Bond University’s Faculty of Health Sciences and Medicine has achieved a significant milestone, receiving its first major grant from the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) valued at over $430,000.

The NHMRC funding will sponsor a three-year urology research project headed by Bond’s Professor Russ Chess-Williams and involving an international team of researchers from the universities of NSW (Professors Elizabeth Burcher and Kate Moore), Wollongong (Dr Kylie Mansfield) and Sheffield in the UK (Professor Dave Grundy).

The Faculty has recently established two new research centres, one of which is in the area of Children's Citizenship.  The CRiCC is committed to involving children as active participants in society and will advocate for children’s rights in all matters affecting them in accordance with the mandates of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCROC).

The Faculty has recently established two new research centres, one of which is in the area of Public Health.  The Population Health and Neuroimmunology Unit (PHANU) is the only facility in Australia specifically established to examine how an auto-immune response impacts on neuro-degenerative diseases related to ageing and fatigue-related conditions such as Multiple Sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.

PHANU, a collaborative initiative between the Gold Coast Population Health Unit and Bond’s Faculty of Health Sciences and Medicine, is one of only a few in the world focused on this niche area of research. The PHANU laboratory has already found an association between changes in immune cells and chronic fatigue patients, signifying the importance of this ongoing research and its contribution to scientific knowledge. This research work has already been accepted for conference presentations and publication in peer- reviewed scientific journals.

“The direction of PHANU’s research is consistent with a recent WHO publication drawing attention to the need for greater investment in research into neurological diseases of public health importance,” said Dr Don Staines, Public Health Medical Officer at the Gold Coast Population Health Unit and joint manager of PHANU.

The other joint manager is Dr Sonya Marshall-Gradisnik, Assistant Professor of Biochemistry. PHANU operates under the guidance of a steering committee chaired by Mr Ross Humphreys, a highly respected international authority in ageing, consumer representation and aged care service provision.

“PHANU’s research may bring new hope to patients suffering from some of these conditions,” said Dr Staines,“that a biologically plausible basis for their illness exists and that treatment, based on these research findings, may be just a short step away.”

Two internationally renowned immunology specialists will be visiting the centre in January 2009; Professor Herbert Meiselman from the University of Southern California’s Keck School of Medicine and Professor Oguz Baskurt from Akdeniz University in Turkey.

To date, PHANU has received funding grants of $95,000 from Queensland Health’s Population Health Services, $30,000 from the Ramicotti Foundation and $5,000 from Bond, all of which have contributed to the purchase of a flow cytometer and the establishment of a dedicated laboratory facility. Further funding will be sourced from future grant applications.

Professor Mieke van Driel, Associate Dean of Research, has recently returned from a trip to Kenya where she participated in an international collaboration between the council of Flemish Universities in Belgium and Moi University in Eldoret, Western Kenya to support a national training program in Family Medicine. The ten year project is now in its second year.

Professor of Physiology Bulent Turman, together with honours student Jason McKenzie and research assistant Betul Sekendiz are undertaking a new research study investigating the changes in motor cortex excitability.

A newly acquired state-of-the art magnetic stimulator is being used to send magnetic pulses into the brain. Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) is a new technique used to deliver multiple magnetic pulses to evoke prolonged and more prominent modulation in the brain.

A new approach to Problem-Based Learning (PBL) is being implemented within the Bond’s Medical program. PBL is a teaching and learning method used significantly in the first seven semesters of Bond’s Medicine (MBBS) program. This teaching method is also used in other faculty programs, such as the Doctor of Physiotherapy and Biomedical Science programs.

Professor Debra Henly, Deputy Dean of Health Sciences, said PBL is advantageous because it focuses on the development of skills such as critical thinking, problem solving and communication, rather than simply the acquisition of knowledge.