Affiliated institutes
Below are listed the interests and opportunities for research available
at affiliated institutes/centres, which have connections with the Faculty of
Medicine. Although students may undertake their research at an affiliated
institute/centre, they can only be enrolled at Monash University through a
department or an accredited academic unit of the faculty. Such students will be
required to meet all the requirements and obligations of the designated
department. In addition, all aspects of their candidature and scholarships will
comply with Monash University regulations.
Director: Professor J W Funder
Location: Commercial Road, Prahran
Postal address: PO Box 348, Prahran, 3181
Phone: (03) 9522 4333
- Alfred and Baker Medical Unit Therapy of hypertension and
atherosclerosis; drug and non-drug methods; radiotracer studies of sympathetic
nervous system function; exercise physiology; heart failure pathophysiology and
treatment; cardiovascular responses to stress; new methods of cardiovascular
risk assessment and reduction; clinical pharmacology of new cardiovascular
drugs; human brain neurotransmitters.
- Experimental Cardiology Laboratory Mechanisms of noradrenaline
release during acute cardiac ischaemia; local modulation of neurotransmitter
release during cardiac failure, and its role in the development of arrhythmias;
the role of the phosphatidylinositol turnover pathway in causing ischaemic
arrhythmias and new therapeutic strategies.
- Cell Biology Laboratory Membrane ion (sodium and calcium)
transport processes in cardiac and vascular cells; growth factors in vascular
growth and development; local endothelial and smooth muscle-derived growth
factors in vascular hypertrophy in hypertension; regression of vascular and
cardiac hypertrophy.
- Cardiac Nutrition Laboratory Clinical and laboratory nutrition;
studies linked to effects of diets on cardiovascular physiology and metabolism.
- Cardiac Surgical Research Unit Storing and protecting donor hearts
for transplantation; enhancing myocardiac metabolism; pharmacology and
structure of coronary bypass grafts; clinical projects with cardiac surgery and
transplant units.
- Cardio-Renal Laboratory The mechanism of splanchnic
vasoconstrictor effects of ANP/ANP actions on post-prandial gut blood flow; the
role of ANP in the control of heart rate reflexes; haemodynamic responses of
ANP, BNP and renomedullary vasodepressor mechanisms.
- Cellular Biochemistry Laboratory Phosphatidylinositol turnover
pathway and the development of hypertrophy in myocardium and vascular smooth
muscle; cellular recognition and signal transduction processes; vascular smooth
muscle cells, mitogenic and contractile stimuli; molecular pharmacology of
endothelin receptors.
- Lipoprotein and Atherosclerosis Group Structure, function and
regulation of apolipoprotein gene expression; high density lipoprotein (HDL)
receptors; gene regulation of plasma factors and enzymes affecting lipoprotein
cholesterol and triglyceride concentrations.
- Molecular Genetics Laboratory Pathophysiology of glucocorticoid
action in glucocorticoid receptor knockout (GRKO) mice; similar studies in
mineralocorticoid receptor knockout (MRKO); production of an 11bHSD2 knockout
mouse.
- Molecular Hypertension Laboratory Hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase
isoforms; tissue-specific regulation of hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase gene
expression; structural analysis of the structure of the 11bHSD2 gene; analysis
of the 11bHSD gene in hypertension.
- Molecular Physiology Laboratory POMC synthesis, ACTH and
b-endorphin in anterior pituitary, AtT20 cells and isolated neurointermediate
lobe; proto-oncogenes and the pituitary response to stress hormones; cardiac
fibrosis, salt and aldosterone; the neurobiology of mineralocorticoid receptors
in the central nervous system; pseudohypoaldosteronism; estrogens and vascular
disease; menopause.
- Morphology Laboratory Heparin and smooth muscle growth in
hypertension; genetic factors and vessel wall growth in hypertension and in
vascular injury; the role of angiotensin II in promoting growth of vascular
smooth muscle cells.
- Neuropharmacology Laboratory CNS monoamine neurotransmitters
noradrenaline, serotonin and dopamine; CNS renin-angiotensin system and
endothelin in cardiovascular regulation; central antihypertensive drugs;
hypertension-induced changes in circulatory control.
- Peptide Biology Laboratory Hypothalamic and pituitary peptides;
post-translational processing, stress and steroid excess; interactions between
neuroendocrine and cardiovascular-derived peptides in the hypothalamo-pituitary
axis; metalloendopeptidases; novel C-terminally amidated cardiac hormones.
- Signal Transduction Laboratory Dynamin and endocytosis; role of
PKC mediated mechanisms in hormone secretion and action; telomerase in breast
cancer cells.
- Sir Thomas Ramsay Electron Microscopy Laboratory Ultrastructure;
structural relationships of sympathetic axons and vascular smooth muscle cells;
sympathetic innervation of the kidney.
- Vascular Biology Laboratory Von Willebrand Factor structure and
function; von Willebrand Factor dependent platelet adhesion to damaged blood
vessels; roles of the cell adhesion molecule, GMP-140, in modulation of the
neutrophil inflammatory responses and haematopoiesis; roles of the membrane
glycoprotein, PECAM-1, in cell adhesion and function; in vitro and in vivo
models of thrombosis, inflammation and angiogenesis.
Director: Professor J Mills
Location: Yarra Bend Road, Fairfield
Postal address: PO Box 254, Fairfield, 3078
Phone: (03) 9280 2823
- Hepatitis A virus Studies of virus replication strategies;
development of high-replicative capacity variants; studies of virus binding and
entry to cells.
- Hepatitis B virus Structure of the DNA replicative intermediate,
and mechanisms of transcriptional control; pathogenesis and treatment of
hepatitis B in ducks.
- Hepatitis E virus Development of new diagnostic tests and vaccines.
- HIV Numerous projects, including genetics of drug resistance;
control of transcription by cellular factors; mRNA splicing mechanisms and
significance; mechanism of cell killing; replication strategies in stationary
cells (including T-cells and monocyte-macrophages); mechanism of action of
ancillary proteins; immune response to HIV infection; control of reverse
transcription; transcription and translation in monocyte-macrophages; studies
on assembly and maturation of HIV; biology of HIV infection of macrophages;
interactions between other viruses and HIV; and development of attenuated
variants of HIV.
- Respiratory syncytial virus Studies of the cell receptor for human
and animal RSVs, and structural, functional and chemical studies of the
attachment protein (G protein) of RSV. Development of a genetic system for in
vitro mutagenesis of RSV cDNA.
- Rubella virus Morphogenesis and replication strategies of rubella
virus; mechanism of mitochondrial injury by rubella virus.
Director: Professor D Copolov
Location: Cnr Oak Street and Poplar Road, Parkville
Postal address: Locked Bag 11, Parkville, 3052
Phone: (03) 9388 1633
Research at the institute focuses on schizophrenia and Alzheimer's disease.
- Alzheimer's Disease research group The role of amyloid precursor
protein in Alzheimer's disease; the role of metal ions (specifically zinc) in
dementia.
- Biostatistics and psychometrics Latent trait and class modelling
of psychiatric symptoms and disorders; development and assessment of
psychological tests; covariance structure analysis; computationally intensive
statistics.
- Brain dynamics The use of multi-channel EEG measures in detecting
functional abnormality in schizophrenia; computer simulation of cortical
activity.
- Cell biology Neuronal development, neurotransmitters and
schizophrenia.
- Cognitive neuropsychiatry Neuropsychological deficits in
schizophrenia; structural and functional imaging studies; the association of
olfactory deficits with psychotic symptoms.
- Genetics Twin and family studies; children of psychotic parents.
- Neurochemistry Pharmacological, biochemical and molecular studies
aimed at identifying changes in brain tissue and blood from schizophrenic
subjects; studies of neurochemical changes that occur in response to
neuroleptic drug treatment.
- Neurophysiology and neurovisual research Neurophysiological
investigations of ocular motor and attentional function in Alzheimer's disease,
the AIDS dementia complex and schizophrenia; brain mapping of ocular motor and
attentional functions using evoked potentials and PET.
- Psychopharmacology and clinical neuroendocrinology Evaluation of
new antipsychotic drugs; the role of sex hormones in patients with psychoses;
studies of psychopathology related to post-mortem brain chemistry.
Director: Professor H G Burger
Location: Level 4, Block E, Monash Medical Centre, 246 Clayton Road, Clayton
Postal address: PO Box 5152, Clayton, 3168
Phone: (03) 9550 4372
- Research in conjunction with Department of Medicine, Monash Medical
Centre Molecular endocrinology; steroid hormone action including resistance
syndromes; intestinal biology including studies on the molecular basis of
intestinal adaptation; molecular oncology; infertility, menopause,
osteoporosis, hormone replacement therapy, reproductive biology; prostatic
disease including prostatic cancer.
- Research in conjunction with Department of Obstetrics and
Gynaecology Studies on reproductive endocrinology, and reproductive
hormones, in the male and female; studies on the biology of the uterus,
particularly during menstruation and implantation; ovarian cancer
endocrinology; studies of the molecular endocrinology of pregnancy and
parturition.
- Research in conjunction with Department of Pharmacology The
autonomic nervous system and cardiovascular control; signal transduction
processes in cardiac and vascular smooth muscle, receptors involved in
modulation of transmitter release in the central nervous system; hormonal
regulation of the cardiovascular system.
- Research in conjunction with Department of Physiology
Neuroendocrinology and endocrinology including studies relevant to nutrition,
reproduction, growth, lactation, cancer and stress. Work is carried out using
sophisticated in vivo and in vitro models and molecular and single cell
techniques.
Handbook Contents
| Faculty Handbooks
| Monash University
| Published by Monash University, Clayton, Victoria
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Copyright © Monash University 1996 - All Rights Reserved -
Caution
Authorised by the Academic Registrar December 1996
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