Bulletin #0111
New Cardiovascular Research Flagship for Tasmania We’re excited to announce that we’ve launched a new Cardiovascular Research Flagship to help tackle the prevalence of cardiovascular disease in Tasmania. Helping hand: Heart Foundation CEO David Lloyd, Menzies’ Director Tracey Dickson and Academic Lead of the Flagship Professor Seana Gall.
This Flagship will build on the success and impactful research of the Multiple Sclerosis Research Flagship which has been supercharging MS research at Menzies since 2017. Cardiovascular diseases are those of the heart, brain and vascular system, and include stroke and heart disease. The Flagship’s aim is to work collaboratively with health professionals, policy makers and the community to develop, implement and evaluate interventions to improve the cardiovascular
Community consultation identified cardiovascular health as a priority for the Tasmanian community health of Tasmanians. There are more than 30,000 Tasmanians living with the ongoing effects of heart disease or stroke. We have a 13 per cent higher prevalence of heart disease and a 25 per cent higher prevalence of stroke than the national average. Community consultation identified cardiovascular
health as a priority for Tasmanians. We’re recruiting a consumer and community reference committee to guide our research. Compared to national averages, Tasmanians are more likely to smoke, have high blood pressure and be overweight. Nationally, more than
80 per cent of adults do not meet physical activity guidelines. Professor Seana Gall will be the academic lead. Menzies’ cardiovascular researchers are high performers in the area, attracting funding, engagement and significant publications in prominent medical journals. There are two focuses for the Flagship: Reducing cardiovascular risk for all Tasmanians. Improving outcomes for people who have cardiovascular disease.
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Director’s message It was wonderful to see so many people at our ‘Thank You’ event on December 1. What a fantastic way to end the year and for you to have the opportunity to directly engage with our researchers and students.
Every year, we continue to be humbled by your unwavering loyalty to our mission
Every year, we continue to be humbled by your unwavering loyalty to our mission: for better health and better lives for all Tasmanians. If you were able to make the event, you would have heard me say that, with Tasmania having Australia’s highest incidence of
multiple sclerosis, most rapidly ageing population and statistically a very high prevalence of cardiovascular disease, we are focusing our research capability where it can have the most impact. It was therefore very exciting that we also launched our new
Get BusActive! aims to reveal what motivates people to catch the bus
trip targets. Anyone over the age of 15 who lives in an area of Launceston, Burnie or Hobart serviced by a Metro bus service, and who currently uses a motor vehicle for trips
Cardiovascular Research Flagship at the event which you can read about on the cover of this edition of the Bulletin. I look forward to keeping you updated on the progress of our new Flagship in future editions. I wish you all a safe and happy festive season with family and friends. Kind regards, Tracey Dickson Director
SPOTLIGHT ON A STUDY: GET BUS ACTIVE! We’re inviting Tasmanians to test the health benefits of bus travel as part of a new study. Get BusActive! aims to reveal what motivates people to catch the bus and how bus use improves physical activity. All eligible Tasmanians will receive $100 for taking part, and half of the volunteers will receive Metro Greencard credit for meeting weekly bus
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that could be taken by bus is encouraged to apply. For more information or to sign up to the study, please visit the website at getbusactive.com.au
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GRANTS
Record-breaking funding for health and medical research The University of Tasmania has received its best result in grant funding from the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC), with the Menzies Institute leading the way with almost $12 million awarded to our researchers. In total, just under $15 million is coming to the University of Tasmania in the 2023 Ideas Grant Scheme, which will support seven innovative research
projects looking into specific questions and driving innovative and creative research across researchers at all career stages. The Menzies projects are:
Project 1
Professor Jo Dickinson – Accelerating precision medicine for pulmonary fibrosis (PF): characterising the high risk PF genetic landscape Understanding the genes causing inherited disease is revolutionising how we diagnose and treat people with these conditions. The objective of this project is to bring these advances to those with devastating inherited fibrotic lung disease by addressing the current critical gaps in our knowledge of the genes involved. This knowledge will provide patients and their health care team with better options for early diagnosis, and improved tailored treatments for this fatal lung disease. Value: $4,409,340
Project 2
Professor Kaylene Young – What causes multiple sclerosis onset and progression? In multiple sclerosis (MS), immune cells attack the brain. A person’s genes, environment and lifestyle choices can influence whether they develop MS and the severity of disease. But we don’t know how these factors alter brain cell function to start or worsen MS. To figure this out, we studied families with multiple members who have MS. We identified gene mutations carried by people with MS, with the potential to change brain cells function. We will now determine how brain cells are affected. Value: $3,653,278
Project 3
Professor Eric Moses – Getting to the heart of the matter: a novel “Omics” risk score for cardiovascular disease risk assessment in women following pre-eclampsia Women who have a pregnancy complicated by pre-eclampsia and other high blood pressure disorders are at much greater risk of heart disease later in life than women who have healthy pregnancies. There is currently no clinical test that can be used to identify those women at greatest risk. This project aims to develop a clinical test for this unmet need, using machine learning and large patient datasets. Value: $2,243,597
Project 4
Dr Owen Marshall – Wake-up call: deciphering the regulatory networks that reactivate neural stem cells Neural stem cells generate our brain cells as we grow. However, during much of our lives they stop producing new brain cells, and enter a sleeping, “quiescent” state. Understanding what maintains their quiescence, and how they can be reawakened to make new brain cells, is vital to help our brains recover from injury or trauma. Dr Marshall and a team of collaborators in Australia, Germany and Norway will uncover the complex regulatory networks that make quiescence possible, and identify new factors that allow reactivation from the quiescent state. Value: $1,345,763
The Menzies Institute leads the way with almost $12 million awarded to our researchers
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RESEARCH
Prostate cancer in focus for Movember
How will you be remembered? In Memoriam
Dr Kelsie Raspin works with the Tasmanian community to tackle prostate cancer.
One sentence in your Will can fund life-saving medical research. If you would like more information, please contact the Advancement Office on 03 6226 1920. Bequests save lives by funding research. Thank you.
We gratefully acknowledge gifts made from the following estates: Estate of the late Dawn Albert Determined: Dr Kelsie Raspin is looking into the causes of prostate cancer.
This Movember, Dr Raspin was pleased to see the focus firmly on men’s health issues. “Movember is a great opportunity to highlight the research already being done in the prostate cancer space and what can be done in the future,” she said. “I’m passionate about precision medicine, which is personalising treatment options best suited to each individual’s cancer. This approach is delivering significant improvements in outcomes for several common cancers, however, this is not the case for prostate cancer. The use of precision medicine in the clinical care of prostate cancer shows great promise in regional areas like Tasmania, which is a main focus of my
research.” To combat this, Dr Raspin has been working with members of the Cancer Council Tasmania Prostate Cancer Support Groups, and other men with the disease, to design and deliver patientcentred medicine with a key focus on genomics. John Dobson is a consumer with lived experience who has actively participated in Dr Raspin’s research studies, and who has recently taken on more of an advisory role in her team. “From my experience, it seems that healthcare professionals are still unable to predict which men will develop prostate cancer, let alone the more aggressive, lifelimiting form of the disease,” he said. “Dr Raspin’s
research is particularly relevant to me as I vividly remember the consultation with my urologist back when I was told I had prostate cancer. I was subsequently given a list of treatment options and told to go away and make a decision. I soon realised the decision was mine to make and that the outcome/s I likened to a game of ‘Russian Roulette’. I hope Dr Raspin and I can work together to offer men a more informed choice when it comes to their prostate cancer treatment.” Dr Raspin is leading the world with her geneticsbased approach and hopes that her research will improve health outcomes for anyone affected by prostate cancer.
Estate of the late Barbara Alison Beattie Estate of the late Mary Elizabeth Mills We gratefully acknowledge gifts made in honour of: Gail Patricia Connolly Shirley Joan Dell Betty Joyce Higgins Michael Lawrence Picone Janice Elaine Sellars Irene Dorothy Rosina Woodhams
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WINTER APPEAL
Heather gets to the heart of the matter so others are aware As we launch our Cardiovascular Research Flagship, we’d like to take a moment to introduce you to teacher Heather Henkinson. Heather is the face of our Summer Fundraising Appeal, and she has a compelling story to tell. As she sat sharing a quiet night in with her daughter, Heather suffered a massive – what she calls “catastrophic” – heart attack. “I was 52. I ate well. I exercised. I thought I was doing everything right. But the truth is, I have familial hypercholesterolemia (FH). I didn’t know that I had a ticking timebomb in my chest,” Heather says. FH is a common condition that runs in families. For patients with FH, the liver can’t clear bad cholesterol properly. This results in a build-up of fatty plaques in the walls of their arteries, and this process begins as early as adolescence. While there was a family history of heart attack and stroke at a young age on both sides of her family, Heather had always looked after herself with a good diet and exercise. The truth is, if a parent has FH, their children have a 50 per cent chance of inheriting the disease. If there is an upside to Heather’s story it’s that her son James will now get tested – and when she is old enough, so will his daughter Poppy. “It was a scary and traumatic time”, Heather says. “If there’s one thing, I could say to anyone with
‘Bench to bedside’: Professor Eric Moses and Dr Andrew Black
I was 52. I ate well. I exercised. I thought I was doing everything right … I didn’t know that I had a ticking timebomb in my chest a family history of heart disease, it’s important to know that high cholesterol doesn’t cause any
symptoms. The only way to know if you have high cholesterol is by having a blood test.”
Professor Eric Moses is a genetic epidemiologist at Menzies and Dr Andrew Black is a cardiologist at the Royal Hobart Hospital. They’ve joined forces to create a ‘bench to bedside’ research project supported by the new Cardiovascular Research Flagship. Professor Moses is studying family history – the genetics of FH – and Dr Black heads up the FH clinic at the Royal Hobart Hospital. They’re trying to stop heart attack and stroke from undiagnosed and unmanaged FH, and are working hard to raise awareness, diagnosis, and treatment of FH in the Tasmanian community. “If FH is recognised early, simple medications can often completely prevent heart attack or stroke,” Dr Black says. Heather concludes: “I cannot bear the thought of not meeting my granddaughter. “If my story encourages just a few people to have their cholesterol checked, then that is a good thing to come out of this”. A generous donation to the Menzies Institute will help us get this important message out to every Tasmanian.
SAVE THE DATE FOR FEBRUARY On Monday, February 19, we’ll be hosting a public talk on Parkinson’s disease by Professor Glenda Halliday from the University of Sydney. Please keep an eye out for your invitation in the new year!
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PROFILE
RESEARCHER PROFILE
Nicolas Borchers Arrigada Sohn Hearts & Minds Research Fellow What brought you to Menzies? I first came to Tasmania during the summer of 2013-14. I was doing my Master of Environment at the University of Melbourne and came for about two months, travelling in a 1986 Nissan Nomad van. I hadn’t heard of Tasmania before that and fell in love with the place. Life took me back to Chile, but in 2017 huge fires affected the central and southern regions of my country. I was looking for PhD opportunities in
my area of work (air pollution, health impacts, climate change, policy), and read about Fay Johnston. I contacted her by email, and coincidentally she was visiting Chile not long after. We met there and put together a PhD project for which I applied and was successful in getting. In May 2018, my family and I moved here, and in June that year I started my PhD titled “Assessing the health burden of bushfire smoke in Australia”.
STAFF PROFILE
Nada Alnasser Administrative Officer – Support Services What brought you to Menzies? I’ve been at Menzies for nearly seven years. I saw the opportunity to work at Menzies and I grabbed it. I actually began on Valentine’s Day. I started working at reception and then moved to the Menzies’ professional staff team. What is your role within the institute?
I’m an Administrative Officer – Support Services and I also co-ordinate the volunteer program. My role is to support the staff and students at Menzies with their travel and finances and anything administrative. The volunteer role includes on-boarding new volunteers, making sure they’re correctly inducted
What are some of the recent findings from this work? I finished my PhD in December 2022 and have been working as a postdoctoral research fellow since February. Some of the most recent and relevant findings of my work relate to the health burden and health costs of biomass smoke – from landscape fires and wood heaters – in Australia. For example, I estimated that the excess deaths attributable to the smoke from the devastating 2019-20 Black Summer bushfires were more than 400 with estimated costs of $1.95 billion. Furthermore, winter smoke due to wood heater use is also quite relevant in
Australia. In recent work I’ve done, I estimated that the excess deaths attributable to winter smoke in Australia are more than 720 each year.
and making sure our volunteers are appreciated through ‘Thank You’ events and staying in contact with them.
I will never forget. That our roles were to provide the best support to our researchers and students to allow them to do their best research which can change so many lives for the better.
What is the most interesting aspect of this work? I really like being at Menzies in general. There’s never a dull moment. There’s a lot of diversity in the range of tasks and every day can be different. Being a part of Menzies and being a support person to staff, students and volunteers gives me joy. When I first started, the Director held a welcome morning tea and made a comment
What is the most interesting aspect of this work? The work I do is highly translational and has the potential to directly impact and drive policy changes. The work I did during my PhD has been highly influential and has been used as evidence for multiple governmental reports and inquiries, mainly following the devastating Black Summer bushfires. Thinking and actually seeing how the work I do can positively shape Australian policy and improve
What is the part of your work that makes you the proudest? I feel proud to be part of Menzies. Our reputation speaks for itself. We don’t have to advertise our volunteer program, people come to us and are always eager to offer their time and skills. Our institute has its own unique identity
our lives is quite motivating and rewarding. What other research-based activities have you been involved with? This year I’ve been involved with CSIRO and the Victorian Environmental Protection Authority in assessing the smoke and health impacts of bushfires and prescribed burns with the aim of developing tools that fire managers can use to protect the health of people in Victoria. What do you enjoy doing in your spare time? Outdoor activities (bushwalking, cold water swimming), reading, listening to music – mainly jazz or classical. and I love that the people within it know who to come to when they need assistance. What do you enjoy doing in your spare time? I don’t have much spare time. I also work a day a week at the University’s psychology clinic. We also have a family-run small business that I usually work in a day a week. I’ve got two adult kids and a teenager so they keep me on my toes. I’m also lucky to have a great circle of friends. Some of my favourite times are going away for a girls’ weekend.
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