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Graduate Stories
Elwood PhD student wins $75,000 research scholarshipMedia Release A PhD student from the Howard Florey Institute has received a $75,000 scholarship to research the fatal genetic disease known as Huntington’s disease. India Bohanna, 23, from Elwood, has been awarded the $25,000 per annum three-year scholarship by the Australian Rotary Health Research Fund (ARHRF). The scholarship, known as the ‘ARHRF/Bartolina Peluso Scholarship’, is funded through the bequest of the late Mrs Bartolina (Betty) Peluso, the Australian Rotary Health Research Fund (ARHRF) and the Howard Florey Institute. India will use the scholarship to explore the subtle changes in brain structure and function that occur in a person who has been diagnosed with the genetic mutation that causes Huntington’s disease long before signs and symptoms of the disease actually occur. “Huntington's disease is a genetic disorder, passed on from parent to child, which results in a variety of devastating symptoms that worsen with time, leading to death within 15 to 25 years from when symptoms are first detected” said India. “Symptoms include dementia, loss of movement control, and psychiatric symptoms such as depression. “We know that if someone is carrying the Huntington’s gene they will develop the disease at some stage in their life and once the symptoms start, there is very little that can be done to stop the progression of the disease. “Ultimately, by identifying the earliest changes in the brain, I hope my research leads to treatments that can effectively prevent people with the Huntington’s gene from ever suffering the overwhelming physical, cognitive and psychiatric deterioration which is so much a part of the disease,” India said. Huntington's disease affects approximately 7 people per 100,000 in Australia. Ian Oliver, ARHRF Chairman, said the Australian Rotary Health Research Fund is keen to encourage promising young researcher like India to complete further studies. The Australian Rotary Health Research Fund (ARHRF) is a multi-district project for Rotary in Australia, with over 1,175 Rotary clubs and 34,370 Rotarians supporting it. It is one of the largest independent medical research funds in the country. For more information, see www.arhrf.org.au. **The estate of Bartolina Peluso will fund three $75,000 PhD scholarships for researchers investigating various aspects of dementia over the next nine years. Rotarian’s Bequest Helps Young MS ResearcherMedia Release A $17,000 scholarship from the Rotary Club of Pakenham will help a 23 year-old medical researcher complete her PhD research into multiple sclerosis (MS). Laura-Jane Oluich, from Glenhuntly, will receive $5,679 from the Rotary Club of Pakenham each year for the next three years, to assist with her PhD studies at the Howard Florey Institute at The University of Melbourne. President Lynette Squires from the Rotary Club of Pakenham said the money for Laura’s scholarship was bequeathed to the Australian Rotary Health Research Fund – the organisation that administers the PhD scholarships - by local identity Rotarian Ron Cameron and his wife Sylvia. “Ron was a member of the Rotary Club of Pakenham for some 34 years,” said Lynette. “He was a wonderful person who would always help others.” “Ron and Sylvia had no children and were extremely dedicated to Rotary. When Ron passed away in 2004 a substantial amount of money was bequeathed to the Australian Rotary Health Research Fund for medical research,” Lynette said. “The Rotary Club had raised funds for MS in the past and a number of our members have relatives with MS, so when the Research Fund suggested that the Club become involved with their PhD scholarship program and help Laura, we were happy to oblige.” More than 15,000 Australians suffer from MS. The overall cause of the disease is unknown and there is currently no cure. Laura is investigating the role of a specialized type of cell called an oligodendrocyte in the development of MS. Death of oligodendrocytes during the development of MS damages nerve cells leading to symptoms ranging from blindness to quadriplegia. In addition to her scholarship from the Rotary Club of Pakenham/Australian Rotary Health Research Fund, Laura has been awarded a PhD scholarship by the Australian Government. The Australian Rotary Health Research Fund is one of the largest independent medical research funds in Australia. Since its establishment in 1981 the Fund has invested more than $12 million in research projects ranging from cot death and adolescent health, to the Ross River virus and bowel cancer screening. The balance of Ron Cameron’s bequest has helped fund several mental health research projects. Young brainy students create world firstMedia Release A new 3D brain model is at the centre of a project created by a group of postgraduate students based at the Howard Florey Institute. The team, known as BRAINYak scanned a fellow members’ brain using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technology to construct their model. They have literally put their brains into their new entry in this year’s Biotechnology Entrepreneur Program, an initiative of Young Achievement Australia. As a group of young neuroscientists grappling with brain anatomy, the BRAINYak team endeavoured to design a unique way to understand where regions are in the brain and how they inter-relate. Scott Kolbe, the BRAINYak member who donated his brain for the scan said powerful new neuroimaging technologies such as magnetic resonance have opened up a new window in understanding the organisation and inner workings of the body’s most mysterious organ, the brain. “Using this technology we have created the perfect tool to understand neuroanatomy as easily and as efficiently as possible so we can instead focus on curing brain diseases and disorders that impact enormously on society,” he said. Their product, the NeuroSlice model consists of MR images of Scott’s brain, which the group has colour-coded so different areas of the brain can be identified easily. The NeuroSlice model will be of use to students and postgraduates new to the neuroscience field and to clinicians as a prop for diagnostic explanations to patients. BRAINYak’s invention is the first 3D brain model using MRI images and provides a representation of the brain in space, something not found when using software programs and brain atlases. Participants in Biotechnology Entrepreneur Program are guided through a 24-week intensive program by industry mentors during which they develop a product, taking it through the commercialisation process from concept to market. The BRAINYak team are sponsored by the Howard Florey Institute, Australia’s leading brain institute and Neurosciences Victoria, an organization dedicated to linking brain research with commercial opportunities. For further information on BRAINYak and their new invention visit www.hfi.unimelb.edu.au/BRAINYak. Florey student wins prestigious fellowshipMedia Release Brad Turner, a PhD student at Melbourne’s Howard Florey Institute, is the recipient of a prestigious C.J. Martin Fellowship from the National Health and Medical Research Council. The Fellowship will take Brad, a member of the Florey’s Brain Injury and Repair group, to Oxford University in the United Kingdom as part of his post-doctoral study. Brad will spend two years at Oxford and another two back at the Florey during his training fellowship. He will work with Oxford’s Prof Kay Davies, whose lab focuses on the neuromuscular diseases, muscular dystrophy (MD) and motor neuron disease (MND). Prof Davies’ lab studies gene mutations in transgenic mice, fruit flies and worms to trace disease defects back to their genetic source. Dr Davies has corrected MD in mice using gene therapy and Brad will focus on creating new animal models of MND with a view to developing a successful gene therapy for the devastating disease. “My PhD research has focussed on amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS, which is the most common adult-onset form of motor neuron disease,” Brad said. “ALS causes progressive degeneration of motor neurons in the brain and spinal cord, leading to muscle paralysis and death,” he said. Mutations in the antioxidant superoxide dismutase 1 (SOD1) gene are known to be linked to inherited ALS, but the exact mechanisms of motor neuron degeneration are still unclear. Brad’s research will focus on what triggers this degeneration so that treatments can be developed to prevent or halt it.
The Howard Florey Institute is Australia’s leading brain research centre. Its scientists deliver research outcomes that can be developed into drugs to combat brain disorders, and into new medical practices that will improve life for people all over the world. The Florey’s research areas cover a variety of neurological and psychiatric disorders including Parkinson’s disease, stroke, motor neuron disease, addiction, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, and dementia. For more information contact: |