farm machinery injuries. The study aims to gather information about the major causes of these injuries and ultimately improve safety for farm workers.
21 September 2005
A project between Monash IT and the Faculty of Art and Design's gallery has seen artworks by Monash students displayed at the Melbourne headquarters of Monash IT.
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| Ms Imogen Beynon and Mr Stephen Edwards, pictured in front of Joleicia Baird's work 'Morkinkle' 2005. |
The exhibition, Live From Our Studios, opened last month. Monash IT is owned by the Information Technology faculty and specialises in providing IT short courses to corporate clients.
The project was sparked by a request from Monash IT business development manager Mr Stephen Edwards, who contacted the Art and Design faculty about obtaining artworks to put up on the blank walls of the Monash IT offices.
The exhibition was curated by third-year Bachelor of Fine Art (painting) student Ms Imogen Beynon, who undertook a three-month internship at the Faculty Gallery under the supervision of gallery manager Ms Bianca Durrant.
Ms Beynon, who is interested in working as a curator after she completes her studies, developed the exhibition from scratch.
She designed flyers and invitations to seek out second and third-year students interested in showing their works. After selecting 41 works for display, she facilitated their installation. The project took six weeks to complete, and all works are available for purchase.
Ms Beynon said it had been an enjoyable learning experience. "The standard of work was very high, and it was interesting to see how the works sat in a non-traditional exhibition space," she said.
"The exhibition showcases art practices emerging from the Art and Design faculty studios. The works themselves demonstrate diversity and experimentation in medium, content and mode of communication, and aspects constituting contemporary art practice today."
Mr Edwards said he was delighted with the exhibition, which he hopes will become an annual project with the Art and Design faculty.
"Imogen weaved her magic, and the feedback from our clients has been phenomenal," Mr Edwards said. "This is an opportunity to showcase the artworks to the corporate market, and already some of our customers have shown interest in purchasing works."
Live from our Studios can be viewed at 190 Queen Street, Melbourne.
21 September 2005
The Monash men's basketball team has won division two of the Big V competition in a gripping three-game final series.
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| The Monash men's basketball team celebrates its win. |
The Monash Uni Giants defeated the Warragul Warriors in the series, which started with a Warriors' home game in Drouin in which they beat the Giants for the first time in the 2005 season.
The second game was at the Clayton campus stadium, with Monash securing a win to stay in the competition.
The deciding match was also played at the Clayton campus, in front of 400 spectators, with the Giants claiming a nine-point victory.
Giants' assistant coach Mr Andrew Knell said it was a fantastic result for the team, which comprised Monash students, alumni and members of the broader community.
"The team worked hard all season, so they really deserved to take out the title," Mr Knell said.
"Current student and Most Valuable Player of the league nominee Andrew Oliver was one of our stars. He was a major player for us throughout the finals series, as a leader in both scoring and rebounds."
Mr Knell said Monash alumni Mr Adam Harris and Mr Simon Murphy had also put in great performances. Both players announced their retirement after the game, having been with the club for more than 10 years.
"Solid contributions also came from Darryl McDonald, Courtney Patterson and Michael Hubbard," Mr Knell said.
The Big V is one of the largest semi-professional basketball league structures in the world, with 91 teams playing across nine competitions.
In 2004, the member clubs of the league -- the Country Victorian Invitation Basketball League, the Victorian Basketball League and the Women's Victorian Basketball League -- voted to re-brand the league as the Big V.
The Monash women's basketball team finished fifth.
21 September 2005
More than 120 items showcasing the depth and diversity of the Monash University Library's Asian Studies Research Collection are on display at the Sir Louis Matheson Library at Monash's Clayton campus.
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| Taken from the cover of a Malay popular novel written in Jawi Script: Cukaria (Bitter Sweet), by Ahmad Lutfi (Singapore: Qalam, 1949). |
The Asia-East and Southeast exhibition draws on major collections written in Chinese, Japanese, Korean and Indonesian, as well as smaller collections in Khmer, Malay, Thai and Vietnamese, and some closed access and archival material in English and colonial languages.
It is curated by Senior Asian Studies Librarian Dr Aline Scott-Maxwell and is on show until 25 November.
Three broad themes are covered -- political events and movements, popular and traditional culture, and women.
Items on display include Indonesian manuscripts on bark and palm leaf, a prison confession from Cambodia's Tuol Sleng Prison, martial arts story books from Java as well as Japanese manga and other Asian comics.
"The Asian Studies Research Collection is a rich repository for research and everyday study and testimony to Monash's long history of scholarly and public engagement with Asia," Dr Scott-Maxwell said.
"Monash's Korean collection is the largest academic collection in Australia, the Indonesia collection includes a significant proportion of material held nowhere else in Australia and the Dutch East Indies collection is world class. Important special collections include the Burma Democracy Movement Collection, the Norodom Sihanouk Archival collection and the Southeast Asia Pamphlet Collection.
"Some historical subjects represented in the exhibition have contemporary resonances such as the early nineteenth century Japanese book on the use of whale products in pest control, and the group of items relating to the Japanese occupation of Southeast Asia during World War II.
"Other items have been selected for their visual communicative power as well as their subject matter so that they are accessible to non-readers of Asian languages."
The Asian Studies Research Collection is a specialist collection of Asian-language materials with a focus on Southeast Asia and East Asia. For information on the collection visit the Asian Studies Research Collection website.
A catalogue and virtual exhibition of Asia-East and Southeast can be viewed at the Library Exhibitions website.
21 September 2005
Faculty of IT lecturer Mr Chris Avram has been elected a trustee of the International Federation for Information Processing.
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He was elected to a four-year term at the federation's general meeting in Gaborone, Botswana, this month.
Mr Avram (pictured), who is vice-president of the Australian Computer Society and is the Australian representative to the federation, is one of eight trustees elected to the council.
The trustees, along with the president, vice president, treasurer and secretary, make up the federation's key decision-making body.
Mr Avram said Australian information and communications technology researchers, educators and professionals played an active role in the federation and were highly respected on the world stage.
"Australians are prominent within the federation in areas as diverse as computer science, education, artificial intelligence and information security," he said.
"We are well represented on working groups, in executive positions and on technical committees so Australia is very much valued for the contributions of its academic community.
"Our involvement in turn is one means to achieving the principles of the Australian Computer Society, to promote the development of Australian information and communications technology resources."
The federation represents more than 400,000 information and communications technology professionals from 60 countries through member associations including the Australian Computer Society.
21 September 2005
Two final-year education students have each been awarded $5000 scholarships to support their professional development as they progress from study to careers in the classroom.
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| Ms Kellie Felmingham (left) and Ms Lisa Barnard with their awards. |
Ms Kellie Felmingham and Ms Lisa Barnard received the Invergowrie Foundation/McPherson Family Education Scholarships for Women.
The scholarships are funded by the Invergowrie Foundation, a charitable trust established in 1925 by the principals of six of Melbourne's leading independent girls' schools. They are available to female education students in Victoria who intend to teach maths or science, demonstrate a commitment to quality education and are involved with their local community.
Ms Felmingham holds a Bachelor of Science with majors in biology and psychology and is currently completing her Diploma of Education (Secondary). Her teaching specialisations are biology and general science, and she is also qualified to teach psychology.
Ms Barnard is completing the final year of her Bachelor of Science/Bachelor of Education double degree and has teaching specialisations in biology and psychology.
Two other Monash education students were also finalists in the scholarships competition -- Ms Belinda Griffiths, who is studying for her Diploma of Education (Secondary), and Ms Julie Bucknell who is studying for her Bachelor Science/Bachelor of Education.
21 September 2005
Monash University Malaysia's Professor Bala Shanmugam's expertise in banking and finance has seen him appointed to two prominent positions.
Professor Bala is the chair of accounting and finance at Monash University Malaysia and the director of the Banking and Finance Unit.
He has been appointed to the board of the Malaysian Accounting Research and Education Foundation by the Malaysian Institute of Accountants, the first professor from a private university to receive such an appointment.
Professor Bala has also been appointed to the advisory council of the Islamic Finance News. He is the only academic to have been appointed to the board of the international e-newsletter, which has more than 10,000 subscribers.
Professor Bala is an expert in Islamic finance, regularly producing articles and speaking on the topic. He also gives regular media interviews on Islamic banking and finance.