News & Events
New test predicts whether patients with blood cancer respond to therapy
Monday, 15 January 2018
A new method developed by UNSW Sydney medical researchers offers a way to predict whether patients with the blood condition myelodysplastic syndrome will respond to treatment.
Myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) is characterised by impaired peripheral blood cell production and abnormal bone marrow, and more than 1400 people in Australia are diagnosed with the disease each year. MDS is much more common in older individuals and, if left untreated, the prognosis can be very poor.
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Is apple cider vinegar really a wonder food?
Friday, 24 November 2017
OPINION: Folk medicine has favoured apple cider vinegar for centuries and many claims are made for its supposed benefits.
Apple cider vinegar is made by chopping apples, covering them with water and leaving them at room temperature until the natural sugars ferment and form ethanol. Bacteria then convert this alcohol into acetic acid.
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New gene therapy developed with UNSW researchers targets brain disorders
Thursday, 9 November 2017
A group of researchers led by UNSW Sydney has developed a new gene therapy that may reverse the devastating symptoms of brain disorders such as Canavan disease.
Canavan disease is a rare, fatal genetic disorder in which an enzyme called aspartoacylase is not active. This enzyme breaks down the amino acid NAA in the body.
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UNSW researchers investigate a potential drug to reverse the negative effects of maternal obesity
Thursday, 9 November 2017
A drug that increases energy metabolism may lead to a new approach to prevent obesity in children born to overweight mothers, UNSW Sydney researchers have found.
“There is much excitement about improving metabolism pharmacologically in ways that might be helpful for people with obesity,” said Head of Pharmacology in the School of Medical Sciences at UNSW, Professor Margaret Morris.
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UNSW to play role in medical internships program funded by MTPConnect
Thursday, 26 October 2017
UNSW Sydney will play a role in a new national consortium that gives students formal internships in clinical research, funded by MTPConnect.
MTPConnect – the Medical Technologies and Pharmaceuticals Industry Growth Centre – today announced it would provide a proposed $250,000 provisional funding to the program called "ACCELERATE: building the talent pool" over two years, with proposed matched funding of $250,000 from the sector.
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Five claims about coconut oil debunked
Friday, 27 October 2017
OPINION: Coconuts have been a valued food in tropical areas for thousands of years, traditionally enjoyed as coconut water from the centre of the coconut, coconut flesh, or coconut “milk” (made by steeping the flesh in hot water).
Full Details Call for abstracts – UNSW Medicine Learning & Teaching forum 15 November 2017
Friday, 3 November 2017
Call for abstracts – UNSW Medicine Learning & Teaching forum
Medicine’s 2017 Learning & Teaching forum will be held on Friday 1 December from 9am to 2 pm in WW G02 Wallace Wurth Bldg (Kensington).Proposals for presentations (maximum 200-word abstract) should be emailed for review to Gary Velan g.velan@unsw.edu.au by 5pm, 15 November 2017. Note: presentations on the day are 10 mins + 5 mins Q&A.
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NeuRA launches online talk series for Mental Health Week
Thursday, 5 October 2017
A new online seminar series launching this week is the next step in NeuRA’s endeavour to share knowledge, and provide hope around treatment and cures that are being researched at NeuRA.
“In recent years our understanding and awareness of mental health disorders has grown, however online information is often targeted to clinicians and mental health practitioners,” NeuRA Director and CEO Professor Peter Schofield said.
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Ambassadors for Australian ingenuity awarded
Thursday, 21 September 2017
Professor David Sinclair of UNSW School of Medical Sciences has won an Advance Global Australian Award, for his achievements in genetics at Harvard Medical School, Boston.
Now in their sixth year, the awards honour Australians who have achieved remarkable feats in their industry while living overseas.
Professor Sinclair won in the Life Sciences category for his work to understand genes that fight disease and aging, with a focus on treating the major causes of death and disability.
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Professor Rakesh Kumar retires from UNSW after 40 years
Monday, 18 September 2017
After 40 years as one of UNSW Medicine’s most memorable educators, Professor Rakesh Kumar is retiring to the NSW Southern Highlands.
However, he hopes to keep firing the imaginations of students, as he plans to spend part of his weeks there assisting in high school biology classrooms.
He was a 22-year-old graduate of the All India IMS when he joined UNSW in 1977, accepting an unexpected job offer as a senior tutor.
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