Meet Dr Chantal Attard @Chantal_Attard, the researcher from @MCRI_for_kids who is transforming the lives of children living with complex heart disease!
The coagulation system prevents the body from bleeding after injury, but what you might not know is this system continuously develops with age. This means children & adults have different risks of blood clotting + bleeding. This alters how they react to blood-thinning medications
“How can we protect our most vulnerable children?” This is the research aspiration that Chantal pursues in her daily life.
Chantal is a Senior Research Officer at the @MCRI_for_kids where she has investigated the impact that common anti-clot drugs have on the life of children with complex heart disease. These drugs are often prescribed for life & they increases the risk of having blood clots + stroke
“I am excited about the direct translational impact that my research has for patients and their families.” This is where Chantal finds her motivation, while investigating how patients, with only a dysfunctional heart, are responding to medications such as warfarin and aspirin.
She found that stroke rates were similar for children receiving either warfarin or aspirin, but bone health was poorer in those with warfarin. Given that warfarin is a difficult medication to manage, particularly in children, her findings have BIG implications for patient health
“I love that my research spans across clinical and laboratory research which allows me to work with people of really diverse research experience. I am passionate about nurturing strong and independent thinkers”
Chantal is also a really proud mother of two young girls, Allegra who just started reading and Francesca who is incredibly chatty at the age of 2!
Given the urgency if the COVID19 crisis, Chantal and the @MCRI_for_kids Haematology Research team have taken a detour from their usual research.
“Given the urgent and devastating effects of #COVID19 across the globe, our research team has joined forces with leading experts to fight against COVID19. We are interested to know why children are less effected by the disease. We hope to identify an effective treatment”
Chantal’s research is supported by an investment from the @nhmrc and the Royal Childrens Hospital Foundation.
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Did you know: When a research grant is awarded, the administering institution has to find an extra 20-40% of the value of the grant to cover overheads, simply so the research can proceed? The Job-Ready Bill removes the source of this overhead funding.
That's catastrophic (1/6👇)
The Bill remains only to be voted on by the Senate before it will severely impact on Universities, academics, students and the sector. The ASMR has serious concerns regarding the Bill and how it will adversely affect health + medical research in Australia
At present the votes are 38 for and 37 against, with one cross-bench senator undecided; Stirling Griff @Stirling_G. The only way the Bill can be stopped is if this Senator Griff also votes against it.
Have you wondered who is behind all our fantastic ASMR Medical Research Week® events in each state?
ASMR Director @IgnitingScience works with some very talented researchers who come together and form our ASMR state committees.
Meet our 2020 NSW committee!
A thread👇
Dr Nunki Hassan @NunkiHassan is the co-convenor of NSW ASMR. She is currently a Research Officer at the @KidsCancerInst and an associate lecturer @UNSW. She is passionate about cancer research and spreading awareness about medical research to the community.
Dr Emily Colvin is a researcher working in the Bill Walsh Lab, @KollingINST in Sydney. Emily is interested in all things related to the tumour microenvironment, particularly how targeting non-cancerous cells present in tumours will lead to improved treatments for ovarian cancer
In conjunction with @QUT EMCR Committee @TheASMR1 will run a panel discussion on Perspectives on the NHMRC Investigator Grant Scheme.
The panel discussion will take place on Wednesday, September 23rd, 2.30-4pm, via zoom: qut.zoom.us/j/98570583045?…
We will hear from investigators who have been successful with both EL1 and EL2 fellowships :
- Dr. Holly Anderton (NHMRC EL1 Investigator Recipient, @WEHI_research
- Dr. Carlos Salomon Gallo (NHMRC EL2 Investigator Recipient, @UQ_News)
The panel will also include grant review panellists:
- A/Prof Jyotsna Batra (NHMRC EL1 panel member @QUT)
- A/Prof @TonyKenna3 Kenna (NHMRC L1-3 panel member, @QUT)
🗣 NSW + Newcastle high school students - on October 14, you'll have a chance to virtually meet scientists from a wide range of fields, including Cassandra Griffin!
Her journey into the science world has been a little different to most!
A thread 👇
Training in the performing arts after graduating high school and working both onstage and behind the scenes in the theatre industry, medical research wasn’t an obvious destination.
Cass holds a Bachelor of Arts with majors in Drama, Ancient History and Anthropology, a Bachelor of Biomedical Science and a Masters of Public Health focusing on communicable disease control. Since graduating she has worked as a hospital scientist in microbiology research ...
The meeting was scheduled to be held in Melbourne, however, due to the restrictions on in-person gatherings and travel (not part of our 2020 vision...) we are now hosting an online event to ensure we still all get a chance to "meet"
The conference theme is 2020 vision: the future of medical research and we will shine a light on cutting edge advances in medical research and provide a number of innovative professional development opportunities to help you take your research into the future.