Flinders’ MND research gets $250,000 boost

Congratulations to Dr Anna Konopka who has received $250,000 in funding to conduct new research aimed at improving and extending the lives of people living with motor neurone disease (MND).

Dr Konopka will use The Hospital Research Foundation Group funding to investigate DNA damage in MND patients and how it weakens the effectiveness of existing treatments over time.

Her research will examine whether preventing DNA damage can improve the effectiveness of riluzole, a drug regularly prescribed to MND patients, which could lead to the development of new and more effective treatments.

 

Award-winning research tackles implant infections

Congratulations to Dr Ngoc Huu Nguyen who has received the Bioceramics Young Scholar Award from The American Ceramic Society (ACerS) for developing new ways to prevent dangerous infections in patients with medical implants.

Dr Nguyen’s work focuses on developing next-generation implant surfaces and coatings that help prevent infection and promote bone regeneration.

Preventing medical implant infections linked to procedures such as hip and knee replacements remains a major challenge for hospitals worldwide, particularly as antibiotics become less effective.

 

Global recognition for spectroscopy research

Congratulations to Dr Sara Miller, who along with her colleagues from other institutions, has received the inaugural Peter Griffiths Award from The Society for Applied Spectroscopy (SAS).

By studying how materials interact with light, Dr Miller is helping develop new technologies that could improve healthcare, with implications for pharmaceutics and medical diagnostics.

Her research is also helping improve the detection of microcalcifications, tiny calcium deposits that can be an early sign of breast cancer.