Our researchers

CHS researchers investigate virtually all aspects of health, quite literally "from cell to society". Following is a selection of recent articles in the University of Sydney News which featured CHS researchers that gives an idea of the range of research currently conducted.

A Healthy Start to Life

• Professor Chris Murphy and Dr Susan Adams
  School of Medical Sciences
  28/11/2003
  Fertility treatment produces tiny miracles
  Pioneering fertility treatment at the University's Institute for Biomedical Research has brought delight for three couples who had given up hope of having children.
• Dr Michael Booth
  Centre for Overweight & Obesity
  12/03/2004
  Food for Thought in Child Health Study
  With heart disease developing among children from the age of 10 through poor diet and low activity, young Australians are part of what the World Health Organisation has already termed an "international epidemic of childhood obesity".
• NSW Centre for Overweight and Obesity
  25/02/2004
  State-wide project will help ensure a healthy future for our kids
  A project undertaken by experts from the University's NSW Centre for Overweight and Obesity will measure different aspects of fitness, physical activity and the eating habits of more than 8,000 students in around 90 schools across the State over the coming months.
• A/Professor Guy Marks
  Woolcock Institute of Medical Research
  09/04/2004
  Childhood asthma study reveals parental age anomaly
  A study of children with asthma conducted by the Woolcock Institute and the Children's Hospital at Westmead has found that the age of the children's parents is a key factor in early diagnosis.
• Institute of Medical Research & Hunter Medical Research Institute
  20/06/2003
  Agreement creates sleeping giant
  The Woolcock Institute of Medical Research and the Hunter Medical Research Institute (HMRI) have joined forces to create the largest respiratory and sleep research network in the southern hemisphere. A memorandum of understanding (MoU) has been signed by both groups, allowing large clinical studies to be run across both sites. The larger pool of volunteers is expected to strengthen research findings.
• Professor Gwynnyth Llewellyn
  Faculty of Health Sciences
  19/09/2003
  Young children with disabilities: How families cope
  Health care professionals may be unwittingly forcing families to consider giving up the care of young children with disabilities before they are ready to do so.
• Ms Masako Tsubakihara
  Institute for Biomedical Research
  19/09/2003
  Colourful pointers to heart health
  Like constellations of colourful stars in a black sky, pinpricks of data shine out from Masako Tsubakihara's computer screen in the Muscle Research Unit at the University's Institute for Biomedical Research. (why hearts fails, gene expression, micro-arrays, bioinformatics, international collaboration).
• Mr Marc Buhler
  Westmead Millennium Institute
  25/07/2003
  Detective work solves a genetic mystery
  Sydney PhD candidate Marc Buhler believes he has tracked down the source of an inherited shield against AIDS, an allele of the CCR5 chemokine receptor, which is shared by many people of Jewish and Viking ancestral origins. (genes, AIDS, immunity, etc.)
• A/Professor Merlin Crossley
  CST
  25/07/2003
  Anaemia funding
  A grant of $1.4 million from the US based National Institutes of Health will enable researchers at the University to investigate new strategies for developing treatments for sickle cell anaemia and beta-thalassemia (Cooley's anaemia), two of the world's most common genetic disorders.

Ageing and Health

• The George Institute of International Health
  27/02/2004
  Click again for the e-diet
  Your partner and kids might be the only ones who know you like to eat a good rich cheese, but nutritionists could soon know your secret too.
• Dr Frank Lovicu & Professor John McAvoy
  14/11/2004
  Cataract research looks to find a lasting cure
  Cataract, the clouding of the eye lens, is one of the leading causes of blindness in our ageing world. As people live longer and longer thanks to medical advances, cataracts are becoming increasingly common among the elderly.
• Professor Bob Cumming
  28/11/2003, p.4.
  Funding Helps Research into Neglected Group
• Professor Phyllis Butow
  28/11/2003
  World-first study into breast cancer and stress
  About 25 Australian women are diagnosed with breast cancer each day. To date, trials and tests have examined links between family history and age, as well as past breast feeding practices, age at the onset of menstruation, the pill, hormone replacement therapy (HRT), diet, exercise and smoking. But little is known or understood about possible links between breast cancer and stress.
• Dr Jasmine Henderson
  Institute for Biomedical Research
  08/08/2003
  Research seeks early signs of disease
  Parkinson's disease, the degenerative disorder which causes tremors, muscular rigidity and slowness, affects about 35,000 Australians and numbers appear to be rising.
  (Parkinsons, Alzheimers, schizophrenia)
• Professor John Prineas & Dr Barnett
  IBR
  07/05/2004, p.5.
  Neurologists shed new light on multiple sclerosis (MS, Neurology)]
• Ms Natasha Kumar
  IBR
  19/09/2003, p.5.
  Stalking the Stalker – tracing the clues to a killer disease in our genes. (Stroke, DNA, RNA, markers of hereditary disease)
  Hypertension, also known as chronic high blood pressure, is a "silent killer" which is stalking more and more people every year, including one in three Australians aged over 25.

Youth Health

• George Institute of International Health
  28/02/2003
  Study targets young drivers
  The Institute for International Health has launched a research project that could become the world’s largest study of young drivers, with up to 20,000 drivers aged from 17 to 24 being recruited.
• Professor David Allen
  IBR
  08/08/2003
  Spider venom may shed light on muscle damage
  We all know the way muscles feel sore after exercise, but the interplay of chemicals within our muscle cells as they stretch and strain is still not fully understood.
• Professor Joseph Hoh
  IBR
  5/09/2003
  Get ready, get set, go: How tensing triggers top performance
  For sprinters, the pre-race warm up is often considered as important as the actual run, as this activity sparks critical muscle activity known in biophysics as post-tetanic potentiation, or PTP.

Delivering Better Healthcare

• Professor Ron Trent, Dr Alexandra Barratt, Professor Stephen Leeder, Kristine Barlow-Stewart
  25/07/2003
  Sydney academics help define boundaries of genetic research
  Sydney academics have played a key role in producing a landmark report on genetic science which has put Australia at the forefront of international policy-making.
• Professor Gwynnyth Llewellyn, Dr Rosemary Cant, Professor Hal Kendig (FHS) and Professor Lindsay Gething (Nursing)
  19/09/2003
  Crisis looms as carers get older.
  
  Dr Milton Lewis
  SPH
  09/05/2003
  First account of health of our nation. "The People’s Health: Public Health in Australia"
  The worldwide outbreak of SARS and the national debate over the future of Medicare are reminders of the vital role played by government health departments
• Fazlul Haq, Pharmacy
  11/04/2004
  Research offers hope of improved cancer treatment
  In the fight against cancer, highly potent drugs are already available to doctors, but their success is limited and their side effects can add to the problems cancer sufferers have to face. Thanks to new research at the University, this may soon be a thing of the past.

Infection, Its Control and Host Defences

• Professor Nick King
  IBR
  22/08/2003
  Under the microscope, it’s a cell eat cell world
  West Nile Virus is proving useful in studying not only how viruses proliferate within the body, but also the defences used by the body, and where and how these defences fail.
• Mr Marc Buhler
  Westmead Millennium Institute
  25/07/2003
  Detective work solves a genetic mystery
  Sydney PhD candidate Marc Buhler believes he has tracked down the source of an inherited shield against AIDS, an allele of the CCR5 chemokine receptor, which is shared by many people of Jewish and Viking ancestral origins.

Other Research

• Dr Alan Cass
  George Institute for International Health
  26/03/2004, p.5.
  Research Sheds light on Kidney Disease
• Professor Gary Halliday
  24/03/2004
  Study points to cancer risk from UVA
  Exposure to ultraviolet A radiation (UVA) in sunlight poses a much higher risk of skin cancer than previously thought according to Sydney University research published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA this week.
• Professor Michael Murray
  09/04/2004, p.4.
  Cutting Edge of Pharmacy
• Dr David Alais
  27/02/2004
  Making Sense of Simultaneous Sight and Sound
  Ventriloquism has duped and delighted audiences since the days of the Delphic Oracle in ancient Greece, yet explanations as to why it works have eluded scientists until now.
• Sophie Chan
  31/10/2003 p.5
  Protein Research earns national recognition
• Dr Rob Vandenberg
  22/08/2003
  Research probes the mystery of brain cell communication
  Pharmacologists are a step closer to understanding the functions of glutamate transporters at a molecular level, thanks to painstaking research by PhD candidate Renae Ryan and Dr Robert Vandenberg.
• Dr William Thorpe
  FHS
  19/09/2003
  Research helps singers see their voices
  At the School of Communication Sciences and Disorders, intricacies of the human voice and our control over it are being investigated in ever increasing detail, with implications in fields as diverse as speech therapy, drama and opera.
• Professor Max Bennett
  Brain and Mind Research Institute
  03/10/2003
  Brain and Mind Institute scoops $1 million award
  The University's new Brain and Mind Research Institute has received a $1 million grant from the Clive and Vera Ramaciotti Foundations to enable researchers to explore the workings of the live brain.
• Professor Max Bennett
  Brain and Mind Research Institute
  28/03/2003
  Breaking down barriers to tackle brain disease
  With mental illness on the increase around the world, the University of Sydney has launched an

Recent Awards and Rewards

• Dr Evian Gordon
  Brain Resource Centre
  22/08/2003
  Eureka Prize awarded to brain research team
  Leading researchers at the University have achieved national recognition by winning the inaugural Royal Societies of Australia Eureka Prize for interdisciplinary scientific research.
• Professors David Cook and Rob Baxter
  9/04/2004
  Elected to Fellowship of the Australian Academy of Science.
  Professor Robert Baxter: Structural features of IGF binding proteins; IGF transport; cell growth regulation.
  Professor David Cook FRACP: Transport processes in the cell membrane and the manner in which cells control membrane transport activity.
• Natalie Rianger
  Med
  07/05/2004, p.3.
  Medical Student wins inaugural OA bursary (Opera and Science)
• Professor Simon Chapman & Ms Mary Assunta
  Voted by international peers to receive the Luther Terry Award for outstanding individual leadership in tobacco control.
• A/Professor John Rasko & Professor David Celermajer
  28/11/2003
  Top research award for Sydney’s gene doctor
  Sydney University gene therapy pioneer John Rasko has been awarded the RPA Foundation's Research Medal for excellence in medical research.