Top: Left – ASMR National Scientific Conference Co-Convenors Dr Kevin Keane (CHIRI) and Professor Claudine Bonder (University of South Australia). Right – CHIRI’s Dr Kevin Keane, Associate Professor Cyril Mamotte, Melissa Eccles, Ayeisha Milligan-Armstrong, Lelinh Duong, Dr Ross Graham, Amy Woodfield, Professor Deirdre Coombe, Abhishek Singh, Dr Carl Mousley, Joanne Rowles, Dr Mark Agostino and Dr Danielle Dye. Bottom: Left – Lelinh accepting her award from ASMR President Dr Roger Yazbek (Flinders University). Right – ASMR State Convenor and CHIRI researcher Dr Mark Agostino as Master of Ceremonies at the conference dinner.
Here’s some news we’re keen to shout from the rooftops – Curtin Health Innovation Research Institute (CHIRI) and Curtin University School of Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences PhD student Lelinh Duong has won the award for Best Oral Presentation by a student or young scientist (30 years and under) at the Australian Society for Medical Research (ASMR) National Scientific Conference.
Held in Fremantle, the conference was skilfully co-convened by our researcher Dr Kevin Keane and was proudly supported by Curtin University, through CHIRI, as a Platinum sponsor. Several other CHIRI researchers attended the conference, with a number of them giving presentations on their research. We congratulate Kevin and all of our CHIRI attendees on their involvement.
Lelinh brought home the Campion-Ma-Playoust Memorial Award after presenting some findings from her PhD research with CHIRI, which is investigating the underlying mechanisms behind macrophage dysfunction during ageing.
Macrophages are a type of immune cell that becomes dysregulated with age and have a role in disease, including cancer in elderly patients. Research presented by Lelinh shows links between ageing and the earlier expansion of inflammatory tumour-associated macrophages with enhanced glycolysis (the process of breaking down glucose), and the mTOR signalling pathway in cancer.
Lelinh’s research is co-supervised by Dr Connie Jackaman and Professor Delia Nelson from CHIRI, and Associate Professor Fiona Pixley from the University of Western Australia.
“The ASMR National Scientific Committee was a fantastic opportunity for me to present my work to a diverse and inclusive audience,” Lelinh said.
“I am thrilled and extremely honoured to receive the Campion-Ma-Playoust Memorial Award. A big thank you to ASMR for their efforts in organising such a wonderful event and to CHIRI for supporting my attendance to the conference.”
As well as co-convening the conference, Kevin co-chaired a session on Biomarkers and Molecular Biology, sponsored by Curtin University’s School of Public Health and a ‘Rapid-Fire’ talk on his fertility-related research.
The session also included talks by CHIRI PhD students Amy Woodfield, on factors influencing the relationships between insulin resistance, cognitive function and Alzheimer’s disease biomarkers; and Abhishek Singh on his research investigating iron and lipid metabolism in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.
CHIRI’s Dr Connie Jackaman and Dr Mark Agostino co-chaired a session on Cell Biology and Immunology, sponsored by Curtin University, during which our PhD student Joanne Rowles presented her research investigating the link between Type 2 Diabetes and Alzheimer’s disease. Connie also presented a ‘Rapid-Fire’ talk on how pro-inflammatory macrophages impair responses to acute muscle injury in the elderly; and CHIRI’s Dr Ricky Lareu provided insights into his studies of statins and bacterial skin infections.
Dr Ross Graham co-chaired a session on Future Directions of Medical Research and presented the Curtin University Platinum Sponsor’s award on behalf of CHIRI at the conference dinner, where Mark was the Master of Ceremonies.
The Campion-Ma-Playoust Memorial Award was introduced by the ASMR in 1975, and was awarded to Lelinh at their 58th National Scientific Conference. A big thanks all involved with organising this year’s conference – we’re looking forward to being part of the 59th one.
