News 2008-11-17 18:Nov:th 2008-11-17 18:Nov:th http://www.vni.com.au info@vni.com.au Copyright 2008 Victorian Neurotrauma Initiative Wed, 12 Nov 2008 17:17:42 +1000 Wed, 12 Nov 2008 17:17:42 +1000 http://www.vni.com.au/news/id/52 Four recipients of the Victorian Neurotrauma Initiative (VNI) 2008 Fellowship Awards will offer inspiration to emerging young researchers during November as part of VNI’s “Thank You” Day events. The VNI Fellowship recipients will open the doors of their research areas to secondary students interested in health and medical research.

Dr Alex Collie, Executive Director, VNI said that “The VNI is pleased to highlight the important role of researchers as part of “Thank You” Day. The innovative work of these VNI funded researchers aims to improve the quality of life for individuals living with brain and spinal cord injury.”

Alex said that unlike doctors and nurses, researchers are rarely recognised or thanked for their contribution to medical science. “Every day, people benefit from the work of health and medical researchers.”

Now in its 6th year, Research Australia’s award-winning “Thank You” Day campaign aims to raise public awareness of the benefits of health and medical research. The campaign is conducted nationally by Research Australia and their members.

Details:
Ms Jane Galvin of the Royal Children’s Hospital and the Murdoch Childrens Research Institute will host Hannah Layman, a Year 11 student at University High School in Parkville and give an overview of her research into fine and upper limb movement with paediatric brain injured patients. Jane has also incorporated virtual reality in other projects with paediatric brain injured patients.
When: 28th November

Dr Jerome Maller of the Alfred Psychiatry Research Centre will host Rachael Heveren, a Year 11 student from St Mary’s College in Seymour and introduce her to his research environment where he investigates depression in brain injured patients using advanced imaging techniques.
When: 14th November

Dr Gavin Williams of the Epworth hospital will host Madeleine Barrow, a Year 10 student at The Mac.Robertson Girls’ High School in Melbourne and give her an applied introduction to his clinical research involving an innovative gait analysis technique for brain injured patients.
When: 27th November

Dr David Berlowitz of the Institute for Breathing and Sleep will host Johnson Ja who is in Year 10 at Melbourne High School in South Yarra and give him an overview of the clinical research environment where David investigates how to improve sleep problems in individuals with spinal cord injuries.
When: 18th November

Each of the four students participated in Research Australia’s National Youth Ambassador Program for Year 9 and 10 students.

Contact: Lisa Pitre on 9664 6251, Development Manager, Victorian Neurotrauma Initiative for more information on the VNI “Thank You” Day events or the VNI Neurotrauma Fellowships. Fri, 17 Oct 2008 08:20:26 +1000 Fri, 17 Oct 2008 08:20:26 +1000 http://www.vni.com.au/news/id/50 VNI-supported researchers performed extremely well in the recently announced round of National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Project Grants.

Eight Victorians who are currently receiving support from the VNI were successful in gaining funding of $7.81 million from the NHMRC, to conduct 10 separate research projects. Almost $5 million of this funding is for projects in neurotrauma, with the remainder in closely related areas of neuroscience.

A couple of highlights include:

- Professor Jamie Cooper from Monash University and the Alfred Hospital received $3.9 million in funding to conduct two Randomised Controlled Trials (RCTs) of acute treatments for patients with moderate to severe Traumatic Brain Injury. Professor Cooper has previously received substantial support from the TAC and the VNI to conduct two prior RCTs in traumatic brain injury, one of which is complete and the second of which is currently underway.

- Professor Seong-Seng Tan from the Florey Neurosciences Institute received $803,000 to further his search for a drug that will prevent the death of brain cells following traumatic injury. This work follows directly on from a VNI grant awarded to Professor Tan in 2006 and that is currently nearing completion.

This success demonstrates the positive effect that the VNI has had on the Victorian neurotrauma research community and represents another significant milestone in the search for effective treatments for neurotrauma. Fri, 15 Aug 2008 21:37:09 +1000 Fri, 15 Aug 2008 21:37:09 +1000 http://www.vni.com.au/news/id/48 The twelve workshops involved over 190 individuals including 135 Victorians, 40 inter-state and 15 international participants. Overall, 109 institutions were represented. Thu, 12 Jun 2008 09:37:23 +1000 Thu, 12 Jun 2008 09:37:23 +1000 http://www.vni.com.au/news/id/44 The fellowships were awarded in four categories: Training, Early Career Practitioner, Early Career Research, and Senior Research. These researchers have been selected following a rigorous and competitive evaluation process and the VNI congratulates them on their achievements.

■ The Training Fellowships were awarded to Ms Jane Galvin, The Royal Childrens Hospital and Ms Susan Berney, Austin Hospital. These fellowships are designed for active clinicians and public health practitioners who wish to undertake neurotrauma research that is linked to their practice. They aimed to attract new researchers to the field of neurotrauma.

■ The Early Career Practitioner Fellowships were awarded to Dr Gavin Williams, Epworth Hospital, Dr Steven Miller, Caulfield Pain Management & Research Centre and Dr David Berlowitz, Institute for Breathing & Sleep. These fellowships are also designed for active clinicians and public heath practitioners who wish to undertake neurotrauma research that is linked to their practice. They aimed to attract and retain early career practitioners to the field of neurotrauma.

■ The Early Career Research Fellowships were awarded to Dr Yona Goldshmit, Monash University and Dr Jerome Maller, Alfred Psychiatry Research Centre, Monash University. These fellowships are designed to support basic neurobiological and clinical researchers in the early stages of their career. They aimed to attract and retain early career researchers to the field of neurotrauma.

■ The Senior Research Fellowship was awarded to Associate Professor Cristina Morganti-Kossmann, National Trauma Research Institute. This fellowship provides an opportunity to undertake competitive research and to develop research leadership within the neurotrauma field. This Fellowship was designed to attract and retain senior basic neurobiological and clinical researchers within the neurotrauma field.

The fellowships represent a central component of VNI’s plan to build capacity and capability within the local research sector. The VNI has made a commitment of $4.25 million over five years to fund twenty-one research fellowships. These eight fellowships are the first step in this process and will be followed by seven fellowships in 2009 and six fellowships in 2010. The ultimate aim of the research funded by the VNI is to improve the health and quality of life of individuals living with neurotrauma.

Photo: Dr Alex Collie, Executive Director - VNI, Jane Galvin, Susan Berney, Dr David Berlowitz, Dr Yona Goldshmit, Dr Jerome Maller, Associate Professor Cristina Morganti-Kossman, Dr Steven Miller, Dr Gavin Williams, and Geoff Hilton, Chair, VNI Board of Directors. Wed, 20 Feb 2008 15:08:00 +1000 Wed, 20 Feb 2008 15:08:00 +1000 http://www.vni.com.au/news/id/34 19 February 2008

While visiting Victoria today, the Ontario Minister of Research and Innovation, John Wilkinson, met with Mr Jennings after witnessing the signing of a collaborative research agreement between Monash University and McMaster University in Ontario on electron microscope technology.

The $24 million Monash Centre for Electron Microscopy is supported by the Victorian Government’s Science, Technology and Innovation Infrastructure Grants program.

Mr Jennings said the agreement would allow Victoria and Ontario to collaborate together on making the best use of multimillion-dollar state-of-the-art research tools.

Mr Jennings also made note of the recently signed collaborative research agreement between the Victorian Neurotrauma Initiative (VNI) and the Ontario Neurotrauma Foundation (ONF) to partner in the research and treatment of acquired brain and spinal cord injury.

To download the full media release please click below.



Tue, 13 Nov 2007 15:13:04 +1000 Tue, 13 Nov 2007 15:13:04 +1000 http://www.vni.com.au/news/id/26 The last year has been an exciting time of consolidation and growth for the VNI. To read more about the VNI's achievements during 2006/07 please download a copy of the Annual Report. Tue, 13 Nov 2007 15:00:57 +1000 Tue, 13 Nov 2007 15:00:57 +1000 http://www.vni.com.au/news/id/24 The purpose of this event was to showcase some of the great work that is currently being funded by the VNI. The program included presentations from six researchers working within the fields of spinal cord injury and traumatic brain injury.

This all-day event had more than 60 attendees from the neurotrauma community, including researchers, service providers, consumers and carers. To find out more about this event, please download the program book below. Wed, 08 Aug 2007 16:54:11 +1000 Wed, 08 Aug 2007 16:54:11 +1000 http://www.vni.com.au/news/id/10 Thursday 9th August 2007.

Premier John Brumby today officially launched the VNI Fellowships and Awards for 2008 at the Royal Melbourne Hospital. Muhammad Ali�s daughter, Rasheda Ali, attended the launch and discussed the importance of supporting neuroscience researchers.
The VNI research fellowships, valued at $4.25 million in total, are a significant investment in the future and will be integral to further building a robust, internationally acclaimed research community in Victoria.

Applications are now open with a total of eight fellowships to be offered beginning in 2008. The closing date for fellowship applications is 5pm (AEST) 4 October 2007. Skill Development Awards are also available. The closing date for the Skill Development Awards is 5pm (AEST) 1 November 2007.

For more information on how to apply click here
For media release click here