The AustralianSociety for

Medical Research

Suite 702, Level 7, 37 Bligh Street,

Sydney NSW 2000ACN 000599235 · ABN 18000599235

Catherine WestSnr. Executive Officer

Ph: 02 9230 0333Fax: 02 9230 0339

Email:asmr@alwaysonline.net.au

Web: www.asmr.org.au

Newsletter Editors-in-Chief,Dr Joanne Bowen

Print Post Approved25500300067

The health and medical research sector requires acourse correction — fast. Australia’s best andbrightest are being lost. The workforce is at seriousrisk as evidenced by:

A 16% loss of human capital (FTE researchers)1.from the major NHMRC Funding Scheme (ProjectGrants) within the last 3 years.

A reduction of 25% in the total number of awards2.granted to researchers in the leadership tier of theNHMRC Fellowship Scheme (Senior and PrincipleFellows) since 2011, and a reduction of 13% in theemerging leadership tier (Career DevelopmentFellows). This represents a loss of highly qualified,talented and motivated individuals in the shortterm and a devastating loss of leaders equippedto build research capacity and momentum andcollaborate with industry into the future.

Nearly a quarter of the health and medical3.research workforce being uncertain as towhether or not they have employment in 2016,as evidenced from an ASMR workforce surveyconducted in November 2015. The majority ofthese respondents were PhD qualified andactively involved in research.

Intrinsic to the Government’s innovation strategy isthe scientific endeavour and momentum of discoverygenerated by the research workforce. The people andp r o j e c t s g e n e r a t i n g t h i s m o m e n t u m a r eirreplaceable. Should the current vibrant and highlyqualified research community continue to sufferattrition due to lack of opportunity, its renewal andrestoration would take decades and be enormouslycostly on many levels. We have shown that replacinglost intellectual capital is costly. Replacing 25% percentof the PhD-qualified health and medical researchsector would cost Australia $570 million in 2009 dollars,based on estimates of $140,000 ±57,000 per 4 year PhD(excluding the cost of supervision and scholarships).ASMR has requested an injection of investment intothe NHMRC, the largest funder of health and medicalresearch in Australia immediately. Our workforce isunable to wait for four years when the Medical ResearchFuture Fund (MRFF) is expected to reach its target

capital of $20billion. Medical research will be thewelcomed beneficiary of the interest earned from thisFuture Fund, a tremendous opportunity there is nodoubt but our deep concern is that the returns oninvestment into health and the MRFF for that matterwill be significantly diminished if our workforce isdisabled. It makes good economic sense to supportthe world class health and medical research workforce— expert people providing exceptional returns today,in order to maximise returns for tomorrow.

As you know we are in an election year and this couldn’tbe a more important time to get ASMR’s messages out.ASMR will continue to deliver our evidenced-based,cohesive and cogent plan for sustainable investmentinto the future for our health and medical researchsector which has been shown unequivocally, to haveprofoundly positive impacts on the health and economyof the nation and more broadly, on the often neglectedand rarely articulated social impacts on community.

I am profoundly privileged to be the 55th ASMRPresident and represent you and our health and medicalresearch sector. I feel doubly honoured, since it is mysecond Presidency (first in 2008–9) and share thisdistinction with only one other; Professor Paul Nestelin 1968 and 1969), that I get to advocate for a secureand stable ecosystem for our workforce and asustainable investment model that adequately supportsthe health and medical research workforce — aworkforce fully embedded into the healthcare system.Already there has been a great deal to do with meetingsall around Australia, sharing our data and delivering

President’s Report

March 2016

In this issue:

Transferable Skills: 3The way to aBrilliant Career

I love research. 4But could I dosomething else?

Promoting 5University IndustryLinkages

Bugs, Bowels 6and Beyond:Innovations inDigestive Healthand Disease Research— NSC2015 Report

Shining a Light on 7Mental Health:The 2015 ASMRIndigenous HealthForum

ASMR Professional 8Development Workshop

Dr Sarah Meachem, ASMR President

asmrAustralianSociety forMedicalResearch

asmr newsletterAustralianSociety forMedicalResearch

March 2016 2

our messages to researchers, opinion leaders, politiciansand policy makers. The health and medical researchlandscape is changing rapidly, since December withthe announcement of the National Science andInnovation Agenda, the Watt Review, the Governmentdecision not to extend the Gonski Deal, the R&D TaxIncentive Review, the review of the NHMRC FundingSchemes, and the review of the Australian Code ofResponsible Conduct of Research and we anticipatethat the budget will deliver the first distributions fromthe MRFF starting with $10million this year and up to$400million over the next four years, to name but afew that will impact our sector — thus opportunitiesto explore, details to uncover and processes toinfluence! ASMR will be heavily involved in allconsultation processes and will continue to consultat the highest levels of government and with opinionleaders to deliver our messages and recommendations.

An extremely important part of our advocacy activitiesis ASMR Medical Research Week® (ASMR MRW®) thathappens around the nation in the first week of June(2nd–10th) with one of the highlights being theMedallist tour. I am thrilled to announce the 2016 ASMRMRW® Medallist is Theodore Berger — a Professor ofBiomedical Engineering at the Viterbi School ofEngineering at the University of Southern California anda member of Advisory Committee, National SpaceBiomedical Research Institute (NSBRI) since 2001.T h e o d o r e ( Te d ) c o u l d b e d e s c r i b e d a s a‘neuroprosthetics pioneer’, leading a multi-disciplinarycollaboration to develop a microchip-based neuralprosthesis for the hippocampus, a region of the brainresponsible for long-term memory. Damage to thehippocampus is frequently associated with epilepsy,stroke, and dementia (Alzheimer’s Disease), and isthought to underlie the memory deficits characteristicof these neurological conditions. This is truly spectacularscience which seeks to replace damaged tissue withcomputer hardware to do the work of neurons. ProfessorBerger has said, “We are on the brink of stretching thecapabilities of the human race. I believe we will soon beable to connect the brain to computers or other devices”.

Professor Berger is that rare embodiment of bold vision,brilliance, courage and tenacity; attributes whichexpand the boundaries of science and create thefuture. He and his trans-disciplinary colleagues havedeveloped a brain prosthesis designed to help peoplesuffering from memory loss (Alzheimers and dementia).The device implanted into the brain has performed wellin animal tests and is currently being evaluated in humanpatients. “10 Breakthrough Technologies,” MITTechnology Review, 2013. He is ranked in The 100Leading Global Thinkers of 2013 and on a more personalnote, Ted is a hell of a nice guy, humble and wilful. Hehas a ‘have a go” attitude and subscribes to the saying“if people are not laughing at your goals, your goalsare too small”. Australia can learn a great deal from Tedand in my opinion you are in for a treat!

The medallist tour will travel to Hobart (Thursday the2nd of June), Brisbane (Friday the 3rd June), Adelaide(Monday 6th June), Canberra (7th June with theNational Press Club televised address to the Nation),Sydney (Tuesday 8th June), Melbourne (Thursday 9thJune), and Perth (Friday 10th June). The Board ofDirectors and State Committee Members are workingdiligently on delivering 40 outreach events (the majoritywhich are within ASMR MRW®) that engage scientistsfrom all levels, politicians, leaders across the academic,business and health sectors and the public to raiseawareness of the benefits of health and medicalresearch in Australia. Furthermore these events aredesigned to broaden your knowledge and generateopportunities to present your work, raise your profileand build your networks. There are plenty of awardson offer too for all career stages! Please diarise the dateof the Medalist Tour in your Capital City and visithttp://www.asmr.org.au/MRW.html to check out theevents near you. We look forward to seeing you there!

This year ASMR is pleased to announce the 55th Nationalscientific Conference will be held at the Bond Universityon the Gold Coast from the 13–16th November 2016.The title is “Next Generation HealthCare: Merging Biologyand Technology ” and wi l l ser ve as a uniquetrans-disciplinary forum for the exchange of cutting-edgeideas to address the major health-related issues of thefuture. The conference will cover themes spanningdisease detection and treatment optimisation;monitoring of disease progression and therapeuticresponse; drug delivery; and tissue regeneration andreplacement, amongst others. We plan to bring togetherresearchers from a broad range of fields, including ‘omicsand systems biology, personalised and precisionmedicine, genome editing, nanotechnology, real-timemonitoring, tissue engineering, imaging and robotics.All researchers are welcome and we particularlyencourage students and early career researchers tosubmit abstracts. One of ASMR’s guiding principle is tofoster and support the careers of researchers and at theheart of ASMR is providing opportunities for researchersto present their findings and network. I urge you toSave-the-Date and look out for the Programme.

I must again reiterate ASMR’s commitment to pursuinga sustainable eco-system for the health and medicalresearch sector, a system which will allow the scientificendeavour to flourish. Our sector, each and everyindividual, has a responsibility to be informed aboutthe political (and I use the word ‘political’ in its broadestsense) landscape which influences the decisions,directions and dynamics of the health and medicalresearch community. The highest ideals must drive theaspirations of researchers to excellence, those sameideals must drive the method of dissemination of publicfunds and strengthen the will of the sector to ensuregovernments, current and future, are fully informed byevidence, to best serve this country’s needs.

Dr Sarah Meachem, ASMR President

Professor Theodore Berger

3 March 2016

As we all know, at the current time research jobs inhealth and medical research (H&MR) are hard to comeby and difficult to keep. This is very demoralising forthe HMR workforce, but… is a career as a benchresearch scientist what you really want or is it the onlycareer you think you can have? There are many otherH&MR-related careers that may actually be morefulfilling in the longer term. So think broadly about yourcareer options and have Plan B (or C or D). In the endPlan B may turn out to be the career you always dreamtof. Of course if Plan A, to be a health and medicalresearcher, is your dream then work really hard toachieve that goal and find out everything you canabout how to be successful.

For both Plan A and Plan B transferable skills areessential. What are they? Transferable skills are theskills and attributes you acquire in one role which youcan transfer to another. The difficulty is many peopledon’t present these skills in a generic way. It’s nogood writing “learnt to run DNA sequencing gels intwo weeks” it needs to be something like “can quicklymaster new techniques to achieve positive results”.You also need to back up your transferable skills withevidence that you can actually do what you say youcan. Here’s a few that could relate to someone witha research background

Ability to enthusiastically carry out independent■

research

Ideally suited to project work using research■

and analysis to underpin the delivery ofinnovative solutions

Able to move and adapt quickly to change and■

assist others to do the same

Skills to handle diverse range of tasks■

simultaneously

Value the importance of timely production and■

maintenance of accurate documentation

Could you apply those to yourself in one way oranother? What other skills do you currently have thatcould be written as a generic transferable skill? Theymay also be derived from external activities besidesyour “day job”. Write out your own list and show itto someone not in your field, even better not inH&MR. Do they get a picture of what you can do?This exercise takes some time to think through andrefine — start now!

A list of transferable skills of course is not enough. Youneed to have some idea of what other options thereare that you might be interested in. If you know

someone with the sort of job you’d like ask if they canspare you the time for an informational interview. Thisis where you talk to someone about their role: whatqualifications they needed (extra to a PhD say), whatthey do on a day to day basis, what are the highs andlows of the role, where else can the role lead to etc.This will help you build up an idea of what a particularrole actually entails.

Finding the next role, whatever it may be, requires youto have a good network of contacts. These don’t haveto be just work-based you never know who you maymeet at that sports club youbelong to or the soupkitchen you volunteer at.B u i l d i n g n e t w o r k sthroughout your career iscritical; they will providey o u w i t h s u p p o r t ,information, feedback andpossibly your next job. It’s impossibleto underestimate the importance of your networksso nurture them carefully. Never, ever, behave badlytowards a contact however unlikely it may seem thatthey can assist you — you just never know whenthey might end up being a potential employer, referee,reviewer … and people do remember.

LinkedIn is important for developing your professionalprofile on line and building a network of contacts.LinkedIn is about being able to be found by others whomight be looking for someone with your skills, somake sure your key words are going to show up insearches by potential employers. Whilst you shouldonly connect with people you know or know of,maximising the number of contacts increases thechances of you being found in someone else’s search.

Another good way to build networks is to get involvedwith Professional Societies that may be specific toyour discipline or broader such as ASMR. Once you’rea member don’t just wait for the newsletter or theannual conference to come around — volunteer tohelp with conference organisation, Medical ResearchWeek etc etc or stand as an Office Bearer. All these sortsof things allow you to develop new contacts andconnections.

So what are you waiting for — start building yournetworks and developing and articulating yourtransferable skills. Your Brilliant Career awaits!

Associate Professor Stella Clark,Executive Director, Stella Connect,Former President ASMR

Transferable Skills: The way to a Brilliant Career

Associate Professor Stella Clark

March 2016 4

Research science can be the perfect platform fromwhich to launch a new career. Perhaps you’re interestedin marketing, intellectual property, teaching, businessmanagement or pharmaceutical sales? After graduatingwith a biomedical PhD in 2000, I am now a freelancescience writer.

Here are my top 6 tips for transitioning from researchinto another career:

Know yourself. Keep your options broad.1.Be open to change.Before you make a move, get extra training.2.Offer yourself up for volunteer roles — you’ll3.learn new skills you didn’t know you didn’t have.And you might love them.Don’t expect a new career to take off overnight.4.Aim for a slow transition.Find great mentors, and work collaboratively and5.humbly with them.Be bold enough to transition to a career that fits6.with other responsibilities and loves — whetherthese are family, an existing job, or a passionsuch as marathon running or speaking French.

It’s hard to see how each of these points is relevantwithout a case study. So here’s little more detail of mycareer history:

I was always the kind of person who was interestedin lots of… well… stuff. As a kid and teenager, I readmany kinds of books. I played lots of sport. I listenedto the radio and loved documentaries. After schoolfinished, I signed up to study Medicine.

But it didn’t work out. Fundamentally, I was unhappy(looking back, I think it was lack of emotional maturity).After switching to a Bachelor of Medical Science, I waslucky enough to conduct an Honours year andsubsequently my PhD under the supervision of SarahRobertson (now Director at the Robinson ResearchInstitute). Sarah R was — and still is — an adeptcommunicator, both in the written and oral forms. Shetaught me that to cut it as a researcher in reproductiveimmunology I needed to be able to explain reproductionto immunologists, and conversely to share immunologywith reproductive scientists and obstetricians/gynaecologists. This awareness of audience needs wasan excellent start to a career in science communication.

Sarah also advised me to join the ASMR, and Isubsequently became active with the South Australianbranch — including as media officer, my first foray intothe world of press releases, briefs and talking to journalists.It was a pleasure working with ASMR stalwarts MoiraClay and Peter O’Loughlin during the mid-late 1990s.And Cath West was a great support from head office.

I became so interested in talking about science to ageneral audience, that I signed up to study a GraduateDiploma in Sciences Communication (CentralQueensland University). Of course this was a crazy move,given that I was mid-PhD. But once started, it was easyto defer it many times and I finally completed thediploma over 10 years later. This gave me an importanttheoretical foundation in media and communications.And it showed people that mattered I was investing inmy communications career — this fact alone wasenough for a well-known media identity (Keith Conlon)to give me a brief spot on his local TV show.

Post PhD, I stuck with research for about four moreyears, working in Australia and Indonesia. A post-docwith American military scientists in Jakarta was aneye-opener to say the least. Here, I developed betterskills fending for myself, and was fortunate to work witha fantastic epidemiologist in Dr Kevin Baird.

But that communication bug kept biting, and so I leftthe academic sector and started working for an Adelaidescience and futures consultancy Bridge8. In thiscompany, business owner Kristin Alford focused ondigital and novel strategies to tackle big problemsrelated to science and technology. She encouraged meto take up social media and to embrace new challengesI never would have dared confront previously. Withmy two and then three young children to work around,she was also highly supportive of my need to work oddhours and from home on many occasions. If you providenew parents with flexibility and options, it ’s myexperience that they will work hard for you.

It became clear that the thing that made me happiestw a s w r i t i n g . S o I u s e d a b l o g g i n g p r o j e c t(ScienceforLife365) to announce to the world that I wasa freelance science writer. This blog (now in its 5thyear) was crucial in refining my writing skills, reachingnew audiences, understanding social media better,and formed a great marketing tool as well. I undertookfurther training in writing, marketing and social mediathrough SA Writers Centre, the Walkley Foundationand Australian Science Communicators. Now I work witha range of clients in academia, publishing, government,social media and digital news services.

And the crazy thing is, I’m actually a little bit temptedto look into Medicine again. I guess I just like to keepthings fresh.

Have you worked out what stuff keeps you motivated?It just might lead you to a new career.

Sarah Keenihan, PhD, BMedSci,GradDipSciComm — Freelance writer

I love research. But could I do something else?

Sarah Keenihan

5 March 2016

Commercialisation, technology transfer, researchtranslation, business linkages — all these terms havea common thread; they involve University IndustryLinkage (UIL). For some academics the concepts aredaunting, while for others, they are a conduit to researchideas and funding.

In this article I explore the current trends for UILs, themotivations for researchers to engage with industry,and the state of university strategy for promoting UILs.

The idea of UILs is often misunderstood, and this isbecause there are many ways that universities andbusiness can cooperate. In a large study by the Scienceto Business Marketing Research Centre at the MünsterUniversity of Applied Science, in Germany, the Stateof European University-Business Cooperation identifiedeight linkage types:

R&D collaborations, contracts and consultancies1.Academic mobility: movement of academics and2.business people between universities andindustryStudent mobility: placement of students in business3.Commercialisation: Technology transfer of4.University research and intellectual propertythrough licenses to business or spin outbusinesses.Curriculum development: courses created with5.industry input, guest industry lecturers.Lifelong learning: professional and continuing6.educationEntrepreneurship: Creation of new ventures7.involving students, researchers and industryGovernance: Involvement of senior managers8.from universities and business in each other’ssenior management, board and council levels.

In addition the study found that most academics arenot engaged with industry, with 54% spendingbetween 0 and 10% of their time, while only 12%spent over 50% of their time working with industry.This was across all linkage types (n=2060).

In Australia there has been much commentary on thepoor rate of UIL and the need for improvement. Whatare the barriers? It’s a poorly studied aspect of UIL’s.For academics there has been poor incentive and littlemotivation. The barrier for industry is more elusive, butwhen I ask businesses about their research, usinguniversities just isn’t top of mind. In the Group ofEight’s Backgrounder on Complementarity betweenuniversity and business research (Dec 2014) universityresearch is only about 25% of all research in Australia;most research is performed within industry. This meansthe opportunity for universities to increase funding via

industry is enormous. The same study indicates thatthe share between basic and applied research ischanging, with about 80% of research in 1968 beingbasic, to only about 50% now. These factors meanmore and more researchers will have opportunities towork with industry.

What’s attractive to researchers about industryengagement? A UK study by D’Este and Perkmann(2011, J Tech Trans) found motivations include industrybeing a source of interesting research topics andworking with industry focusses research on communityneed. But this is pretty much the main incentive asuniversities themselves have been slow to formaliseindustry engagement KPI’s. While government is talkingup better UILs, and Universities are confirming thissentiment, operationally academic performance is stillgrounded in basic metrics, mainly publication. TheVice Chancellor of Swinburne University, ProfessorLinda Kristjanson, writing in the Financial Review (16Nov 2015) suggests three things universities can doto link with business:

Equal recognition for income from industry and1.competitive grantsPromote industry engagement of all types2.Support researchers with dedicated staff to3.identify opportunities, provide expert advice andhelp match with partners.

Promoting University Industry Linkages

Greg Macpherson

Structural reviewof NHMRC’s grant programNHMRC awards new grants worth around $800 million each year from the MREA. Inrecent years, research costs and total application numbers have continued to rise.These challenges have placed a heavy burden of effort on applicants and peerreviewers. Concerns have also been raised that opportunities for early and mid-careerresearchers and for exploration of new areas of research are being affected. Toaddress these challenges, an over-arching review of NHMRC’s grant programme isbeing undertaken to determine whether the suite of funding schemes can bestreamlined and adapted to current circumstances, while continuing to support thebest Australian research and researchers for the benefit of human health. This Reviewfollows on from the Fellowship Consultation conducted by NHMRC last year. Anumber of submissions to that consultation suggested there is a need for a strategic,whole-of-system review of NHMRC’s funding programme. The Review will beconducted by the Office of NHMRC, reporting to the CEO. An Expert Advisory Groupwill provide advice and assistance to NHMRC in examining the current grantprogramme and possible alternative models. This Group will be chaired by ProfessorSteve Wesselingh and members have a variety of different experiences and perspectives.External consulation will be undertaken through institutional round-tables and aperiod of public consultation, expected to commence around the middle of 2016.The review will be finalised around the end of 2016.

March 2016 6

Point 3 is classic industry liaison, something Swinburnepioneered and now most Universities have an industryliaison office which entrepreneurial researchers engagewith to assist with UILs. Certainly point 1 is essentialin the competing area for academics’ time, e.g. workingon an NH&MRC grant or an industry funded projectwill depend on the success in winning such funding,which is usually out of the academics control. So equalrecognition of all categories of funding is logical.Further, recognition systems for all eight linkage typesneed to be created. Universities that have such all-encompassing KPI’s can be considered entrepreneurial.

What are the success factors in UIL’s? The authorconducted research with the University of AdelaideBusiness School and the Münster University of AppliedScience on this topic. One factor was the researchers’and industry partners personal traits for workingtogether. Some researchers are attuned to working withindustry and others aren’t. It’s important for institutionsto understand that not all staff will link with industryin all linkage types. Communication is another successfactor, from promoting capability, networking to meetpotential partners, working with the industry liaisonoffice to scope and negotiate a project, to providingtimely updates and repor ts during a project.Understanding was shown to be critical, since theresearch will be enabling for the industry partners’business, understanding client needs, outputs andtiming are essential. Trust is necessary for repeat

business and building reputation. Having positive‘word of mouth’ will enhance a researcher’s reputationand likelihood of more projects. In the study we foundthese success factors change over time: for instancetrust is initially in the reputation; then during theproject it can develop in the person; and if successful,trust can evolve into trust in the relationship.

For individual researchers, a strategic approach toindustry engagement is needed, consider:

Profiling your area of research interest and■

expertise via your university’s media — staffdirectory, marketing office, web and expertspage etc.

Promote yourself through networking,■

conferences and mobilise your industry liaisonoffice to represent you to industry.

Build rapport with partners during projects by■

focussing on the success factors — ask fortestimonials that you can use for ‘word-of-mouth’.

Building up a group of industry partners can lead tooppor tunit ies for expans ion of the types ofengagement you do. And if your university recognisesyour linkages with industry, then all the better.

Greg Macpherson,Commercial Development Manager,University of Adelaide

New ASMR Undergraduate SubscriberMembership In 2016, the ASMR will launch a new tier of membership for undergraduate students who are not yetundertaking an Honour’s or Masters degree.

In an ever evolving research and political environment, now, more than ever, does the future health andmedical research workforce need to have a greater awareness and become more engaged in the broaderissues that may affect their future careers.

Since 1961, the ASMR has represented the interests of all Australian health and medical researchers,advocating directly to Government on behalf of the entire sector to ensure that the health and medicalresearch workforce is equipped to meet the future health challenges of a nation.

The new Undergraduate Subscriber membership will be piloted throughout several Australian Universitiesin 2016, and will be available for free to all undergraduate students who have an interest in health andmedical research. Undergraduate Subscriber members will not hold formal ASMR voting rights; however,will receive the following membership advantages:

Copies of the ASMR newsletter■

Regular updates from the ASMR President and ASMR advocacy■

Invitations to ASMR student events at student member prices■

The ASMR hopes to expand the Undergraduate Subscriber membership to all Australian Universities by2018.

To register your University’s interest in being part of this exciting membership option, please contact MsCath West at the ASMR head office on (02) 9230 0333 or asmr@alwaysonline.net.au

7 March 2016

The role of the gastrointestinal microbiota in healthand disease is an extremely rapidly growing area ofresearch. Given the number and the different typesof microorganisms that inhabit our gastrointestinaltract it seems intuitive that they must play some rolein health and disease. Once considered a parochial areaof research, it is now apparent that the gastrointestinalmicrobiota is a node through which our bodies respondto the environment and influence our risk of a widerange of diseases including inflammatory boweldiseases, obesity, type II diabetes and cancer.

The 54th ASMR National Scientific Conference held inAdelaide from November 15th to 18th brought togetherleading national and international researchers in thisexcit ing research space to discuss the latestdevelopments within the field. Several themes werechosen to encompass the wide range of physiologicaland pathological topics that the gastrointestinalmicrobiota influences. These included characterising themicrobiomes (the collective genomes of gastrointestinalmicrobiota) present in various disease states and theimpact of dybiosis on gut motility, inflammation andneurogastroenterology. The conference exposed acentral theme throughout by showing that the influenceof the microbiota in health and disease is much morepervasive than previously anticipated.

A highlight of the meeting was the Firkin Oration givenby Professor Eran Elinav from the Weizmann Instituteof Science. His presentation showed how an individual’sspecific microbiota signature was the most importantpredictor for blood glucose response to a meal andchallenges the existing dogma of glycaemic index.Laureate Professor Nicholas Talley inspired everyonein the room with his AWT Edwards Memorial Oration

on the journey from discovery to clinical translation infunctional dyspepsia. Congratulations must go to thisyears’ Campion Ma Playoust Memorial Award recipientHannah Wardill from the University of Adelaide whogave an outstanding presentation on the effect ofchemotherapy treatment on tight junctions and therelationship to gastrointestinal inflammation. The awardrecognises the most outstanding presentation givenby an ASMR student member at the meeting. Manystudent meeting delegates also joined ASMR presidentPheobe Phillips, past ASMR presidents, and the invitednational speakers in a breakfast session which gaveopportunities for face-to-face discussions about careerdirection and how to be successful in research.

The theme of NSC 2015 showcased several areas ofgastrointestinal research strengths within Australia,and particularly within Adelaide. The number of highquality presentations from leaders within the fields ofgastrointestinal and microbiome research showedthat research within this area in Australia is thrivingand internationally respected. The meeting could nothave taken place without the generous support of theSponsors, particularly Major Sponsors, FlindersUniversity and the South Australian Health and MedicalResearch Institute, and Session Sponsors, CSL andCSIRO. Finally, the success of the meeting was areflection of the hard work of the local organisingcommittee, Phoebe Phillips, Roger Yazbek, JordaneMalaterre, Michael McGuckin, Luke Hesson, JoanneBowen and Patrick Hughes, who put together a fantasticprogram that hopefully has ignited further interest ingastrointestinal microbiome research.

Dr Luke Hesson, NSC Convenor,University of New South Wales

Bugs, Bowels and Beyond: Innovations in Digestive Health andDisease Research — NSC2015 Highlights

Dr Luke Hesson

March 2016 8

Are first impressions accurate?

A review by Wood (2014) concluded that firstimpressions are not always right, but they are important.The curriculum vitae (CV) document is often the vehiclefor a first impression, so it is crucial to get it right.

The ASMR professional development workshop washeld on the 17th November 2015 at the ScienceExchange Building in Adelaide. I attended this coursebecause I thought it would help my development asa PhD student at the University of Adelaide. Theworkshop was a highly valuable tool for me to developmy CV and job interview skills, and I was surprised asto how much I enjoyed it! It was held in a comfortablegroup environment, presented by two highlycompetent and passionate professionals in science.They kept the audience engaged by implementing avariety of educational techniques, including groupwork, role-play, audience questions and answers, andanecdotes. One of the most useful parts of the day forme was when each of the audience members had anopportunity for their own CV to be constructivelycriticised by each group member on our table. This

followed a comprehensive talk about what makes agood CV, so it was a great opportunity to apply ournew knowledge. For example, I discovered that myinitial CV was flawed because it contained anunnecessary section pertaining to my “list of skills”,including communication skills and paper writingskills. This list was broad, generic and did not trulyreflect my expertise. I replaced this list with examplesof when I have demonstrated those skills, such aspublic speaking experience and papers published.

In my opinion, the impact of the CV is comparable tothe lasting influence of a first impression. Firstimpressions have critical implications because theyguide how we initially interact with the person, whatinformation we remember about the person and ourpredictions about future behaviour. Implementingwhat I learned from the ASMR professional developmentworkshop has given me more confidence, knowing thatthe first impression portrayed by my CV has the potentialto form a good lasting impression.

Michael De Iseo, PhD candidate,University of Adelaide

ASMR Professional Development Workshop

Michael De Iseo

Calendar of EventsAHHA Think Tank: Looking Over the HorizonWhere to next for the Australian health system?April 12, Rydges on Swanston St, Melbournehttp://ahha.asn.au/think-tank-looking-over-horizon-where-next-australian-health-system

HGSA 40th Annual Scientific MeetingAugust 6-9, Hotel Grand Chancellor, Hobarthttps://www.hgsa.org.au/about/40th-annual-scientific-meeting

ESA/SRB/ANZBMS Annual Scientific MeetingAugust 21-24, Gold Coast Convention Centre, Gold Coast www.esa-srb.org.au

16th International Congress of ImmunologyAugust 21-26, Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre, Melbourneici2016.org

For up-to-date news andinformation about what ishappening with ASMR —

Follow us on Social Media!

https://twitter.com/ theasmr1

https://www.facebook.com/ theASMR/

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCq3Hqjgmyz3ZeYjyi5yOcJQ

9 March 2016

Non-Indigenous Australian’s have an estimated lifeexpectancy of 80 years for males and 83 years forfemales, placing Australia in the top ten in the worldfor expected lifespan. 1, 2 Despite access to the samehealthcare system, the Indigenous people of Australiacontinue to have a life expectancy 10 years lower.While the focus on ‘Closing The Gap’ has helpedsignificantly narrow the differences in certain healthoutcomes, major disparities remain.

As a leading voice in the medical research sectorwithin Australia, ASMR is committed to highlightingthe important work being carried out by researchers,health professionals and community members byhosting events such as the Indigenous Health Forumat the ASMR Annual Meeting. This community basedevent encourages active discussions about theadvances, remaining problems and potentialsolutions to a significant aspect of Indigenoushealthcare. The 2015 forum was held at the TandanyaNational Aboriginal Cultural Institute, Adelaide andthe topic was “Shining a Light on Mental Health”,which encompassed the areas of suicide and selfharm, drug and alcohol addiction and complex youthtrauma. The Welcome to Country was performed byUncle Lewis O’Brien, a Kaurna Elder, and the Forumwas chaired by Gerry Georgatos, an Aboriginal rightscampaigner and co-editor of The Stringer. 3

Dr Maree Toombs, an Indigenous woman andUniversity of Queensland researcher and MaxDulumunmun Harrison (Uncle Max), an Yuin Elderand founder of the Culture is Life project, 4 bothspoke about their work to decrease Indigenoussuicide rates. Indigenous suicide is two times higherthan non-indigenous Australian’s, 2 increasing to fivetimes higher in males up to 30 years old. 5 BothDr Toombs and Unc le M ax emphas i sed theimportance of strong community support of anyapproach to tackling this serious issue. Dr Toombsis trialling a “Gatekeeper” initiative, where she trainsindividuals within the community to identify riskbehaviour, with the main aim being interventionand prevention. Trained Gatekeepers would theninstruct the next wave of individuals, thus creatingan empowering community led approach to tacklingthe problem. Uncle Max led the commission of anelder-consultation report, which identified ways inwhich young Indigenous people can learn how toconnect to the land, culture and community, whilealso surviving in a modern world.

Professor Charlotte de Crespigny, a research nursewith the University of Adelaide, works with Indigenouspeople in recovery from drug and alcohol addiction.Importantly, their study concluded that managementof the complex comorbidities involved in dependencyneed to be better coordinated and streamlined toensure that patients are fully assessed and allmorbidities appropriately treated, no matter whichinitial service they approach. 6

Finally, Dr Marshall Watson, an indigenous man and apsychiatrist spoke about complex childhood traumain the context of incarceration. The average detentionrate for Indigenous youth is ~24 times the rate fornon-Indigenous youth. 2 Dr Watson emphasised thatcomplex trauma requires significantly more time incontact with a consistent team of health careprofessionals than resources currently allow. Ultimately,helping children deal with these traumas will have long-term effects, including prevention of behaviours thatbring them to the attention of authorities.

Several common themes were raised by the speakersand audience members. The proportion of Indigenouspeople with chronic and/or co-morbid mental healthissues are likely vastly under estimated and there is areal need for systematic studies. One of the sourcesof this has been the “silo” model to treatment, whereonly one disorder/disease is tackled at a time. The keyrecommendation that emerged from this year’s Forum,is the creation of easy access community based holisticIndigenous health centres. A big thankyou must be

Shining a Light on Mental Health:The 2015 ASMR Indigenous Health Forum

Antonia Pritchard

March 2016 10

given to all the wonderful speakers and the Chair ofthe event. We look forward to continuing theIndigenous Health Forum as a part of ASMR’scommitment to increasing awareness of Indigenoushealth research in the HMR sector and community.

If you would like to learn more about some of theimportant health disparities in the Indigenouspopulation, the following reports are a great startingpoint:

Australian Indigenous HealthInfoNet:■

http://www.healthinfonet.ecu.edu.au/health-facts/summary,http://www.healthinfonet.ecu.edu.au/health-facts/reviews-home

The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare:■

http://www.aihw.gov.au/indigenous-observatory/reports/health-and-welfare-2015/

Antonia Pritchard, QIMRReferences cited:

1. http://www.aihw.gov.au/deaths/life-expectancy/2. Steering Committee for the Review of Government Service

Provision (2014) Overcoming Indigenous disadvantage: keyindicators 2014. Canberra: Productivity Commission

3. http://thestringer.com.au/4. http://www.cultureislife.org/5. http://www.health.gov.au/internet/publications/publishing.nsf/

Content/mental-natsisps-strat-toc~mental-natsisps-strat-1~mental-natsisps-strat-1-ab

6. Cairney et al, “Stopping the run-around? A study of servicesfor people with comorbid mental health and substance usedisorders in northern Adelaide” Australas Psychiatry 23(3):233–235, 2015

Y

N

ONFERENCENTIFIC C

NEXT GTH

GINMER

55TH NA

HEALLT

TIONARE

YOGNG BIOL

CIEN

HCGENERAAT

STIONALAAT

YOGCHNOL& TEYOGGING BIOLMER

.eerr.arour coof ye-prfuturd Coast tJoin us on the iconic Gole and be taearn, collabor. Lefutur

iotave innoarer the healthcvDisco

Y

o v 13-15, 20ted.inspir

ons of the

NoOUR FUTUYYO

AKENWWAAAWTAATVE THIS DAAVS

016URE!N

O E T

tmeneaion & trtecDisease detUDE:THEMES INCL

iontimisant opt

eplacemion & rtaeneregTissue r•

yerDrug deliv•aession & therogroring prMonit•

tmeneaion & trtecDisease det•

ment

esponseic rapeutiontimisant opt

Congratulations to…Past ASMR President, Professor Maria Kavallaris, one of theKnowledge Nation 100. Professor Kavallar is has beeninternationally recognised for her innovative work in the fieldof cancer biology and development of innovative therapiesutilising nanotechnology. The Knowledge Nation 100 are therock stars of Australia’s knowledge economy.

11 March 2016

ASMR MedicalResearch Week®

June 2 – 10Be inspired by the

discoveries of our healthand medical researchers

With more than 40 eventsaround the country,including:

ASMR Medallist tour■

Gala dinners in each■

capital city

Scientific meetings■

Schools quiz■

Dinner with a scientist■

Science in the cinema■

Science in Parliament■

and much more…

Find out what ishappening in your state

www.asmr.org.au/MRW

Public, political andscientific advocacy

asmrAustralianSociety forMedicalResearch

Congratulations to…ASMR President elect, Dr Dan Johnston, for his prestigious NSW Young TallPoppy Award. The Tall Poppy Campaign was created in 1998 by the AustralianInstitute of Policy and Science (AIPS) to recognise and celebrate Australianintellectual and scientific excellence and to encourage younger Australiansto follow in the footsteps of our outstanding achievers. Tall Poppy Awardeesspend a year engaging in activities that promote study and careers in scienceamong school students and teachers as well as an understanding andappreciation of science in the broader community.

March 2016 12

ASMR Directors 2016 Executive Directors Dr Sarah Meachem

— President

Dr Daniel Johnstone — President-elect, NSC 2016

Dr Roger Yazbek — Honorary Treasurer

Dr Phoebe Phillips — Honorary Secretary

Directors Dr Demelza Ireland

— ASMR Medical Research Week®/ Sponsorship

Dr Joanne Bowen — Newsletter editor

Dr Brigid Lynch — Membership and Communications

Dr Shyuan Ngo — Careers

Dr Bree Foley — Indigenous Health/ Community Advocacy

Dr Jamie Fletcher — NSC 2017 and assisting 2016

Dr Matt Dunn — Media

Executive Office Catherine West

— Senior Executive Officer

Priscilla Diment — Administrative Assistant

ASMR State Branch Convenors Dr Martin Engel

— New South Wales Convenor

Dr Jill Larsen — Queensland Convenor

Dr Rajaraman Eri — Tasmania Convenor

Dr Brooke Harcourt — Victoria Convenor

Dr Elin Gray — Western Australia Convenor

Bronwen Mayo and Dr Ian Johnson — South Australia Convenors

Dr Sharon Pok and Tanya Racic — ACT Convenor

Dr Nicole Ryan — Newcastle Convenor

ASMR Affiliate MembersANZAC Research InstituteAustralasian College for Emergency MedicineAustralasian College of DermatologistsAustralasian Faculty of Occupational and

Environmental MedicineAustralasian Gene Therapy Society IncAustralasian Neuroscience Society Inc.Australasian Sleep AssociationAustralasian Society of Clinical Immunology

and AllergyAustralasian Society for HIV Medicine IncAustralasian Society for ImmunologyAustralasian Society for Infectious DiseasesAustralasian Society of Clinical and

Experimental Pharmacologists andToxicologists

Australian and New Zealand Association ofNeurologists

Australian and New Zealand Bone & MineralSociety

Australian and New Zealand College ofAnaesthetists

Australian and New Zealand Obesity SocietyAustralian and New Zealand Orthopaedic

Research SocietyAustralian and New Zealand Society for

Blood TransfusionAustralian and New Zealand Society

for Cell & Developmental Biology IncAustralian and New Zealand

Society of NephrologyAustralian Atherosclerosis SocietyAustralian College of NursingAustralian Diabetes SocietyAustralian Medical Students’ Association LtdAustralian Physiological SocietyAustralian Rheumatology AssociationAustralian Society for Biochemistry and

Molecular Biology IncAustralian Society for ParasitologyAustralian Vascular Biology SocietyBaker IDI Heart & Diabetes InstituteBionics Institute of AustraliaBrain and Psychological Sciences

Research GroupBurnet InstituteCardiac Society of Australia and New ZealandChildren’s Cancer Institute AustraliaChildren’s Medical Research InstituteDeeble Institute for Health Policy ResearchEar Science Institute AustraliaEndocrine Society of AustraliaEskitis InstituteFertility Society of AustraliaHaematology Society of Australia and

New ZealandHealth Innovations Research Institute (HIRi)High Blood Pressure Research Council

of Australia

Human Genetics Society of AustralasiaHudson Institute of Medical ResearchInstitute of Health and Biomedical InnovationInstitute of Mind & Behavioural SciencesKolling Institute of Medical ResearchLions Eye Institute LimitedMater Medical Research InstituteNational Association of Research FellowsNutrition Society of Australia Inc.Opthalmic Research Institute of AustraliaParamedics AustralasiaPerinatal Society of Australia and New ZealandQueensland Eye Institute & Prevent Blindness

FoundationResearch Centre for Clinical & Community

Practice InnovationRoyal ANZ College of Obstetricians and

GynaecologistsRoyal Australasian College of SurgeonsRoyal Australian and New Zealand College of

RadiologistsRoyal Australian and New Zealand College of

PsychiatristsRoyal Australasian College of PhysiciansRoyal Australian College of General PractitionersRoyal College of Pathologists of AustralasiaSociety for Free Radical Research (Australasia)Society for Reproductive BiologySociety of Mental Health ResearchThoracic Society of Australia and New ZealandTransplantation Society of Australia and

New ZealandUniversity of Queensland —

Diamantina InstituteWestmead Millennium Institute for

Medical ResearchWomen’s & Children’s Health Research Institute

ASMR Associate MembersArthritis AustraliaAustralian Red Cross Blood ServiceAustralian Respiratory CouncilBrain FoundationClifford Craig Medical Research TrustFoundation for High Blood Pressure ResearchHaemophilia Foundation of AustraliaJuvenile Diabetes Research FoundationKidney Health AustraliaLupus Association of NSWMcCusker Alzheimer’s Research FoundationMuscular Dystrophy Association IncNational Heart Foundation of AustScleroderma Association of NSW IncQueensland Government

ASMR Supporting MembersResearch AustraliaWiley Australia

asmr newsletterAustralianSociety forMedicalResearch