Podcasts about garvan institute

In this episode, we are discussing 2 articles focused on cardiovascular genetics. In the first segment, Khalida talks to authors Marianne and Erin about their research exploring the opportunities for downstream revenue of cardiac genetic counseling services in a pediatric medical center. In the second segment, Naomi chats with Jodie and Erin about the recent NSGC Practice Resource about genetic testing and counseling for hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. Segment 1: Cardiac genetic counseling services: Exploring downstream revenue in a pediatric medical center Marianne Olson, MS, CGC is a genetic counselor at Baptist Health in Kentucky. She provides prenatal genetic counseling at Maternal Fetal Medicine clinics in Louisville and Lexington. Marianne graduated from the Cincinnati Genetic Counseling Graduate Program in 2024. Prior to working as a genetic counselor, Marianne taught high school chemistry and biology for 12 years. Erin Miller is an Associate Professor in the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine. Erin is a genetic counselor IN THE DIVISION OF CARDIOLOGY at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center. She leads the cardiology genetic counseling team in providing genetic counseling services to individuals of all ages with and at risk for cardiovascular disease. Erin is focused on improving access to genetics services for families with inherited cardiovascular diseases. In this segment we discuss: - What sparked the decision to explore downstream revenue (DSR) in a cardiac genetic counseling setting - Financial challenges institutions face when hiring genetic counselors, especially around reimbursement - The role of genetic counseling in reducing costs by guiding risk stratification and avoiding unnecessary testing - Limited uptake of cardiac screening among at-risk relative and strategies that could help improve adherence - How findings from this study can support the case for sustaining genetic counseling roles within pediatric cardiology - Potential to adapt the study's methodology to other specialties like neurology or prenatal genetics, and considerations for doing so   Segment 2: Genetic testing and counseling for hypertrophic cardiomyopathy: An evidence-based practice resource of the National Society of Genetic Counselors Erin Miller (she/her) is an Associate Professor in the College of Medicine at the University of Cincinnati and a cardiac genetic counselor at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center in the Division of Cardiology. She leads the cardiology genetic counseling team in providing genetic counseling services to individuals of all ages with and at risk for cardiovascular disease. Erin is focused on improving access to genetics services for families with inherited cardiovascular diseases. Associate Professor Jodie Ingles (she/her)  is Head of the Clinical Genomics Laboratory and Program Director of Genomics and Inherited Disease Program at Garvan Institute of Medical Research. She is a cardiac genetic counsellor in the Department of Cardiology, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital Sydney. Her team is focused on using genomics to improve diagnosis and care of families with inherited cardiovascular diseases. In this segment we discuss: - The motivation behind creating an official practice resource focused on genetic testing and counseling for HCM - Deep dive into the first major recommendation: offering genetic testing to all individuals with a suspected or confirmed diagnosis of HCM, paired with appropriate genetic counseling - Exploration of the second recommendation: ensuring that genetic tests are selected, ordered, and interpreted within the context of genetic counseling, and the complexities that come with this process - Discussion of the third recommendation: providing cardiac and cascade genetic testing to at-risk relatives, without age limitations, and why this is critical for effective family-based care - A look at the barriers to integrating genetic services into cardiology practices, especially in settings without dedicated genetics expertise   Would you like to nominate a JoGC article to be featured in the show? If so, please fill out this nomination submission form here. Multiple entries are encouraged including articles where you, your colleagues, or your friends are authors. Stay tuned for the next new episode of DNA Dialogues! In the meantime, listen to all our episodes Apple Podcasts, Spotify, streaming on the website, or any other podcast player by searching, “DNA Dialogues”.  For more information about this episode visit dnadialogues.podbean.com, where you can also stream all episodes of the show. Check out the Journal of Genetic Counseling here for articles featured in this episode and others.  Any questions, episode ideas, guest pitches, or comments can be sent into DNADialoguesPodcast@gmail.com.  DNA Dialogues' team includes Jehannine Austin, Naomi Wagner, Khalida Liaquat, Kate Wilson and DNA Today's Kira Dineen. Our logo was designed by Ashlyn Enokian. Our current intern is Sydney Arlen.  

The average British household usually puts on their central heating by October 24, according to British Gas. But this year, thanks to soaring energy costs, and a mild winter it may well be later. Turning down your heating can have real savings. The Energy Saving Trust calculates that turning your thermostat down from 20c to 19c should cut your energy bill by around 10 per cent. But as well as saving money there are possible health benefits. According to a study carried out by the Garvan Institute of Medical Research in Australia spending time in an environment at 19° increases your ‘brown fat'. This is unlike normal fat, because it is packed with mitochondria which act like mini power stations, turning food into energy. What are the health benefits? Should we go lower than 19°? Should anyone not turn down the temperature? In under 3 minutes, we answer your questions! To listen to the latest episodes, click here: Can you get rid of cellulite? Do you know about home design maximalism? What is toxic positivity? A Bababam Originals podcast, written and produced by Amber Minogue. First Broadcast: 15/11/2022 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

ESMO 2024 was the year genitourinary cancer took front and centre stage with many exciting updates, trials, and tribulations. This week, OFTIM brings their greatest champion back to dive deep into the changes that will impact our patients and their families, the NCCN guidelines, and how we practice medicine. Unfortunately, the heavyweight champion boxer was unavailable, but we got the next best thing - Prof Anthony Joshua from St Vincent's Health and The Garvan Institute of Medical Research. This week, he discusses all things genitourinary cancer and gives a knockout performance.Enough boxing analogies - on with the show!Links to studies discussed in this episode (subscription may be required):PATCH+STAMPEDEARANOTESTAMPEDE (metformin Arm)PEACE-3SPLASHNIAGARAAMBASSADORTiNivo-2For more episodes, resources and blog posts, visit www.inquisitiveonc.comPlease find us on Twitter @InquisitiveOnc!If you want us to look at a specific trial or subject, email us at inquisitiveonc@gmail.comOncology for the Inquisitive Mind is recorded with the support of education grants from our foundation partners Pfizer, Gilead Pharmaceuticals and Merck Pharmaceuticals. Our partners have no editorial rights or early previews, and they have access to the episode at the same time you do.Art courtesy of Taryn SilverMusic courtesy of AlisiaBeats: https://pixabay.com/users/alisiabeats-39461785/Disclaimer: This podcast is for educational purposes only. If you are unwell, seek medical advice. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

If genomics gives us an understanding of what risk factors are already in our body, how best should we be using that knowledge? Many people are reluctant to have gene testing which could well save their lives or even their family members; but because they fear that declaring genetic vulnerabilities would affect them financially or leave them prone to discrimination in some form.

To celebrate DNA Day we are releasing our April episode exploring concepts related to the diagnostic odyssey, whole genome sequencing, and results returned.    Segment 1: A Journey of Hope and Resilience   In our first segment, we delve into the research conducted by Celine Lewis, focusing on the emotional impact of receiving a "no primary finding" (NPF) result from genome sequencing. This recent JoGC paper is titled, “The disequilibrium of hope: A grounded theory analysis of parents' experiences of receiving a “no primary finding” result from genome sequencing.”   Celine's study uncovers the multifaceted journey of parents grappling with the absence of a definitive diagnosis for their children. Through grounded theory analysis, two primary themes emerge: "Striving to Solve the Unsolved Puzzle" and "Navigating Hope, Lost then Found." These themes encapsulate the oscillating emotions of hope, disappointment, and resilience experienced by parents amidst the diagnostic odyssey.   Dr. Celine Lewis is a behavioural scientist working in the field of genetic and genomic medicine. She is currently at University College London Institute of Child Health, and is an NIHR Advanced Fellow. Her work focuses on how patients and families relate to, communicate and make decisions around personal genetic information, and the subsequent behavioural, psychological and social outcomes.    Through her research, Celine has worked with a range of key stakeholders including researchers in the UK and abroad, healthcare professionals and policy makers as well as voluntary organisations, patients and families. She is regularly invited to present at UK and international conferences and meetings and is increasingly asked to present her research findings to organisations such as NHS England and the Department of Health.   Key Insights from Segment 1: - The importance of understanding the emotional dimensions of genetic testing, especially for families receiving inconclusive results. - The dynamic role of hope as both a motivator and a coping mechanism throughout the diagnostic journey. - Suggestions for pre and post-test counseling strategies to support families navigating genomic testing, emphasizing the significance of managing expectations and fostering adaptive hope.   Segment 2: Systematic Review of Secondary Findings   In our second segment, we explore a systematic review conducted by Lucas Mitchell and Dr. Amanda Willis, focusing on the uptake and outcomes of returning secondary findings to research participants. This recent JoGC article is titled, “Systematic review of the uptake and outcomes from returning secondary findings to adult participants in research genomic testing.”   Through rigorous analysis of existing literature, Lucas and Amanda illuminate key insights into the prevalence of secondary findings and their psychological, medical, and ethical implications. Their review underscores the critical role of researchers in navigating the complexities of result return, highlighting considerations for enhancing participant engagement and support.   Lucas Mitchell is a research genetic counsellor at the Garvan Institute of Medical Research in Sydney, Australia. He contributes to the My Research Results genetic counselling platform, an evidence-based service that supports researchers in delivering actionable research genomic findings to participants nationwide. With a Master of Genetic Counselling from the University of Technology Sydney, Lucas is passionate about helping participants and their families in understanding their research findings and facilitating access to ongoing support. Lucas's current research interests lie within the application of genomics and returning secondary findings, and the intersection of genetic healthcare with diverse communities and improving inclusion and accessibility.   Dr. Amanda Willis is a research genetic counsellor at the Garvan Institute of Medical Research. After completing a Master of Genetic Counselling in 2013, Amanda worked as a cancer genetic counsellor in Australia and the UK and completed a PhD in 2018. Amanda's current work is centred around the My Research Results program, developed to help research participants access their genetic information. Amanda provides genetic counselling to research participants who receive a genetic result and conducts research to understand the experiences of these participants. Through this work, she aims to increase access to genomic information and improve outcomes for research participants and their families.   Key Insights from Segment 2: - The significance of secondary findings in research genomic testing and the need for comprehensive strategies to address participant needs. - Key findings regarding the uptake of secondary findings and diverse outcomes experienced by research participants. - Implications for researchers, healthcare providers, and policymakers in optimizing result return processes and promoting participant well-being.   As we conclude our exploration, it becomes evident that genetic testing transcends the realm of science, delving deep into the intricacies of human emotions and resilience. Through the insightful research of our guests, we gain valuable insights into the lived experiences of individuals navigating genetic testing, offering a glimpse into the profound impact of hope, disappointment, and adaptive coping mechanisms.    Stay tuned for the next new episode of DNA Dialogues! In the meantime, listen to all our episodes Apple Podcasts, Spotify, streaming on the website, or any other podcast player by searching, “DNA Dialogues”.    For more information about this episode visit dnadialogues.podbean.com, where you can also stream all episodes of the show. Check out the Journal of Genetic Counseling here for articles featured in this episode and others.    Nominate your articles, or a colleagues, here and we may feature it on the show! Any questions, episode ideas, guest pitches, or comments can be sent into DNADialoguesPodcast@gmail.com.    DNA Dialogues' team includes Jehannine Austin, Naomi Wagner, Khalida Liaquat, Kate Wilson and DNA Today's Kira Dineen. Our logo was designed by Ashlyn Enokian. 

In this episode, We speak with Professors Antony Basten and Daniel Christ, as well as Dr David Langley at the Garvan Institute in Sydney, Australia. Where they guide us through the research being done on the alpha-gal molecule and why the Garvan Institute is so interested in understanding it. We talk about everything from how an understanding of alpha-gal could help us better prevent diseases such as malaria, to how tick-induced sensitisation to alpha-gal is associated with increased risk of coronary artery disease.

This episode we're joined by Sydney-based Dr Christine Chaffer and Dr Rachel Dear who share with us a fascinating story in local Australian drug development. Learn about how this collaboration between our very own Garvan Institute and St Vincent's Hospital effectively combined scientific research and clinical study to investigate an exciting new treatment option for breast cancer patients. #AUS #drugdevelopment #clinicaltranslation

The Cochrane Breast Cancer Group have published reviews on more than 80 topics, and these were added to in September 2023 with a review of platinum-based chemotherapy for women with early stage triple negative breast cancer. In this podcast, Rachel Dear, co-author and breast cancer oncologist based in Sydney, talks with lead author, Sofia Mason from the Garvan Institute of Medical Research in Darlinghurst Australia about the findings.

The Cochrane Breast Cancer Group have published reviews on more than 80 topics, and these were added to in September 2023 with a review of platinum-based chemotherapy for women with early stage triple negative breast cancer. In this podcast, Rachel Dear, co-author and breast cancer oncologist based in Sydney, talks with lead author, Sofia Mason from the Garvan Institute of Medical Research in Darlinghurst Australia about the findings.

This TOGA Podcast discusses the data surrounding air pollution and lung cancer. The discussion delves into Nature and nurture and lung cancer risk and implications for future screening. Associate Professor Tom John, Medical Oncologist from Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, is joined by Professor Charles Swanton, The Group Leader at the Cancer Therapeutics Laboratory at the London Research Institute and Medical Oncologist from University College in London, Associate Professor Venessa Chin, a Medical Oncologist from St Vincent's Private Hospital, Kinghorn Cancer Centre and Garvan Institute and Dr Tracy Leong, Respiratory Physician from Austin Health, Melbourne and President of the Victorian Branch, and Director of Lung Cancer, for TSANZ.

Back in June, MTPConnect joined the Australian delegation at BIO in Boston and organised several activities to showcase Australia's fast-growing life sciences sector to the international biotech industry.With a powerful #TeamAustralia focus and a 430-strong delegation from Australia, BIO2023 was literally the biggest and best to date with over 20,000 attendees from 73 countries.In part one of this BIO episode, host Caroline Duell heads to the Australian Pavilion at the Boston Convention Centre to catch up with Australian companies, entrepreneurs and researchers looking to do business at BIO and drive collaborations, partnerships and investments. You will hear from Australia's Chief Scientist Dr Cathy Foley AO PSM, Deputy Premier of Queensland Hon Dr Steven Miles MP, Dimerix CEO Dr Nina Webster, Garvan Institute's Dr Deborah Burnet, CSIRO's Dr Erica Kneipp, St Vincent's Hospital's Dr Megan Robertson, Rhythm Biosciences' Elena Deak, University of SA's Professor Marnie Hughes-Warrington AO, Phage Australia's Dr Ruby Lin, Vaxxas' David L. Hoey, Uniquest's Dr Tamsin Terry, Uniquest's Queensland Emory Drug Discovery Initiative Laura Kearney, Bentleys R&D's Mike Burfield and Clinials' Maree Beare.

A new research paper was published on the cover of Aging (Aging-US) Volume 15, Issue 12, entitled, “Age prediction from human blood plasma using proteomic and small RNA data: a comparative analysis.” Aging clocks, built from comprehensive molecular data, have emerged as promising tools in medicine, forensics, and ecological research. However, few studies have compared the suitability of different molecular data types to predict age in the same cohort and whether combining them would improve predictions. In this new study, researchers Jérôme Salignon, Omid R. Faridani, Tasso Miliotis, Georges E. Janssens, Ping Chen, Bader Zarrouki, Rickard Sandberg, Pia Davidsson, and Christian G. Riedel from Karolinska Institutet, University of New South Wales, Garvan Institute of Medical Research, and AstraZeneca explored this at the level of proteins and small RNAs in 103 human blood plasma samples. “Here we expand the limited portfolio of comparisons between aging clocks built from different types of molecular data from the same cohort.” First, the researchers used a two-step mass spectrometry approach measuring 612 proteins to select and quantify 21 proteins that changed in abundance with age. Notably, proteins increasing with age were enriched for components of the complement system. Next, they used small RNA sequencing to select and quantify a set of 315 small RNAs that changed in abundance with age. Most of these were microRNAs (miRNAs), downregulated with age, and predicted to target genes related to growth, cancer, and senescence. Finally, the team used the collected data to build age-predictive models. Among the different types of molecules, proteins yielded the most accurate model (R² = 0.59 ± 0.02), followed by miRNAs as the best-performing class of small RNAs (R² = 0.54 ± 0.02). Interestingly, the use of protein and miRNA data together improved predictions (R2 = 0.70 ± 0.01). Future work using larger sample sizes and a validation dataset will be necessary to confirm these results. “Nevertheless, our study suggests that combining proteomic and miRNA data yields superior age predictions, possibly by capturing a broader range of age-related physiological changes. It will be interesting to determine if combining different molecular data types works as a general strategy to improve future aging clocks.” DOI - https://doi.org/10.18632/aging.204787 Corresponding author - Christian G. Riedel - christian.riedel@ki.se Sign up for free Altmetric alerts about this article - https://aging.altmetric.com/details/email_updates?id=10.18632%2Faging.204787 Subscribe for free publication alerts from Aging - https://www.aging-us.com/subscribe-to-toc-alerts Keywords - aging, human blood plasma, small RNAs, proteomics, age prediction About Aging-US Launched in 2009, Aging-US publishes papers of general interest and biological significance in all fields of aging research and age-related diseases, including cancer—and now, with a special focus on COVID-19 vulnerability as an age-dependent syndrome. Topics in Aging-US go beyond traditional gerontology, including, but not limited to, cellular and molecular biology, human age-related diseases, pathology in model organisms, signal transduction pathways (e.g., p53, sirtuins, and PI-3K/AKT/mTOR, among others), and approaches to modulating these signaling pathways. Please visit our website at https://www.Aging-US.com​​ and connect with us: SoundCloud - https://soundcloud.com/Aging-Us Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/AgingUS/ Twitter - https://twitter.com/AgingJrnl Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/agingjrnl/ YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@AgingJournal LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/aging/ Pinterest - https://www.pinterest.com/AgingUS/ Media Contact 18009220957 MEDIA@IMPACTJOURNALS.COM

The Energy Saving Trust calculates that turning your thermostat down from 20c to 19c should cut your energy bill by around 10 per cent. But as well as saving money there are possible health benefits. According to a study carried out by the Garvan Institute of Medical Research in Australia spending time in an environment at 19° increases your ‘brown fat'. This is unlike normal fat, because it is packed with mitochondria which act like mini power stations, turning food into energy. What are the health benefits? Should we go lower than 19°? Should anyone not turn down the temperature? In under 3 minutes, we answer your questions! Date of first release : November 15th, 2022 To listen to the latest episodes, click here: What is retinol, the miracle anti ageing skincare treatment? How does the "Scully Effect" raise young women's interest in science fields? What is the best time of day to take a shower? A Bababam Originals podcast, written and produced by Amber Minogue. In partnership with upday UK. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For science to advance in big leaps, you need people who not only have a mind for the detail, but also the big picture, and the passion to make big things happen. We talk with a researcher who has big goals to bring equity and diversity into genomic medicine in Australia, something surprisingly inadequate presently. Professor Daniel MacArthur is Director of the Centre for Population Genomics, a joint initiative between the Garvan Institute of Medical Research, and the Murdoch Children's Research Institute (MCRI).   Centre for Population Genomics: populationgenomics.org.au Hosted by Mara-Jean Tilley, Director of the Garvan Research FoundationProduced by Carolyn Barry and SUMM Media.   About Garvan Institute of Medical Research Garvan Institute of Medical Research brings together world-leading researchers and clinicians, collaborating locally and globally, to improve human health. Our mission is to harness the information encoded in our genome to better diagnose, treat, predict and prevent disease.  Our researchers are pioneering discoveries across diseases that have the deepest impact on the community, from the individual patient with rare disease, to the many thousands affected by complex, widespread illnesses.    We value our strong partnerships, most notably as a member of the St Vincent's Health Innovation Precinct, and as a close collaborator with UNSW Sydney.Support Garvan research: https://www.garvan.org.au/support-us/give-nowSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Did you know that a human genome contains three billion bases and extracting a single sample will get you one terabyte of data? Join us in conversation with Dr. Hasindu Gamaarachchi, a Genomics Computing Research Scientist from the Garvan Institute of Medical Research, to learn how it is possible to analyse this massive amount of data with the help of high-performance computing.Find out more:Dr. Hasindu GamaarachchiWebsite: https://www.garvan.org.au/about-us/people/hasgamTwitter: https://twitter.com/hasindu2008Oxford Nanopore Technology's (ONT): https://nanoporetech.com/Learn more about NCI:Website: https://nci.org.au/Twitter: https://twitter.com/NCInewsLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/national-computational-infrastructure/Thanks to James Beattie (ANU) for the astrophysics visualisation used in the artwork, and to Andy Maher for the show production (andymaher.com).

The average British household usually puts on their central heating by October 24, according to British Gas. But this year, thanks to soaring energy costs, and a mild winter it may well be later. Turning down your heating can have real savings. The Energy Saving Trust calculates that turning your thermostat down from 20c to 19c should cut your energy bill by around 10 per cent. But as well as saving money there are possible health benefits. According to a study carried out by the Garvan Institute of Medical Research in Australia spending time in an environment at 19° increases your ‘brown fat'. This is unlike normal fat, because it is packed with mitochondria which act like mini power stations, turning food into energy. What are the health benefits? Should we go lower than 19°? Should anyone not turn down the temperature? In under 3 minutes, we answer your questions! To listen to the latest episodes, click here: Can you get rid of cellulite? Do you know about home design maximalism? What is toxic positivity? A Bababam Originals podcast, written and produced by Amber Minogue. In partnership with upday UK. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How do you establish what your life purpose is?What is your mission? Do you know the reasons why you are here? How can you start on a path to find out?Dr. Jackie Lau is a Strategic Interventionist, Neuroscientist, Spirituality / Relationship Coach, Author, Speaker, Breakthrough Specialist and an award-winning international life coach, who is fascinated with human behaviors and the mechanisms underlying our mental and emotional states. With a deep appreciation for the integrative approach of modern psychology, neuroscience and spirituality, Jackie is a top life coach in Australia and has co-created with people all over the world to radically transform into more self-awareness, sense of purpose and inner freedom.Jackie is trained as a strategic interventionist and breakthrough specialist, which combines effective techniques evolved from neurolinguistic, psychological, and therapeutic inter-disciplines. As a curious researcher, Jackie completed her Ph.D. in neuroscience at the Garvan Institute of Medical Research, Sydney Australia, studying the neural circuits governing motivation and reward. She is currently researching on neurodegenerative diseases in Hong Kong, investigating the molecular basis relating neuroplasticity to cognition. She specializes in dementia research, particularly Alzheimer's disease (AD) – specific interests in developing and promoting novel effective diagnostic tools and therapeutic interventions for detecting AD risk at an early stage and impeding disease progression, including preventive lifestyle intervention, and eventually to discover treatments for curing AD and other neurodegenerative diseases.Leveraging her diverse cultural background, Jackie is profoundly devoted to studying Eastern and Western philosophy and literatures, learning transformative wisdom from influential spiritual teachers. She loves the art of music and dance. Jackie is trained as a classical violinist from a young age, later on discovered her passion in classical guitar, and has also been a dedicated hip-hop dancer and instructor since her college years. On this episode, Dr. Jackie details her journey combining science, universal and spiritual laws to find her purpose and live her mission.Listen as Dr Jackie shares:- how to empower the human family- how to be aligned with your authentic, virtuous Self- ways in which you can live passionately and creatively- tips and strategies to be fully present- daily habits to delay the onset of dementia and Alzheimer's disease- how to find a life of fulfillment- how to connect with others on a deeper level- how to establish what your life purpose is- ongoing practices that you can apply in your life on a daily basis...and so much more!Connect with Dr Jackie Lau:Website: https://drjackielaucoaching.comFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/drjackielaucoaching/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-jackie-lau/?trk=public_profile_browsemap&originalSubdomain=auListen to Speaking and Communications Podcast:Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/5zoskSLzAVV0dRjGFcz83NApple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-to-find-your-life-purpose-and-live-your-mission-w/id1614151066?i=1000570990680Feel free to reach out on:Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/roberta.ndlelaInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/coachandspeakerEmail: roberta4sk@gmail.com

For Sarcoma awareness month we have focussed on hope for the future. The hope that comes from high level research, in order to unlock the questions that have eluded our brilliant scientific minds for over four decades. To finish Sarcoma Awareness Month on a high note, we hear from many of those leading the way in sarcoma research in Australia. Professors David Wood, University of WA, David Thomas, the Garvan Institute, and Glenn Marshall ,Sydney Children's Hospital Randwick, kick the series off this year followed in episode two by insights from Dr Richard Boyle,Head of the NSW Bone Tumour Team, Dr Joost Lesterhuis, Telethon Kids Institute and A/Prof Geoff McCowage from the Westmead children's hospital. Our GDPR privacy policy was updated on August 8, 2022. Visit acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week's guest, Daniel MacArthur, is the Director of the Centre for Population Genomics at the Garvan Institute of Medical Research and Murdoch Children's Research Institute. Daniel and Patrick discuss the impact of large-scale genetic datasets on patient diagnosis and treating genetic subtypes of disease, the power of big data and consortiums to enable pioneering discoveries, and give advice for early career researchers thinking about the dichotomy between industry and academia.

This week's guest, Daniel MacArthur, is the Director of the Centre for Population Genomics at the Garvan Institute of Medical Research and Murdoch Children's Research Institute. Daniel and Patrick discuss the impact of large-scale genetic datasets on patient diagnosis and treating genetic subtypes of disease, the power of big data and consortiums to enable pioneering discoveries, and give advice for early career researchers thinking about the dichotomy between industry and academia.

There could soon be a new treatment option for women diagnosed with an aggressive and difficult-to-treat form of breast cancer.Scientists at the Garvan Institute are beginning clinical trials with an experimental drug that's designed to make triple-negative breast cancer more responsive to chemotherapy. - आक्रामक र उपचार गर्न गाह्रो हुने किसिमको स्तन क्यान्सरको निदान गरिएका महिलाहरूका लागि एक नयाँ उपचार विकल्प आउन सक्ने देखिएको छ।

There could soon be a new treatment option for women diagnosed with an aggressive and difficult to treat form of breast cancer. Scientists at the Garvan Institute are beginning clinical trials with an experimental drug that's designed to make triple negative breast cancer more responsive to chemotherapy. - Новый вид терапии вскоре может стать доступным для женщин с агрессивной и трудно поддающейся лечению формой рака молочной железы. Ученые из Института Гарван начинают клинические испытания экспериментального препарата, который призван помочь сделать тройной негативный рак молочной железы более поддающимся химиотерапии.

Welcome to episode 2 of the “Neuroscience series” on the Love at First Science Podcast where Dr. Sarah Mc Kay shares her extensive research on the female's brain resulted in the publication of her book Demystifying the female brain. Together we talk about gender stereotypes, the real role of hormones in emotions, how much we are affected by biology and how much by culture and much more. Topics covered: Dr. Sarah Mc Kay's story and how she got where she is How she decided to write the book Demystifying the female brain The gender gap in neurology Is there any difference between the female and male's brain? Biology vs. culture Expectation, stories, lived experience Does the PMS really exist? The roles of the hormones in emotions Contraception and brain Social variables that can impact on our health Reorganization of the brain during pregnancy Practical tips to make an impact on daily life Learn More About Dr. Sarah Mc Kay! I'm an Australian-based (Kiwi born and bred) neuroscientist, speaker, author, media personality and founder of Think Brain and the Neuroscience Academy suite of training programs. I'm a mum to two boys, sailor (co-captaincy shared with husband), botanical artist and ocean swimmer. I explain the brain to helping professionals so they can coach brain-owners in a way that promotes real change and inspires positive action. Brain science and I first met and fell in love way back in 1993 after I read Oliver Sack's book ‘The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat'. It impacted me profoundly and from that moment I knew little else would fascinate me more than the human brain. After completing an honours degree in Neuroscience at Otago University in New Zealand, I won a Wellcome Trust scholarship to complete my MSc and PhD at Oxford University (where, thrillingly, I followed in Oliver Sacks' footsteps). I spent my time at Oxford studying the fine art of electrophysiology and answering questions about brain development — what guided synapse growth: nature, nurture or neuroplasticity?' In 2002, my Irish husband and I headed to Sydney, Australia in search of sunshine, surf and a sailboat (for a year, ahem). I'm delighted to say we found them all (and stayed)! Following a short stint rewriting breast cancer clinical practice guidelines at a cancer council, I spent the next five years researching and teaching neuroscience. During my first postdoc position at NeuRA, I focused on the immune system response to spinal cord injury. At my second postdoc post at Garvan Institute of Medical Research, I looked at neuroplasticity and the development of deafness. Passionate as I was about research, I found myself getting frustrated with failed experiments, the grant application merry-go-round, and the unbearable slowness of the academic publication process. Meanwhile, I found my happy place sharing science with public tour groups, teaching medical students, and writing for online science Q&A forums (back in the good old days before social media!). So after much soul-searching, I put down the pipette, hung up my lab coat, and followed my passion of writing and talking about science and medicine. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Check out & learn more with Dr. Sarah Mc Kay: Sarah Mc Kay Instagram Sarah Mc Kay Instagram My Socials: Celest's Instagram Celest's Website

In this episode, Associate Professor Sarah Kummerfeld, Head of Data Science for the Garvan Institute of Medical Research, joins Jay and Theo to discuss the vital role cloud computing plays in genomic sequencing. Genomic sequencing has been contributing to medical research to improve the understanding and diagnosis of rare diseases for many years. However, sequencing a single genome produces approximately 100GB of data in its raw format, which then needs to be converted into a format that can be analyzed and shared with researchers. This process can take as much as 600 CPU hours per genome. The Garvan Institute knew that processing vast amounts of genomes was far beyond the capabilities of on-prem infrastructure. And during the COVID-19 pandemic, genomic sequencing took on even more importance. Sarah's team realized that moving to the public cloud was the only way, embarking on a pilot program to process 14,000 genomes. Listen in as Sarah reveals how the team at Garvan Institute reduced the time it took to sequence the virus from a PCR test from two days to about four hours – dramatically speeding up contact tracing and reducing the spread of COVID-19 in the community. She talks through how the team uses a system called Terra, and how it became easier to manage the privacy and security of genomic data in Google Cloud, and the vast capacity required for this data in the region. In fact, Sarah's team discovered that with Google Cloud, there was enough capacity available within Australia to run a pilot program three times as big. As biology increasingly becomes a data science, generating enormous pools of data, Sarah shares how the Garvan Institute is embracing the huge opportunity machine learning presents to help build and improve the vital genomic infrastructure for Australia.

A DNA test has been developed to screen patients for a range of neurological and neuromuscular genetic diseases quicker and more accurately than existing tests. The technology is able to identify over 50 hard-to-diagnose diseases, including Huntington's disease, muscular dystrophies and fragile X syndrome. It's hoped the test will end the 'diagnostic odyssey' for patients, which can sometimes take decades.

Dr. Tri Phan is a Senior Research Fellow at the Garvan Institute of Medical Research and a Conjoint Professor at the University of New South Wales. He runs the Intravital Microscopy Lab, which aims to understand the checks and balances that control B cell responses. His team uses two-photon microscopy to image cells in live animals, including time-lapses of over 24 hours. He talks about the physics behind this type of microscopy and how it can image deep within tissues without destroying them. We also discuss his lab's recent Cell paper on osteomorphs, a newly discovered cell type involved in osteoclast recycling in bone, and their work on memory B cells in lymph nodes.

In our sixth episode, RCPA President Dr Michael Dray speaks with Prof Sandra O'Toole. Prof O'Toole works as a senior staff specialist at the Tissue Pathology and Diagnostic Oncology at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital and is also a researcher at the Garvan Institute of Medical Research.  This episode delves into the life of a pathologist researcher and the evolution of breast cancer research. This podcast describes triple-negative breast cancers, and a newly developed nano-slide technology that could revolutionise the pathology laboratory.Copyright © 2021 The Royal College of Pathologists of Australasia. All rights reserved.

S.2 Ep.9 - Identifying Overtraining SyndromeHealth and Fitness NEWS: A receptor that helps conserve energy when food is scarce may be the key to a safer approach to treating diet-induced obesity, research led by the Garvan Institute of Medical Research has revealed....and...a short breathing exercise which is effective at reducing blood pressure.For the main topic, we cover the effects, symptoms and how to prevent overtraining. Don't forget -  The Curse of the Widowmaker challenge, see the post on the FB group for details. We want to see your videos!We hope you enjoyed the podcast. Watch for the next episode soon, please SHARE and subscribe when you can and please leave us a rating or review. Click the links highlighted to find out more about Lee and Phil. Please join the Mature Muscle Podcast  Facebook Group

Our second guest from the Garvan Institute of Medical Research in Sydney, is DrOzren Bogdanovic. We are so privileged to talk today to Ozren about his work in developmental epigenetics which covers how DNA methylation participates in diverse developmental processes, and how deposition and removal of the methylation mark impacts upon embryonic and germline integrity. We discuss his recent publication on non-CG methylation at satellite DNA repeats - something a little different this week! Widespread non-CG methylation occurs in mammalian embryonic stem cells and in the brain. In mammals, it is found at CAC trinucleotides in the nervous system, and is associated with transcriptional repression. It is found at CAG trinucleotides in embryonic stem cells, and CAC methylation is a known conserved feature of adult vertebrate brains. However, in his recent work, Ozren describes how, as opposed to any of these established methylation signatures, a novel form of non-CG methylation occurs in the TGCT context within zebrafish mosaic satellite repeats. TGCT methylation is inherited from both male and female gametes, and is critical for development. Ozren also discusses enzymes responsible for this observed novel methylation mark. We hope you enjoy listening as much as we enjoyed talking to Ozren. Ozren's recent publication we discuss can be found here. If you want to find out more, contact Ozren on Twitter or via email.

Another one bites the dust on Celebrity Apprentice Australia - David Genat was unfortunately fired Sunday Night by Lord Sugar after working incredibly hard to stay in the game to raise as much money as possible for his chosen charity - The Garvan Institute.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ep. 37 The Hon. Annabelle Bennett AC, SC, FAAAnnabelle is a retired Judge of the Federal Court of Australia. She is currently Chancellor of Bond University; the Chair of the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO), an Arbitrator of the Court of Arbitration for Sport; President (part time) of the Anti-Discrimination Board of NSW; Member of the Board of Directors of the Garvan Institute of Medical Research; Member and past President of Chief Executive Women; Chair of the Advisory Group of Judges to the World Intellectual Property Organisation; and Member of the Advisory Board of the Faculty of Law at The Chinese University of Hong Kong. She has also served as a Commissioner with the NSW Law Reform Commission and as a Royal Commissioner into National Natural Disaster Arrangements.  Dr Bennett is a Fellow of both the Australian Academy of Science and Australian Academy of Law.Her father was a lawyer, and at an early age she had hopes of following him into the legal profession. Her father, however, thought that law was a bad career choice for women and discouraged her from pursuing this ambition. Instead, she studied science at the University of Sydney and completed a Ph.D. in Biochemistry. But she still wanted to study law. So she did. And became a barrister. Then a Senior Counsel. Then a Judge of the Federal Court of Australia.She just wants to keep learning. And don't think Imposter Syndrome doesn't affect someone like Annabelle. It absolutely does but it's how she deals with it that is important. There's a lot of very valuable lessons here.It's a really interesting and fun chat with a really interesting and fun woman. #Reallyinterestingwomen # RIW #annabellebennett #FederalCourtJudge #Impostersyndrome #confidence #keeplearning #ANSTO #CEW #Chiefexecutivewomen #FAA #richardinstagraham

Father of three, Daniel Petre, talks about his book ‘Father Time', an Australian classic. About being a dad and about being mindful as parents, on how to attain balance in a working life, especially as someone who had great success in the corporate world as well philanthropy. Daniel Petre, a philanthropic internet entrepreneur, has been at the forefront of the technology industry in Australia for over 30 years. He is a successful technology executive, and has extensive experience in running large organisations and developing new business models. Daniel was the former lieutenant to Microsoft billionaire Bill Gates, where he spent nine years working at Microsoft, including three as Managing Director for Australia. He is also the co-founder of AirTree Ventures, an early and growth stage venture firm that partners with world-class Australian and Kiwi entrepreneurs. Daniel's contribution to the not-for-profit sector is also extensive, with positions held on the Area Health Advisory Council for The Children's Hospital at Westmead, the Advisory Board of HealthInsite and The UNSW Foundation, among many others. He and his wife set up the Petre Foundation in 2000, which has funded research chairs both at The Children's Hospital at Westmead and the Garvan Institute, as well as a scholarship for University Medallists at UNSW. Daniel has a Doctorate in Business (Honoris Causa), a Bachelor of Science and a Master of Business Administration. He holds a Graduate Diploma in Counselling, is a published author, and was made an Officer in the Order of Australia (AO) in 2005, for distinguished service to Australia. We really hope you enjoy the conversation today.

We've reached episode 20!!! In celebration of our twentieth episode, we are speaking today to Dr Cátia Moutinho about single cell sequencing and spatial omics - two up and coming techniques that everyone seems to be talking about at the moment. Cátia is Group Leader of the Single Cell Technology Development in the Garvan Institute in Sydney, Australia. The aim of Cátia's lab is to perform and optimise single-cell-related experiments, to develop the latest methods and approaches in molecular cellular genomics. We talk today about the importance of the development of these techniques, how her lab works, and why these techniques are so 'in demand' at the moment. Contact Cátia here Cátia's Twitter Cátia's LinkedIn https://www.catiamoutinho.com/ Listen to Ellie's 3-Minute-Thesis here Listen to Liv's 3-Minute-Thesis here

Study strengthens links between red meat and heart disease Queen Mary University (UK), 15 April 2021 An observational study in nearly 20,000 individuals has found that greater intake of red and processed meat is associated with worse heart function. The research is presented at ESC Preventive Cardiology 2021, an online scientific congress of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC).1 "Previous studies have shown links between greater red meat consumption and increased risk of heart attacks or dying from heart disease," said study author Dr. Zahra Raisi-Estabragh of Queen Mary University of London, UK.2,3 "For the first time, we examined the relationships between meat consumption and imaging measures of heart health. This may help us to understand the mechanisms underlying the previously observed connections with cardiovascular disease." The study included 19,408 participants of the UK Biobank.4 The researchers examined associations of self-reported intake of red and processed meat with heart anatomy and function. Three types of heart measures were analysed. First, cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) assessments of heart function used in clinical practice such as volume of the ventricles and measures of the pumping function of the ventricles. Second, novel CMR radiomics used in research to extract detailed information from heart images such as shape and texture (which indicates health of the heart muscle). Third, elasticity of the blood vessels (stretchy arteries are healthier). The analysis was adjusted for other factors that might influence the relationship including age, sex, deprivation, education, smoking, alcohol, exercise, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, and body mass index (BMI) as a measure of obesity. The researchers found that greater intake of red and processed meat was associated with worse imaging measures of heart health, across all measures studied. Specifically, individuals with higher meat intake had smaller ventricles, poorer heart function, and stiffer arteries - all markers of worse cardiovascular health. As a comparison, the researchers also tested the relationships between heart imaging measures and intake of oily fish, which has previously been linked with better heart health. They found that as the amount of oily fish consumption rose, heart function improved, and arteries were stretchier. Dr. Raisi-Estabragh said: "The findings support prior observations linking red and processed meat consumption with heart disease and provide unique insights into links with heart and vascular structure and function." The associations between imaging measures of heart health and meat intake were only partially explained by high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, and obesity. "It has been suggested that these factors could be the reason for the observed relationship between meat and heart disease," said Dr. Raisi-Estabragh. "For example, it is possible that greater red meat intake leads to raised blood cholesterol and this in turn causes heart disease. Our study suggests that these four factors do play a role in the links between meat intake and heart health, but they are not the full story." She noted that the study did not look into alternative mechanisms. But she said: "There is some evidence that red meat alters the gut microbiome, leading to higher levels of certain metabolites in the blood, which have in turn been linked to greater risk of heart disease." Dr. Raisi-Estabragh said: "This was an observational study and causation cannot be assumed. But in general, it seems sensible to limit intake of red and processed meat for heart health reasons."     More Fruits and Veggies Improves Sleep for Young Adults University of Michigan, April 15, 2021 Eating more fruits and vegetables can help young adults, especially young women, sleep better, a new study shows Young adults who reported eating less than five servings of fruits and vegetables per day reported a high prevalence of chronic insomnia symptoms, with over one-third reporting difficulties with falling asleep or maintaining sleep at least three times per week for three months or longer. Women who increased their fruit and vegetable intake by three or more servings over a three-month period were more than twice as likely to experience an improvement in these insomnia symptoms, according to the study in the Sleep Health Journal. “We were very excited to see that a fairly simple dietary intervention, such as encouraging an increase in fruit and vegetable consumption, could make such an impact on sleep,” says lead author Erica Jansen, research assistant professor of nutritional sciences at the University of Michigan’s School of Public Health. “We know from other literature that improving sleep improves overall quality of life and many other health outcomes, so the benefits likely extend beyond the sleep changes.” Jansen and senior author Gwen Alexander, a researcher in the public health sciences department at Henry Ford Health System, and colleagues analyzed data of more than 1,400 participants compiled by Detroit-based Henry Ford and the more rural Geisinger Health System headquartered in Danville, Pennsylvania. “From my health educator perspective, our study shows a link between dietary choices and improved sleep for young people who wish to improve their overall health and well-being,” Alexander says. “Our study was unique in that it investigated an understudied population of generally healthy young adults. Future research designed for this population has great potential to lead to better health habits.” Eligible young adults included those ages 21-30, who received any medical care at the centers and who reported eating less than five servings of fruits and vegetables per day. Researchers randomized the participants into one of three groups: one had an untailored web-based program to encourage higher fruits and vegetables consumption; the second had an age-targeted tailored web-based program; and the third group also included personalized e-coaching support. Young adults who increased their fruit and vegetable consumption by at least three servings experienced modest improvements in sleep latency (time to fall asleep) and insomnia over a three-month period, compared to participants with no change or smaller increases in fruits and vegetable intake, although there were no differences in sleep duration. Women who increased their fruit and vegetable intake by three or more servings reported a four-minute shorter time, on average, to fall asleep at follow-up, and twofold higher odds of improvement in insomnia symptoms. “What is unique about our study is that we were able to see that as fruit and vegetable intake changed, insomnia-related sleep characteristics also changed,” Jansen says. “We still cannot rule out that sleep characteristics changed first, which in turn caused a change in fruit and vegetable intake, but since the participants were part of a trial to increase fruit and vegetable intake, it is more likely the other way around. The participants were not told to change anything about their sleep habits.” The researchers hope the findings will be incorporated into other sleep hygiene principles, which include things like maintaining a consistent bedtime and rise time, eliminating screens prior to going to bed, sleeping in a dark, cool environment, and not drinking caffeine or alcohol before bed. Additional coauthors are from the University of South Carolina School of Medicine and the Henry Ford Health System.     Multivits, omega-3, probiotics, vitamin D may lessen risk of positive COVID-19 test British Medical Journal, April 20, 2021 Taking multivitamins, omega-3, probiotics or vitamin D supplements may lessen the risk of testing positive for SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for COVID-19 infection—at least among women—indicates a large population study, published online in the journal BMJ Nutrition Prevention & Health. But taking any of vitamin C, zinc, or garlic supplements wasn't associated with a lower risk of testing positive for the virus, the findings show. There has been plenty of celebrity endorsement of the use of dietary supplements to both ward off and treat COVID-19 infection since the start of the pandemic, note the researchers. In the UK alone, market share rose by 19.5% in the period leading up to the first national 'lockdown' on March 23 last year, with sales of vitamin C rising by 110% and those of multivits by 93%. Similarly, zinc supplement sales rose by 415% in the first week of March, at the height of COVID-19 fears in the U.S.. Dietary supplements can help to support a healthy immune system, but whether specific supplements might be associated with a lower risk of catching SARS-CoV-2 isn't known. In a bid to plug this knowledge gap, the researchers drew on adult users of the COVID-19 Symptom Study app to see if regular supplement users were less likely to test positive for SARS-CoV-2. The app was launched in the UK, the US, and Sweden in March 2020 to capture self-reported information on the evolution of the pandemic. Initially, it recorded the location, age and core health risk factors of its users. But as time went on, subscribers were asked to provide daily updates on a range of issues, including symptoms, coronavirus test results, and healthcare. People without obvious symptoms were also encouraged to use it. For the purposes of this study, the researchers analysed information supplied by 372,720 UK subscribers to the app about their regular use of dietary supplements throughout May, June, and July 2020 during the first wave of the pandemic as well as any coronavirus swab test results. Between May and July,175,652 UK subscribers regularly took dietary supplements;197,068 didn't. Around two thirds (67%) were women and over half were overweight (BMI of 27). In all, 23,521 people tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 and 349,199 tested negative between May and July. Taking probiotics, omega-3 fatty acids, multivits or vitamin D was associated with a lower risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection: by 14%, 12%, 13% and 9%, respectively, after accounting for potentially influential factors, including underlying conditions and usual diet. No such effects were observed among those taking vitamin C, zinc, or garlic supplements. And when the researchers looked specifically at sex, age and weight (BMI), the protective associations for probiotics, omega-3 fatty acids, multivits and vitamin D were observed only in women of all ages and weights. No such clear associations were seen in men. Despite some differences, the same overall patterns were mirrored in both the US (45,757) and Swedish (27,373) subscribers. The equivalent figures for the US and Sweden were a reduced risk of:18% and 37%, respectively for probiotics; 21% and 16%, respectively, for omega-3 fatty acids; 12% and 22%, respectively for multivits; and 24% and 19%, respectively, for vitamin D supplements. This is an observational study, and as such, can't establish cause. The researchers also acknowledge several limitations, including that the study relied on self reported data and a self selected group. No information was collected on supplement doses or ingredients either. But although the observed effects were modest, they were significant, note the researchers, who call for large clinical trials to inform evidence-based therapeutic recommendations. "We know that a range of micronutrients, including vitamin D, are essential for a healthy functioning immune system. This, in turn, is key to prevention of, and recovery from, infections. "But to date, there is little convincing evidence that taking nutritional supplements has any therapeutic value beyond maintaining the body's normal immune response," comments Professor Sumantra Ray, Executive Director, NNEdPro Global Centre for Nutrition and Health, which co-owns the journal. "What's more, this study wasn't primarily designed to answer questions about the role of nutritional supplements in COVID-19. This is still an emerging area of research that warrants further rigorous study before firm conclusions can be drawn about whether specific nutritional supplements might lessen the risk of COVID-19 infection," he cautions.   Vitamin D deficiency may impair muscle function Garvan Institute of Medical Research (Australia), April 16, 2021 Vitamin D deficiency may impair muscle function due to a reduction in energy production in the muscles, according to a mouse study published in the Journal of Endocrinology. Vitamin D deficient mice were found to have impaired muscle mitochondrial function, which may have implications for muscle function, performance and recovery. This may suggest that preventing vitamin D deficiency in older adults could help maintain better muscle strength and function and reduce age related muscle deterioration, but further studies are needed to confirm this.  Vitamin D is a hormone well known to be important for maintaining bone health and preventing rickets and osteoporosis. In recent years, vitamin D deficiency has been reported to be as prevalent as 40% in European populations and linked to increased risk for several conditions, including COVID-19, cancer and diabetes. Although these studies report association rather than causation, the benefits of vitamin D supplementation are now a major subject of health debate. Multiple studies have also linked low vitamin D levels to poor muscle strength, particularly in older people. Skeletal muscle enables us to move voluntarily and perform everyday activities. It is essential that they have enough energy to power these movements. Specialised organs in cells, called mitochondria, convert nutrients in to energy to meet this demand. Previous studies indicate that impaired muscle strength in people with vitamin D deficiency may be linked to impaired muscle mitochondrial function. Determining the role of vitamin D in muscle performance of older people is also difficult, as they may suffer from a number of pre-existing health conditions that can also affect their vitamin D status. Therefore, previous studies have been unable to determine how vitamin D may directly affect muscle performance. Dr Andrew Philp and his team at the Garvan Institute of Medical Research in Australia, and collaborating universities, used a mouse model to determine the effects of diet-induced vitamin D deficiency on skeletal muscle mitochondrial function in young, male mice. Mice were either fed a diet with normal quantities of vitamin D, or with no vitamin D to induce deficiency, for a period of 3 months. A typical vitamin D level for humans is 40-50 nmol.L-1, and acute vitamin D deficiency is diagnosed when levels drop below 12 nmol.L-1. On average, the mice in this study had vitamin D levels of 30 nmol.L1, with diet-induced vitamin D deficiency leading to levels of just 3 nmol.L-1. Although this level was more extreme than typically observed in people, it is still within the clinically-recognised range. Tissue and blood samples were collected monthly to quantify vitamin D and calcium concentrations and to assess markers of muscle mitochondrial function and number. After 3 months of diet-induced vitamin D deficiency skeletal muscle mitochondrial function was found to be impaired by up to 37%. This was not due to a reduced number of mitochondria or a reduction in muscle mass. "Our results show there is a clear link between vitamin D deficiency and oxidative capacity in skeletal muscle. They suggest that vitamin D deficiency decreases mitochondrial function, as opposed to reducing the number of mitochondria in skeletal muscle." Dr Philp comments. "We are particularly interested to examine whether this reduction in mitochondrial function may be a cause of age related loss in skeletal muscle mass and function." These findings suggest that vitamin D deficiency may impair mitochondrial function and reduce the amount of energy produced in the muscles, which may lead to poor muscle function. Therefore, preventing vitamin D deficiency in older people may help maintain muscle performance and reduce the risk of muscle related diseases, such as sarcopenia. However, further studies that investigate the direct effect of vitamin D deficiency on muscle function and strength are necessary to confirm this. Whilst this study indicates that vitamin D deficiency can alter mitochondrial function in skeletal muscle, Dr Philp and his team were unable to determine precisely how this process occurred. Therefore, their future work aims to establish how vitamin D deficiency alters mitochondrial control and function in skeletal muscle.     Psychedelic experience may not be required for psilocybin's antidepressant-like benefits So-called 'magic mushroom' drug seems to work through multiple brain mechanisms for its different effects University of Maryland School of Medicine, April 16, 2021 University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) researchers have shown that psilocybin--the active chemical in "magic mushrooms"-- still works its antidepressant-like actions, at least in mice, even when the psychedelic experience is blocked. The new findings suggest that psychedelic drugs work in multiple ways in the brain and it may be possible to deliver the fast-acting antidepressant therapeutic benefit without requiring daylong guided therapy sessions. A version of the drug without, or with less of, the psychedelic effects could loosen restrictions on who could receive the therapy, and lower costs, making the benefits of psilocybin more available to more people in need. In all clinical trials performed to date, the person treated with psilocybin remains under the care of a guide, who keeps the person calm and reassures them during their daylong experience. This can include hallucinations, altered perception of time and space, and intense emotional and spiritual encounters.  Researchers in the field have long attributed psilocybin's effectiveness to the intense psychedelic experience.  "We do not understand the mechanisms that underlie the antidepressant actions of psilocybin and the role that the profound psychedelic experience during these sessions plays in the therapeutic benefits," says Scott Thompson, Ph.D., Professor and Chair, Department of Physiology at UMSOM and senior author of the study. "The psychedelic experience is incredibly powerful and can be life-changing, but that could be too much for some people or not appropriate."  Several barriers prevent the wide-spread use of psychedelic compounds. For example, there is fear that the psychedelic experience may promote psychosis in people who are predisposed to severe mental disorders, like bipolar disorder and schizophrenia, so the clinical therapy sessions performed to-date have been limited to a highly selected screened group without a family history of these disorders.  Dr. Thompson adds that there may also be an equity issue because not everyone can take several days off work to prepare and engage in the experience. The costs of staffing a facility with at least one trained guide per treated person per day and a private space may also be prohibitive to all but a few. He says it is conceivable that a depression treatment derived from psilocybin could be developed without the psychedelic effects so people can take it safely at home without requiring a full day in a care facility. For their study, led by UMSOM MD/PhD student Natalie Hesselgrave, the team used a mouse model of depression in which mice were stressed for several hours a day over 2-3 weeks. Because researchers cannot measure mouse moods, they measure their ability to work for rewards, such as choosing to drink sugar water over plain water. People suffering from depression lose the feeling of pleasure for rewarding events. Similarly, stressed mice no longer preferred sugar water over plain water. However, 24 hours after a dose of psilocybin, the stressed mice regained their preference for the sugar water, demonstrating that the drug restored the mice's pleasure response.  Psilocybin exerts its effects in people by binding to and turning on receptors for the chemical messenger serotonin. One of these receptors, the serotonin 2A receptor, is known to be responsible for the psychedelic response. To see if the psychedelic effects of psilocybin were needed for the anti-depressive benefits, the researchers treated the stressed mice with psilocybin together with a drug, ketanserin, which binds to the serotonin 2A receptor and keeps it from being turned on. The researchers found that the stressed mice regained their preference for the sugar water in response to psilocybin, even without the activation of the psychedelic receptor. "These findings show that activation of the receptor causing the psychedelic effect isn't absolutely required for the antidepressant benefits, at least in mice," says Dr. Thompson, "but the same experiment needs to be performed in depressed human subjects." He says his team plans to investigate which of the 13 other serotonin receptors are the ones responsible for the antidepressant actions. "This new study has interesting implications, and shows that more basic research is needed in animals to reveal the mechanisms for how these drugs work, so that treatments for these devastating disorders can be developed" says Albert E. Reece, MD, PhD, MBA, Executive Vice President for Medical Affairs, University of Maryland Baltimore, and the John Z. and Akiko K. Bowers Distinguished Professor and Dean, University of Maryland School of Medicine.   Tea compound promotes formation of osteoblasts under inflammatory environment and increases bone mass First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University (China), April 7, 2021   According to news originating from Suzhou, People’s Republic of China, the research stated, “Postmenopausal osteoporosis is a disease of bone mass reduction and structural changes due to estrogen deficiency, which can eventually lead to increased pain and fracture risk.” Our news correspondents obtained a quote from the research from First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University: “Chronic inflammatory microenvironment leading to the decreased activation of osteoblasts and inhibition of bone formation is an important pathological factor that leads to osteoporosis. Theaflavin-3,3’-digallate (TFDG) is an extract of black tea, which has potential anti-inflammatory and antiviral effects. In our study, we found that TFDG significantly increased the bone mass of ovariectomized (OVX) mice by micro-CT analysis. Compared with OVX mice, TFDG reduced the release of proinflammatory cytokines and increased the expression of osteogenic markers in vivo. In vitro experiments demonstrated that TFDG could promote the formation of osteoblasts in inflammatory environment and enhance their mineralization ability. In this process, TFDG activated MAPK, Wnt/b-Catenin and BMP/Smad signaling pathways inhibited by TNF-a, and then promoted the transcription of osteogenic related factors including Runx2 and Osterix, promoting the differentiation and maturation of osteoblasts eventually.” According to the news reporters, the research concluded: “In general, our study confirmed that TFDG was able to promote osteoblast differentiation under inflammatory environment, enhance its mineralization ability, and ultimately increase bone mass in ovariectomized mice. These results suggested that TFDG might have the potential to be a more effective treatment of postmenopausal osteoporosis.”     Patients who are overweight or obese at risk of more severe COVID-19   Murdoch Children's Research Institute and University of Queensland, April 16, 2021   Patients who are overweight or obese have more severe COVID-19 and are highly likely to require invasive respiratory support, according to a new international study.  The research, led by the Murdoch Children's Research Institute (MCRI) and The University of Queensland and published in Diabetes Care, found obese or overweight patients are at high risk for having worse COVID-19 outcomes. They are also more likely to require oxygen and invasive mechanical ventilation compared to those with a healthy weight.  MCRI researcher Dr Danielle Longmore said the findings, which highlighted the relationship between obesity and increased COVID-19 disease burden, showed the need to urgently introduce strategies to address the complex socio-economic drivers of obesity, and public policy measures such as restrictions on junk food advertising.  "Although taking steps to address obesity in the short-term is unlikely to have an immediate impact in the COVID-19 pandemic, it will likely reduce the disease burden in future viral pandemics and reduce risks of complications like heart disease and stroke," she said. The study looked at hospitalised SARS-CoV-2 patients from 18 hospitals in 11 countries including China, America, Italy, South Africa and The Netherlands.  Among the 7244 patients aged 18 years and over, 34.8 per cent were overweight and 30.8 per cent were obese.  COVID-19 patients with obesity were more likely to require oxygen and had a 73 per cent greater chance of needing invasive mechanical ventilation. Similar but more modest results were seen in overweight patients. No link was found between being overweight or obese and dying in hospital from COVID-19.  Cardiovascular and pre-existing respiratory diseases were associated with increased odds of in-hospital deaths but not a greater risk for needing oxygen and mechanical ventilation. For patients with pre-existing diabetes, there was increased odds of needing invasive respiratory support, but no additionally increase in risk in those with obesity and diabetes.  Men were at an increased risk of severe COVID-19 outcomes and needing invasive mechanical ventilation. In those aged over 65 years, there was an increased chance of requiring oxygen and higher rates of in-hospital deaths. The University of Queensland's Dr Kirsty Short, who co-led the research, said almost 40 per cent of the global population was overweight or obese.  "Obesity is associated with numerous poor health outcomes, including increased risk of cardiometabolic and respiratory disease and more severe viral disease including influenza, dengue and SARS-CoV-1," she said.  Dr Short said while previous reports indicated that obesity was an important risk factor in the severity of COVID-19, almost all this data had been collected from single sites and many regions were not represented. Moreover, there was a limited amount of evidence available about the effects of being overweight or obese on COVID-19 severity.  "Given the large scale of this study we have conclusively shown that being overweight or obese are independent risk factors for worse outcomes in adults hospitalised with COVID-19," she said. MCRI Professor David Burgner, who co-led the research, said the data would help inform immunisation prioritisation for higher-risk groups. "At the moment, the World Health Organization has not had enough high-quality data to include being overweight or obese as a risk factor for severe COVID-19 disease. Our study should help inform decisions about which higher-risk groups should be vaccinated as a priority," he said.   Neuroprotective Herbs for the Management of Alzheimer’s Disease University of Central Florida and University of California, Los Angeles   Background—Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a multifactorial, progressive, neurodegenerative disease that is characterized by memory loss, personality changes, and a decline in cognitive function. While the exact cause of AD is still unclear, recent studies point to lifestyle, diet, environmental, and genetic factors as contributors to disease progression. The pharmaceutical approaches developed to date do not alter disease progression. More than two hundred promising drug candidates have failed clinical trials in the past decade, suggesting that the disease and its causes may be highly complex. Medicinal plants and herbal remedies are now gaining more interest as complementary and alternative interventions and are a valuable source for developing drug candidates for AD. Indeed, several scientific studies have described the use of various medicinal plants and their principal phytochemicals for the treatment of AD. This article reviews a subset of herbs for their anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and cognitive-enhancing effects. Methods—This article systematically reviews recent studies that have investigated the role of neuroprotective herbs and their bioactive compounds for dementia associated with Alzheimer’s disease and pre-Alzheimer’s disease. PubMed Central, Scopus, and Google Scholar databases of articles were collected, and abstracts were reviewed for relevance to the subject matter. Conclusions—Medicinal plants have great potential as part of an overall program in the prevention and treatment of cognitive decline associated with AD. It is hoped that these medicinal plants can be used in drug discovery programs for identifying safe and efficacious small molecules for AD.   1.1. Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera) Ashwagandha, commonly called Indian ginseng or winter cherry, is one of the most prominent herbs prescribed as a brain rejuvenator for AD. It is prescribed to increase energy, improve overall health and longevity, and as a nerve tonic [86]. Ashwagandha has been shown to possess antioxidant activity, free radical scavenging activity, as well as an ability to support a healthy immune system [87]. Ashwagandha contains several bioactive compounds of great interest, such as ergostane-type steroidal lactones, including withanolides A-Y, dehydrowithanolide-R, withasomniferin-A, withasomidienone, withasomniferols A-C, withaferin A, withanone, and others. Other constituents include the phytosterols sitoindosides VII-X and beta-sitosterol and alkaloids [86,88]. A subset of these components has been shown to scavenge free radicals generated during the initiation and progression of AD. Molecular modeling studies showed that withanamides A and C uniquely bind to the active motif of Aβ25-35 and prevent fibril formation. Furthermore, these compounds protected PC-12 cells and rat neuronal cells from β-amyloid-induced cell death [89,90,91]. Treatment with the methanol extract of ashwagandha triggered neurite outgrowth in a dose- and time-dependent manner in human neuroblastoma cells [29], and, in another study involving cultured rat cortical neurons, treatment with Aβ peptide induced axonal and dendritic atrophy and loss of pre-and postsynaptic stimuli [92]. Subsequent treatment with withanolide A induced significant regeneration of both axons and dendrites and restored the pre- and post-synapses in the cultured cortical neurons. In vivo, withanolide A inhibited Aβ(25–35)-induced degeneration of axons, dendrites, and synapses in the cerebral cortex and hippocampus and also restored Aβ-peptide-induced memory deficits in mice [93]. The in vivo ameliorative effects were maintained even after the discontinuation of the drug administration. Aqueous extracts of ashwagandha increased acetylcholine (ACh) content and choline acetyl transferase activity in rats, which might partly explain the cognition-enhancing and memory-improving effects [29,94,95]. Treatment with the root extract caused the upregulation of the low-density lipoprotein receptor-related protein, which enhanced the Aβ clearance and reversed the AD pathology in middle-aged and old APP/PS1 mice [96]. Oral administration of a semi-purified extract of ashwagandha reversed behavioral deficits and blocked the accumulation of Aβ peptides in an APP/PS1 mouse model of AD. This therapeutic effect of ashwagandha was mediated by the liver low-density lipoprotein receptor-related protein [96]. Using an AD model of Drosophila melanogaster, researchers noted that treatment with ashwagandha mitigated Aβ toxicity and also promoted longevity [97]. Despite the extensive literature on the therapeutic effects of ashwagandha, there are limited data on its clinical use for cognitive impairment [98]. In a prospective, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled pilot study involving 50 subjects with mild cognitive impairment, subjects were treated with either ashwagandha root extract (300 mg twice daily) or placebo for eight weeks. After eight weeks of study, the ashwagandha treatment group demonstrated significant improvements in both immediate and general memory tests compared to the placebo group. Furthermore, the treatment group showed significant improvement in executive function, sustained attention, and information-processing speed [99]. These studies lend credence to ashwagandha’s role in enhancing memory and improving executive function in people with SCI or MCI. 1.2. Brahmi (Bacopa monnieri) Brahmi, or Bacopa monnieri (Bm), is a perennial creeper medicinal plant found in the damp and marshy wetlands of Southern and Eastern India, Australia, Europe, Africa, Asia, and North and South America. In the Ayurvedic system of medicine, Bm is recommended for mental stress, memory loss, epilepsy, insomnia, and asthma [34,36]. The bioactive phytochemicals present in this plant include saponins, bacopasides III, IV, V, bacosides A and B, bacosaponins A, B, C, D, E, and F, alkaloids, sterols, betulic acid, polyphenols, and sulfhydryl compounds, which may be responsible for the neuroprotective roles of the plant. Both in vitro and in vivo studies show that these phytochemicals have an antioxidant and free radical scavenging action by blocking lipid peroxidation in several areas of the brain [36,100,101,102]. Bm acts by reducing divalent metals, scavenging reactive oxygen species, decreasing the formation of lipid peroxides, and inhibiting lipoxygenase activity [103]. Numerous studies have also shown Bm’s role in memory and intellect [33,56,100,104,105,106]. To determine the neuroprotective effect of Bm in a rat model of AD, researchers tested an alcoholic extract of Bm at doses of 20, 40, and 80 mg/kg for a period of 2 weeks before and 1 week after the intracerebroventricular (icv) administration of ethylcholine aziridinium ion (AF64A). Spatial memory was tested using the Morris water maze (MWM), and the cholinergic neuron density was determined using histological techniques. The researchers showed that Bm extract improved the escape latency time in the MWM test and blocked the reduction of cholinergic neuron densities [35]. Another group reported the reversal of colchicine-induced cognitive deficits by a standardized extract of Bm. In addition to reversing colchicine-triggered cognitive impairment, the Bm extract also attenuated colchicine-induced oxidative damage by decreasing the protein carbonyl levels and restoring the activities of the antioxidant enzymes [107]. Most of the studies exploring the cognitive-enhancing effects of Bm in humans focused on normal, aged individuals. In a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial on 35 individuals aged above 55 years, subjects received either 125 mg of Bm extract or a placebo twice a day for a period of 12 weeks, followed by a placebo period of another four weeks. Subjects underwent a battery of memory tests, including general information, orientation, mental control, logical memory, digit forward, digit backward, visual reproduction, and paired association learning. Subjects were scored on each sub-test, and total memory score was calculated by adding the score of all subtests. A significant improvement was observed in mental control, logical memory, and paired association learning in Bm-treated patients compared to the placebo group at 8 and 12 weeks after initiation of the trial [37]. The results suggested the use of Bm in the treatment of age-associated memory impairment. Ten subjects were given 500 mg of Sideritis extract, 320 mg Bm extract, or a combination using a crossover design. Sideritis extract is rich in a variety of flavonoids and has been shown to improve cognition in animal models of AD [108]. The Attention d2 Test is a neuropsychological measure of selective and sustained attention and visual scanning speed. Assessment tests revealed that Sideritis extract combined with a low-dose Bm extract resulted in improvement in the d2 concentration test score [109]. A similar effect of Bm alone was observed only after repetitive dosing, suggesting that the long-term memory effects seen with repetitive dosing of Bm may be a promising therapeutic option for subjects suffering from MCI [109]. In another prospective, non-comparative, multicenter trial involving 104 subjects who suffered from MCI, Bm extract in combination with astaxanthin, phosphatidylserine, and vitamin E was given for 60 days. The tested combination formula was well tolerated. Cognitive and mnemonic performance was assessed with validated instruments including Alzheimer’s Disease Assessment Scale-Cognitive Subscale (ADAS-cog) and Clock-Drawing Test (CDT) that can assess the risk of MCI progression to AD. Researchers noted significant improvements in ADAS-cog and CDT scores [110]. The observed sixty-day improvements in ADAS-cog and CDT were statistically significant as compared with baseline values. Memory is affected by several factors, including focus and attention, neurotransmitters, hormones, trophic factors, cyclic AMP, ion channels, protein transcription, synapse formation, and nutrients. Some of these processes can be modulated by Bm extract alone or in combination with other compounds. The abovementioned study design is similar to our therapeutic program for people with SCI and MCI, where Bm is administered in combination with other nutraceuticals and cogniceuticals [15,111]. 1.3. Cat’s Claw (Uncaria tomentosa) Cat’s claw (CC) is a tropical vine with hooked thorns that resemble the claws of a cat and is mainly recommended for its potential role in the treatment of AD and pre-AD. It is found mainly in the Amazon rainforest and other areas of South and Central America. This medicinal plant contains oxindole alkaloids, polyphenols (flavonoids, proanthocyanidins, and tannins), glycosides, pentacyclic alkaloids, and sterols [38,39]. CC is known for its immune-modulating and anti-inflammatory effects and for its role as a free radical scavenger. Based on in vitro studies, the anti-inflammatory effect of CC is attributed to its ability to inhibit iNOS gene expression, nitrate formation, cell death, PGE2 production, and the activation of NF-κB and TNF-α [45]. Using a transgenic mouse model of Alzheimer’s disease, a significant reduction in the Aβ load (by 59%) and plaque number (by 78%) in the hippocampus and cortex was observed after treating 8-month-old mice with the CC extract for 14 days [44]. CC extract also caused a significant reduction in astrocytosis and microgliosis, and it improved hippocampus-dependent memory. Some of the components in the CC extract crossed the blood–brain barrier (BBB) and entered the brain parenchyma following intravenous injection [44]. Pre-clinical studies suggest that CC extract inhibits the formation of plaques and tangles, reduces astrocytosis and microgliosis and improves memory in mouse models of AD [43,44]. CC extract not only prevented the formation and aggregation of Aβ fibrils and tau protein paired helical filaments, but it also facilitated the disaggregation of preformed fibrils and tau protein tangles [43,44]. While proanthocyanidin B2 was identified as the primary phytochemical with plaque-and tangle-dissolving activity, other polyphenols present in the CC extract also possess plaque-reducing activity [44]. Based on pre-clinical studies, Cat’s claw may be effective for memory loss and cognitive decline associated with AD, although no studies have been carried out in humans. 1.4. Ginkgo Biloba Ginkgo biloba (Gb) has been in the spotlight primarily for its potential role in treating AD. Gb also appears promising as a therapeutic agent for several other chronic and acute forms of diseases. The main pharmacologically active groups of compounds are flavonoids and terpenoids. Almost all clinical studies use Gb extract that contains a combination of flavonoid glycosides, terpene lactones, and ginkgolic acids [50]. Gb extract has shown beneficial effects in treating Alzheimer’s, cardiovascular diseases, cancer, tinnitus, and other age-associated conditions [49,50]. The suggested mechanisms of the Gb extract are its antioxidant effect, anti-platelet activating factor activity for vascular diseases, inhibition of β-amyloid peptide aggregation in AD, and decreased expression of peripheral benzodiazepine receptor for stress alleviation [48,49,50]. Gb is popular as a treatment for early-stage AD and vascular dementia. Gb extract reverses β-amyloid and NO-induced toxicity in vitro and reduces apoptosis both in vitro and in vivo [112,113,114]. Treatment with Gb extract enhanced memory retention in young and old rats and improved short-term memory in mice [49,115]. Several studies indicate that ginkgo delays the progression of AD and is as effective as the cholinesterase inhibitors for treating AD. A modest improvement in cognitive function was observed in AD subjects in various randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trials [116,117,118]. Gb extract also improves ADLs among AD individuals and is preferred over other AD medications because of its negligible adverse effects [119,120]. 1.5. Gotu Kola (Centella asiatica) Considered both a nutraceutical and cogniceutical, Gotu kola (Gk) is a staple in Chinese, Indonesian, and Ayurvedic medicine [57]. This medicinal plant is used to strengthen the brain, heal skin issues, and promote liver and kidney health. Gk is considered a rejuvenating herb for nerve and brain cells as it is believed to promote intelligence and improve memory [54,55,56,57]. In vitro studies using various Gk plant derivatives (asiaticosides, asiatic acid, madecassoside, and madasiatic acid) showed that these compounds were capable of blocking H2O

LinksYou can find out more about Vaccines and the use of fetal cells here:https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/the-faqs-fetal-cells-covid-19-vaccines-treatments/Or about my guest Elissa Deenick here: https://www.garvan.org.au/people/elidee https://med.unsw.edu.au/our-people/elissa-deenick Transcript(the following transcript was automatically generated from a transcription service and may contain errors)Karl Deenick (00:00):Living as faithful Christians in the world means not only understanding the Bible, but also understanding the world through the lens of the Bible and thinking wisely about the world that God has made and in which God has put us. And so here on Thinking Theology. We want to think not just about classical theological topics, but also bring theology and biblical wisdom to bear on important topics and issues in the world around us. And one of the most important topics and issues from this year has been COVID-19 and the potentially forthcoming COVID vaccine. Some people have significant reservations about vaccines, and it can be hard to know what's right. And what isn't. So today we're thinking about COVID-19 and vaccines, and we're thinking about those things in the light of the Bible. And to do that, we're speaking with our first ever guest on Thinking Theology. My sister Associate Professor Dr Elissa Deenick, who is a research immunologist with the University of N ew South Wales and the Garvan Institute in Sydney.Karl Deenick (01:11):Hi, my name's Karl Deenick. I'm a pastor theologian writer and Bible college lecturer. Welcome to Thinking Theology, a podcast where we think about theology, the Bible and the Christian life, not just for the sake of it, but so we can love God more with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength.Karl Deenick (01:32):Elissa, thanks for joining us on Thinking Theology. You're a research immunologist now. I didn't know what that meant until you started doing it. So I'm guessing lots of other people don't know what that means. What is that? What is an immunologist? What's a research immunologist.Elissa Deenick (01:57):Yeah. So an immunologist is someone who studies the immune system and the immune system is the part of your body that fights off infection be that viruses or bacteria or fungus or all those things that can make you sick. So as a research immunologist, I'm interested in finding out new things about how the immune system works. And in particular, for me I study people who have problems with their immune system, which means that they can't fight off infection properly. So they keep getting really severe or constant infections.Karl Deenick (02:37):So there are people whose immune systems do a good job at fighting infection you're saying, and then other people who, for some reason, that doesn't work so well.Elissa Deenick (02:45):Yeah, that's true. So for most of us, we think about, you know, we barely even noticed the constant, bacteria and viruses and fungi that are in the environment around us, but there are people who have almost no immune system or just parts of their immune system that are defective. And that means that they're unable to fight these infections off. And that might mean that they're constantly in hospital or they're constantly on drugs or for some of those people actually they end up dying because they get such severe infections.Karl Deenick (03:24):So is that a, is that a common thing? What, what causes those kinds of immune problems?Elissa Deenick (03:32):There are different levels of severity. So most of the ones that I study, these are people who have a genetic conditions, so problems with their DNA, which then impact the functioning of their immune system. And they're actually kind of over 400 different kind of gene defects that can have that lead to problems with your immune system. But many of them are incredibly rare, like three or four people in the world. Whereas some of them are a much more common. And then of course there are other people who have immune defects because they're on drugs that suppress their immune system. So people who have had organ transplants, so you have to suppress the immune system so your immune system doesn't reject that new organ or people who, for example, have auto immune diseases who are on drugs to kind of suppress their immune system attacking their body. And that means that those people too, can't infect fight infection very well either.Karl Deenick (04:31):Yeah. Right. So, I mean, obviously there's been a lot of talk about vaccines at the moment and that's why we've got you on thinking theology — because of COVID and the vaccine rates that's going on with COVID. I mean, I guess many of us probably have no idea about how vaccines work. We've seen, you know, videos and whatever media clips on the news maybe, but how do vaccines work? And, kind of just at the layman level.Elissa Deenick (05:00):Yeah. So vaccines are really about teaching your immune system to recognize a particular virus or bacteria. So because our immune system has this really tricky job where it has to be able to fight off like hundreds and thousands of different bacteria or viruses that you might come into contact with in your life. So the way it does this is by kind of randomly developing these different immune cells, which all of them kind of fight, are ready, kind of sitting there ready to fight off a particular infection. But that means when any particular infection comes along, you've got to find the cell. That's good for finding that infection. And you've got to grow up enough of those cells so that they can fight off the infection that's there. So basically what a vaccine does is it comes along and it kind of activates and expands those cells which are good for fighting off infection, so that you've got lots of them kind of sitting there already primed and ready to go. So that now when you encounter that infection, you've got way more kind of fighters to fight off that infection. So you can kind of do it much more quickly so that you never have to get sick.Karl Deenick (06:28):So is it kind of like, I don't know, searching, searching your computer for a file. And then once you found that you suddenly print off like a whole lot of copies or something like that, is that sort of what it's like?Elissa Deenick (06:38):Yeah. It's like that. So particularly vaccines, actually work by getting your body to generate something which you may have heard of because people have been talking about them quite a lot called antibodies. And these are these little Y shaped molecules, which kind of are able to grab onto a virus or bacteria, but they're all different. So they all grab onto different bacteria or viruses. So part of what when you get that vaccine and you activate your immune cells is that you pump out a whole lot of these little Y shaped antibodies, which are then floating around your blood. And so as soon as that virus or that bacteria comes into your body, they, they grab onto that and kind of coat the virus or the bacteria and kind of stop it from doing any damage. So yeah, like in the way you print off lots of pages, you print off lots of these antibodies and they're circulating all around your body.Karl Deenick (07:36):So how is it different then to have a vaccine than it is to not have a vaccine? Like, you know, is your body doing anything different in terms of fighting off the infection? Is it just, just that it knows ahead of time, what it's looking for? Is that the difference?Elissa Deenick (07:53):Yeah, the difference is that really you've got, you've got a big headstart. So you can imagine if you have a virus that comes in and you might not get exposed to many, many kind of viruses, you know, virus particles, when someone costs on you, but those will start replicating. And, you know, you can go from having, you know, 10 20 to having hundreds of thousands in a really short time. Now you can imagine that if you have never seen it before, and you've only got a few cells to fight it and it takes a while for them to find it. And then they've got to, it's like a race where one's replicating and the other one's kind of, and you've got to try and make sure that you're making a response faster than the virus is replicating. So actually, if you give your body a head start and you have, you know, way more cells, you have these antibodies already, then the virus doesn't have a chance to kind of build up before you can control it.Elissa Deenick (08:57):And that's particularly important, you know? So if you get just a normal cold it's not such a problem, if the virus kind of starts winning in the race, cause it's not going to do too much damage to your body before your immune system kicks in. But if you have a virus that has the potential to really hurt your body, then you actually want to shut that down and stop it as soon as possible. And actually best case scenario, what you want to actually do is actually completely prevented from actually ever establishing itself in your body. So viruses actually unlike bacteria, which can kind of grow in their own. So, you know, you can have bacteria growing on a surface, a virus actually needs to get inside a cell to actually start. And then it takes over the cell and kind of turns that cell into a factory for producing more copies of the virus. So if you have like a really good vaccine, actually what it does is produces so many of those little Y shaped antibodies that they can coat the virus before the virus can even actually get inside the cell and start producing more copies of it. And that's like the best case scenario for blocking infection that you get it before it even gets into the cells of the body.Karl Deenick (10:14):So, so you're saying that not all vaccines do that then like some, some vaccines are more effective and some vaccines are less effective. Is that right?Elissa Deenick (10:26):Yeah that's kind of true. But it also depends. Immunology is complex. It also depends where the virus came in. So I've talked to before about how those antibodies can travel around the body and the blood, and they are at really high levels in the blood. They're not as at higher levels in your nose and in your lungs. So to get into your nose and your lungs they've kind of got to get from the blood and then get across the skin cells kind of into the, into those things. So if you have high levels in the blood, the levels in your nose and in your lungs are going to be a bit lower. So if you don't get high enough levels getting out until you nose, there may not be high enough levels kind of in your nose when the virus hits there to completely coat the virus and stop it infecting.Elissa Deenick (11:17):So that's why it's sometimes harder to get a good vaccine to respiratory infections because of the way it comes in. So this has come up in terms of when we've been talking about the coronavirus vaccine. So you would have heard the news about the three vaccines that have just come out, which have kind of 70 to 95% effectiveness, but that's effectiveness at stopping the symptoms of the disease. So in these vaccine trials, they haven't actually yet tested and reported whether those people may be were infected with the virus. And, but the antibodies like stopped it from getting so bad that you developed symptoms. So we don't know whether it's completely stopped the virus getting into the body or whether it's just kind of stopped it early enough before you really got sick.Karl Deenick (12:15):And so what's the what's the ramifications of that. If, it, it doesn't stop, you know, the virus completely but only kind of dampens down the symptoms and so on.Elissa Deenick (12:27):Well, the good thing is if it stops the symptoms, then hopefully it's going to stop people getting so sick that they die, which is clearly the problem with any virus. You don't want people to die or to get these kind of long-term effects that you may have heard of where people kind of are sick for a long time after they've had the virus. So it's good in that sense. If you're still getting infected though, but just not getting symptoms, the problem with that is that you could potentially still pass it on to someone else. So if I'm vaccinated, I might get the virus, I don't get any symptoms, but if I then hang out with you and you're not vaccinated, I could still pass the virus on to you and you could get sick because you haven't had the vaccine and you don't have the protection.Elissa Deenick (13:21):So it means you, you would have heard, you know, probably a lot of talk this year about herd immunity. And that's this concept where if you have enough people who have been vaccinated and vaccinated to the point that they can't be infected, then they can no longer pass it on to other people. And so if like you have a really good vaccine where you can't get infected, you can't pass it on. Then actually, even if you're not vaccinated, then you're protected because I'll never get infected and I'll never have the virus to pass it onto you. Whereas if you only have a vaccine that protects from symptoms, then everybody needs to be vaccinated to be protected. And that's a problem because as we talked about earlier, there are some people who have bad immune systems, so will never make a good response to a vaccine. And so those people are still vulnerable in that case.Karl Deenick (14:23):Yeah. Right. Like you said, immunology clearly is complex. So there's a number of different vaccines that are going around at the moment that are sort of, or in contention that people are talking about. Is there much difference between them, like, will some be better than others, do you think in, in some of the ways that you've just sort of highlighted,Elissa Deenick (14:48):It's hard to know at the, it looks like other two RNA [vaccines] that have been reported to have kind of effectiveness in kind of the 90% range are a little bit better than the Oxford vaccine, which is a vaccine that uses a viral vector. But really we probably need to say more of those results to truly know, but there are other things about those vaccines that make them kind of good or bad in terms of, for example, the Oxford vaccine is cheaper to make and it doesn't need to be kept as cold. So that's easier to distribute to lots of people. And in the same way, kind of the, you may have heard of the Queensland university vaccine, which actually isn't as far through trials, but which is kind of a different kind of vaccine again. And which is again, is, is doesn't require the same cold storage is easier to produce. And so it can be distributed more easily, but into, in terms of how effective they are in terms of producing a good antibody response and protecting you from disease, we're still kind of waiting on the results of the trials to really know the answers to that.Karl Deenick (16:12):So, I mean, I guess one of the questions maybe that some people have, I don't know, is do we really need a vaccine? I mean, won't our bodies and many people's bodies in the end, just work out how to defeat it itself and we'll get to that level of herd immunity without vaccination.Elissa Deenick (16:34):Yeah. Well, that's true. If you're willing to let a lot of people die or get really sick in the meantime. You know, we live in a time where actually, we're not very used to people dying from infectious disease because we have vaccines and we have antibiotics, but it wasn't that long ago in developed countries, and even now, still in developing countries where actually a huge number of people would die. So, you know, people would have six, seven children and only one would survive into adulthood because as much as our immune system is pretty good, it can fight off things, it doesn't always win that race between the growth of the virus or the bacteria and our immune response. And sometimes our body is just overwhelmed. So kind of looking at the Corona virus, you know, kind of the estimates are, I think about 1% of people who get it will die.Elissa Deenick (17:43):And that of course depends on how old you are. But that's an awful lot of people to die on the way to getting herd immunity. And the problem is not just the people who die, but viruses are tricky little things, and they have unexpected consequences on the body. So, you know, there's a lot of data coming out that the Corona virus, you know, can cause brain damage, heart damage, clotting problems, you know, it can just have a whole lot of effects that we don't even know about now. So, you really don't want to take the risk of seeing if your immune system wins in the race to fight it off because the consequences of it, if it doesn't, are just not worth it.Karl Deenick (18:36):Yeah. It's interesting what you say too, about how we are just so used to living in a world where people, you know, outlive childhood, if you like. I often think of the quite well-known puritan theologian John Owen, I think every single one of his children died. And I think his first wife as well. So we're talking in the 1700s or something there. And that's just something that we're not familiar with any more. It does show you something about the medical advances that we've clearly experienced over the last century, or so at least. I mean, I guess at a theological level, and this is where we start to get into the thinking theology kind of thing, you know, some people might say, well, but didn't God create us with bodies, you know, to fight off infection.Elissa Deenick (19:26):Yeah. And, and that's true. You know, we do have immune segment fights infection. But we've got to remember the fall. That when, you know, Adam and Eve sinned, death came into the world and with that presumably an ineffective immune system as well. So yeah, I've also heard people say, surely we don't need vaccines because you know, our immune system should be able to fight it off, because God would have created us with a good body. But, you know, we die because sin came into the world. Our immune system has problems because of that as well. But, you know, some people might say, you know, didn't God create us, you know, to live. Surely you shouldn't need to have your appendix taken out because, you know, didn't God create you to survive okay with an appendix. But, you know, I had appendicitis, I had to take it out. This is part of the fall, part of the broken world, part of our broken bodies. But God in his mercy, I think has given us medical advances, scientific advances, which have allowed us to develop therapies that help to overcome some of those things.Karl Deenick (20:52):Yeah. I think you and I have talked about this at other times as well, that it's that idea of having a theology of creation without a theology of the fall, but God might a good world. Absolutely. Yeah. But it's a world which is marred by sin, marred by the consequences of sin and we have to hold those two things together.Karl Deenick (21:11):So, I mean, is there evidence that vaccines really do work? Do you think? From, you know, not just the COVID vaccine, but I guess throughout the history of the world? Is there evidence that vaccines have an efficacy?Elissa Deenick (21:31):Yeah. There's endless, endless evidence. We've eradicated, smallpox due to vaccination. I mean, that's astounding that this disease that used to ravage the world has now been eliminated except for a few small stocks that are found, you know, in, in labs in the world. Because we vaccinated people, people couldn't become infected. And so then it died out. You know, you think about polio and kind of the number of people that kids, several generations ago, who were like, you know, hospitals full of kids, you know, in iron lungs. And yet now almost no one in the world has, you know, there are a few small outbreaks in the world, but generally speaking, we just don't see polio in the world. And that same story is seen over and over again. And I mean, the clinical trials that we've just had for Corona virus clearly show it that, you know, people who didn't have the vaccine, you know, a hundred or something, people got it. People who did have the vaccine only eight or nine, got it. Like this is the power of, you know, kind of teaching your immune system to react to these things so that when the infection comes along, you can fight it off and you just don't have to worry about it in the same way.Karl Deenick (23:04):Yeah. Yeah. So I guess pushing on into maybe some of the criticisms, if you like, that come up around vaccines and vaccination. I mean, some people, one of the, one of the classic kind of concerns, I suppose, that some people expressed is that there have been suggested links between vaccination and autism. Is there any truth to that claim? Where, where has that come from that idea?Elissa Deenick (23:32):Well, really this idea came from a paper that was published by a guy, Andrew Wakefield, many years ago, which where he, you know, did this study and he said that there was, you know, a link between autism and vaccines. But since then, that that study has been discredited. You know, he was shown to have kind of conflicts of interest in what he was doing and they didn't kind of carry out the study properly. And like, beyond that other people since then have like carried out much bigger studies, looking at whether vaccination increase the risk of autism and have shown that there's no evidence at all of an increased risk of autism from vaccination. But sadly one man's flawed study has kind of created this idea, which now continues on, even though that study has now been discredited.Karl Deenick (24:39):Why do you think that is, do you have any sense of, of why that is, why people still hang on to that, that one study when other studies later on have come on, come along and discredited it. I mean,Elissa Deenick (24:53):I think there are multiple things that play into it. I'm not an expert on kind of, you know, the sociology of these things, but I, I think, one, scientific papers are, are difficult to understand and interpret. You know, it, it actually requires a lot of study and expertise to fully understand it. Like I'm an immunologist, but even within the field of immunology, there are papers that I can read and I can kind of critique and really understand deeply. And there are other papers that I kind of understand, but actually I, even as an immunologist, if it's not my area of expertise in immunology, I find difficult to fully understand and critique. So if that's true of me kind of reviewing these papers, it's even more difficult, I think for the general public often to read a scientific paper and to understand what's a good credible paper and, and what's not.Elissa Deenick (25:58):So I think that's part of the problem people's ability to judge what is good evidence and what's not. I think there's also, I mean, having kind of an autistic child can, can be difficult. And I think people then want answers about kind of why this happened. And science doesn't actually have that many good answers yet of why one child is autistic and another isn't. And so then people are looking for answers and maybe they hold onto this as an answer because they don't have other kind of better answers. Yeah. And, you know, we could go into social media and, and kind of those platforms and how they kind of spread disinformation as well. But I think to some extent actually part of it is driven by people looking for answers and kind of hope, but not quite knowing where to look.Karl Deenick (27:00):Yeah. That's interesting looking for hope. That's so true. And I mean, I, I think we are taught to engage in the world, but like you say, a lot of things are just beyond us. You know, like, like you said, even some things in your field are beyond you and, and you see things on the internet and in a media article or on someone's blog post and it just seems so simple and so straightforward, but often it does require some kind of expertise to understand it and to be able to evaluate it. And I think to some degree of trust in people who are, who are able to do it, and to respect their expertise in it. I mean, in our society, I think at the moment we have kind of an erosion of trust, whether that's in governments or science or whatever it is. And so people are just very skeptical all round, I think, and that has implications then for things like this.Elissa Deenick (27:56):Yeah. I think that's true. I think we, we, we don't know anymore kind of who to look for for expertise and we can, you know, kind of convince ourselves that if I just do a bit of reading, like then, you know, I can judge it. But one of the interesting things about about research, and I've spent kind of 20 years in immunology research, is that actually the more you research, the more you realize how, how much we still don't understand actually. And I think that's true that the more, you know, about a subject, the more you kind of actually realize your limitations.Karl Deenick (28:47):Yeah, absolutely. I think people say that about PhDs, don't say that the end result of the PhD is just realizing how much you don't know.Karl Deenick (28:53):I guess another thing that's often mentioned in connection with vaccines which is maybe to some people even more disturbing is just that people often say that there is aborted fetuses are used in the production of vaccines. So is that true? What's the story behind that?Elissa Deenick (29:19):Yeah. This is based on a few cell lines that are routinely used in, in medical research. So, particularly the Oxford vaccine uses in its production, and some of the other vaccines used kind of in their development, a cell line, which is known as HEK293. And this is a cell line...Karl Deenick (29:50):To the cool people, right.Elissa Deenick (29:52):It's called HEK because it's human embryonic kidney cells. So this was a cell line that was actually developed more than 40 years ago before either you or I was born. So normally human cells and most, most cells can only divide a certain number of times before they kind of give up the ghost and they won't divide anymore. So people create what are called cell lines, and these are cells that they've kind of done something to so that they can keep dividing endlessly. So more than 40 years ago this cell line, there was a guy in the Netherlands who got some tissue from an aborted fetus. And actually, we don't know. So often when we hear the word aborted, we think of kind of, someone choose, chose to have an abortion though the term spontaneous abortion is another word for a miscarriage. So kind of in medical science terms, you might use the word aborted for either either a spontaneous abortion, i.e., miscarriage or, you know, an abortion by choice.Elissa Deenick (31:15):So someone got tissue from a fetus that was aborted and then took some of the cells from that. And they've now been, kind of, changed in a way that they've been growing and dividing in culture ever since. So people use this cell line in medical research because it's been around for so long and because we know how it operates. And as I said earlier, viruses can't grow unlike bacteria, which can grow on a surface, viruses can't grow on their own. They've got to be inside a cell and take over that cell and grow. So if you ever want to grow viruses, you need to have cells to grow them in. So this cell line has been used to grow viruses over the last 40 plus years. And, and then it's used in the production of these vaccines.Karl Deenick (32:18):So we don't, we don't know the circumstances in which the fetus was aborted, I take it. Like, we don't know whether it was a spontaneous...Elissa Deenick (32:31):Not as far as, as I'm aware. I think in the original paper that wasn't stated. Maybe if you went back to the guy who did it, he might be able to tell you. But, it's, it's not clear. And even, kind of, beyond that. You know, as Christians that makes us, if it, it was kind of an elective abortion, that makes I think many of us very uncomfortable. But I think the way that I've approached this issue is to think about the fact that this was a cell line that was produced many years ago. We're not entirely sure of the origin, but even if it did come from an, an elective abortion, it's not like the manufacturers of this virus or the, sorry, of these vaccines or the developers of these vaccines played any role in what happened 40 years ago.Elissa Deenick (33:42):And in the same way that you might say, you know, if someone was murdered, that's a terrible days deed, but we'd still want to use that person's organs, you know, for organ donation, if that was possible to save lives, I, I kind of feel, though I guess each Christian has to kind of work through this for themselves, that this cell line was created a long time ago. And it wasn't as if a child was aborted to make the cell line. It was just, you know, a cell line, that was produced as a secondary, you know, using what resulted from that. And so to use that now is not to contribute to any kind of crime or misdeed, but it is only to use what was previously generated and which now is able to do great good. And in some ways, I guess, kind of, kind of change what, you know, was a loss of life into something more positive.Karl Deenick (34:58):Yeah. That's really interesting that that comparison with a murder, I mean, obviously to murder someone in order to take their organs is just, you know, just an awful crime—heinous. But in the case where maybe that has happened and then to be able to take that evil act that somebody else has intended and purposed, and then to bring good out of that can actually be a positive thing. Like you say, good can come from that.Karl Deenick (35:30):There's was a good article recently on The Gospel Coalition by Joe Carter about that actually, about some of the complexities of this year, this issue that goes into a little bit more detail as well.Karl Deenick (35:41):So, I mean, it sounds to me the most important thing that you're saying is it's not as though in the production of vaccines that people are daily, you know, aborting new fetuses in order to create vaccines. You're saying that 40 years ago there was sales taken from a fetus in circumstances that we maybe don't really know about, good or evil, and now those cells are just replicating. And there's no, it's not really any longer the original, it's not the original fetal tissue, is it?Elissa Deenick (36:21):No. And I mean, you would almost certainly find those cells in almost every kind of research institute around the world. I mean, that's how widespread they are. And to some extent actually the cells keep getting used because actually they're already there and it means you don't have to create new cell lines from whatever source. Like you can use this well-defined, kind of well-tested source and, you know, no one, no one needs to think about ever making kind of that kind of thing again.Karl Deenick (37:08):So, the last question then, I guess, Elissa that we, well I have for you is, I mean, how do we as Christians think about this COVID vaccine then? I mean, it sounds like, I mean, I'm guessing that you're going to say we should go out and get it, is that what we should be thinking about it? And doing so as quickly as possible? Or, you know, should we be concerned maybe actually about how quickly governments are kind of speeding these things through regulation? Yeah. How do we think about that as Christians?Elissa Deenick (37:40):Yeah, look, I think, you know, one, we have to be thankful for the people who actually volunteered to be part of the trials that will, you know, allow these hopefully to come into production. You know, we, we often talk about the safety of vaccines and some people are concerned about that and certainly you don't want any vaccine to go into public distribution without being well tested. So in one sense, it's a beautiful sacrifice and service by the people who, you know, volunteered to be part of these trials before we had, you know, large scale evidence that they were safe because they saw that actually this was something that could benefit many people beyond them. Secondly, you know, you know, we want to wait and see the final results of the clinical trials that are coming through and really have the good evidence that they are both effective and safe.Elissa Deenick (38:53):But you know, if we have that kind of evidence, I think I would encourage everyone, unless, you know, you're one of those rare people who has kind of an underlying immune condition, to go and get it. Because, you know, I think there is, there, there is some fear kind of amongst people that, you know, there are potential side effects. But you've got to think about the tens of thousands of people that have already been involved in these trials, and as far as we know from the current results, and this will become more clear lately, later, sorry, there has been very few severe side effects. Like just things like, you know, a bit of fever, a bit of a sore arm, which is entirely what you expect if your immune system is activated. That's, you know, a fever is part of your immune system being activated. You compare that to the actual disease where you're getting 1% of people dying and even at younger ages, you're getting, you know, less people dying, but people with severe things. So I think you've got to, you know, think about actually kind of the numbers in terms of what we know about how bad the disease is and what we know about kind of the vaccine and its safety there.Elissa Deenick (40:24):But I would also encourage people to go and be vaccinated, particularly if we find out that these are, kind of vaccines that protect you from spreading the disease, because actually for this vaccine and kind of for any vaccine that has that effect, this is in a sense a service to those who have defective immune systems and can't make a response. Like if I can be vaccinated and stop myself from being someone who's a spreader then I can actually protect those who themselves can't make a good immune response and be kind of protected from that. So yeah, that would, that would be my advice.Karl Deenick (41:12):Well, there you go. That's all we should do. It's true though, isn't it, because, I mean, I think if some of the people of my church, I think of one particular person whose immune system was compromised because of cancer treatment, for instance, you know, and there are people like that who are terribly at risk, because, from virus because of that. So if we, as a, as a community, you can, can protect them by receiving the vaccine, well that's, that is a great thing, obviously then too. And like you say, the risk one in a hundred, 1% of people that, you know, dying from COVID, as opposed to very few side effects seems quite positive.Elissa Deenick (41:58):And I, I would just say as well that, you know, you talked about the, the short time to kind of development of these vaccines and that has caused people, I think, concerns about, did we have enough time to kind of, you know, work out the safety and that kind of thing. And certainly these current clinical trials are giving us insight into that as well. The other thing to remember is that, of course, as we've developed these vaccines, while the kind of particular vaccine that's developed against Coronavirus is, is new, a lot of the techniques that have been used to do that are themselves; have been around for longer. So, you know, the beauty of kind of vaccines is that you kind of, we have an idea as immunologists of like, these are the things we need to put into a vaccine to get a good immune response and produce those antibodies. And then to some extent we can swap in, okay, let's swap in a bit of the Coronavirus, let's swap in a bit of tetanus, you know, that kind of thing. It's not as if we start from complete scratch and have no idea about kind of the vaccines. There is a wealth of background knowledge that has led us to this point which has allowed us to then kind of produce these now.Karl Deenick (43:34):So it's kind of working off an existing basis of treatments and understanding, I guess. Yeah.Elissa Deenick (43:39):Yeah.Karl Deenick (43:39):Well, thanks, Elissa being part of Thinking Theology being my first ever guest. It's good to always invite family because they're probably less likely to say no. But thank you for sharing your expertise with us and your reflections as well on what is a topic that lots of people are thinking and talking about. Thanks for being with us.Elissa Deenick (44:00):Thanks for having me.  

An awesome interview with Lauren McKnight from the Garvan Institute on all things genetic sequencing, profiling and genotyping.  Covering the following key point: Investigate the use of technologies to determine inheritance patterns in a population using, for example: (ACSBL064, ACSBL085) - DNA sequencing and profiling (ACSBL086) Thanks to STEM Reactor for sponsoring this podcast. They provide everything you need to do biotechnology at school, check them out at www.stemreactor.com.au

Episode Intro“God told me that he wants you to a missionary.” “God has put it on my heart to pray for you.”What do we do with statements like that?In the last few episodes of Thinking Theology we've been looking at God's words in the Bible. The Bible is God's words written for his people, by his Spirit, about his Son. The Bible is God's authoritative word and we need to listen. The Bible is God's powerful word.But does God still speak? And does he speak to us outside the Bible?That's what we're thinking about in this episode of Thinking Theology.Does God still speak through people? What about prophecy? Does God still prophesy through people? Or does he only speak to us through the Bible?Podcast IntroHi. My name is Karl Deenick. I'm a pastor, theologian, writer, and Bible college lecturer. Welcome to Thinking Theology, a podcast where we think about theology, the Bible and the Christian life, not just for the sake of it, but so we can love God more, with all our heart, soul, mind and strength.Prophecy is about JesusIn thinking about how and whether God still speaks, a good place to start is with Acts 2.Acts 2 is the account of God pouring out the Holy Spirit in fulfilment of his promise in the Old Testament. Jesus' life, death and resurrection has opened the way for God to remake humanity in the image of Jesus. And that begins on the Day of Pentecost in Acts 2 as the Spirit is poured out on believers and the Spirit unites them with Jesus and all that he has accomplished on their behalf.Peter and the other disciples are gathered together when a sound like the blowing of a violent wind suddenly comes upon them. They see tongues of fire coming down from heaven and resting on each of them. And when the neighbours hear and see what's happening, a crowd begins to form.But then miraculously the disciples begin to speak in other languages that they hadn't known before. And the crowd who are listening are absolutely astonished.It's at that point that Peter says, that what was happening was the fulfilment of something Joel prophesied in the Old Testament. Peter says in Acts 2:17–18,In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy. (Acts 2:17–18 NIV)Peter says that what was happening on the day of Pentecost was not only the beginning of the pouring out of the Holy Spirit on the people who trust in Jesus. But it was also the beginning of a great prophetic movement. In the past God had spoken through a few prophets here and there but now with the pouring out of the Holy Spirit all kinds of people will see visions and dreams and will prophesy.But what Peter means by that is really, really important to understand. If we're not careful what we'll do is import our understanding of what we think that means, rather than looking at the text of Acts 2 to understand exactly what Peter means.And what's really interesting is that Peter says that what he and the other apostles are doing in Acts 2 is prophesying and fulfilling Joel's prophecy.But if you read Acts 2, there are no dreams or visions that the apostle's share and there are no predictions of what will happen in the future. There's no words about what God will do in this person's life or that person's life.Rather what you get in Acts 2 is Peter explaining how Jesus is the Messiah and how Jesus has come in fulfilment of the Old Testament.So Peter says in verse 29,“Fellow Israelites, I can tell you confidently that the patriarch David died and was buried, and his tomb is here to this day. But he was a prophet….So David was a prophet. But what did David prophesy about?Peter says,But he was a prophet and knew that God had promised him on oath that he would place one of his descendants on his throne. Seeing what was to come, he spoke of the resurrection of the Messiah, that he was not abandoned to the realm of the dead, nor did his body see decay. God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of it. Exalted to the right hand of God, he has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear. (Acts 2:29–33 NIV)David's role as a prophet was to look ahead to the coming of Jesus and to his death and resurrection.Peter's role and the role of his fellow apostles was not to speak about what was to come so much as to be witnesses of Jesus' death and resurrection.They speak about Jesus who has come. And the message that they were speaking to the crowds was the message of the Spirit who, Peter says, “you now see and hear.”Similarly, Peter writes in his first letter, in 1 Peter 1:10,Concerning this salvation, the prophets, who spoke of the grace that was to come to you, searched intently and with the greatest care, trying to find out the time and circumstances to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing when he predicted the sufferings of the Messiah and the glories that would follow.So the prophets in the Old Testament spoke about “this salvation”. That is, the one Peter has outlined in the verses just before. The salvation which is through faith in the crucified and risen Jesus, the Son of God. The Spirit of Christ in the prophets was pointing to the sufferings of Jesus and the glories that would follow.But then Peter goes on to say,It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves but you, when they spoke of the things that have now been told you by those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. Even angels long to look into these things. (1 Peter 1:10–12 NIV)So the same Holy Spirit that was given to the prophets in the Old Testament to speak about the Messiah who was to come; that same Holy Spirit has now empowered the preaching of the gospel.Peter says, “Even the angels long to look into these things.”The mistake that we can make, I think, in thinking about prophecy is that we think that the greatest mystery in life is what we will do and what will happened to us and how God will use us. But in the Bible the greatest mystery is the mystery about Christ. That is, the message of the gospel. That through his own dying on a cross, God would save a people for himself.It's called the mystery of God because for ages past is was kept hidden. It was spoken about in shadows and in mystery by the prophets of the Old Testament, but it's now been revealed in the preaching of the gospel. And everywhere that the gospel is preached and brought to bear on the lives of people, there prophetic ministry continues. When God speaks through people to make the gospel of Jesus known, the work of prophecy continues.So listen to what Paul says in 16:25–26. He writes,Now to him who is able to establish you in accordance with my gospel, the message I proclaim about Jesus Christ, in keeping with the revelation of the mystery hidden for long ages past, but now revealed and made known through the prophetic writings by the command of the eternal God, so that all the Gentiles might come to the obedience that comes from faith…. (Romans 16:25–26 NIV)What the Bible is saying is that prophecy is fundamentally about Jesus. It's about the revelation of the mystery that was hidden for ages past and which has now been revealed.In fact, Revelation 19:10 gives this rather remarkable definition of prophecy. It says,For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. (Revelation 19:10 ESV)To say that prophecy is about the testimony of Jesus Christ doesn't mean that prophecy is only about evangelism and telling people who don't know Jesus about him. It's a bit like saying that the Bible is about Jesus.Prophecy broadly understood is not just evangelism. It's showing people how the Old Testament is fulfilled in Christ. It's challenging people to repent and believe in Christ. It's showing people the new life that Christ has called us to live in obedience to him. It's challenging people to take up their cross and follow Christ.Prophecy is the word about Christ which challenges, rebukes, encourages, equips, trains, makes wise for salvation, which is really the purpose of the whole Bible.God Gives Us His Spirit So That We Can Speak About JesusSo prophecy is primarily about the testimony to Jesus Christ.But not only is that the heart of prophecy, but that's also the key reason that God has given his Spirit to his people. That is, so that every Christian can speak words about Jesus.In seeing that, it helps to look at what God said to some of the Old Testament prophets and then to also look at how that is paralleled in the New Testament.So God says to Moses in Exodus 4:11–12,“Who gave human beings their mouths? Who makes them deaf or mute? Who gives them sight or makes them blind? Is it not I, the Lord? Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say.” (Exodus 4:11–12 NIV) Or in Deuteronomy 18 God tells Moses,I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their fellow Israelites, and I will put my words in his mouth. He will tell them everything I command him. (Deuteronomy 18:18 NIV)Or God says to Jeremiah in Jeremiah 1,“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”But Jeremiah says,“Alas, Sovereign Lord … I do not know how to speak; I am too young.” But the Lord said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am too young.' You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you,” declares the Lord. Then the Lord reached out his hand and touched my mouth and said to me, “I have put my words in your mouth.” (Jeremiah 1:4–9 NIV)But now listen to these words in the New Testament from Matthew 10. Jesus says,On my account you will be brought before governors and kings as witnesses to them and to the Gentiles. But when they arrest you, do not worry about what to say or how to say it. At that time you will be given what to say, for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you. (Matthew 10:18–20 NIV)What is striking is that in the OT when the prophets spoke it was by the Holy Spirit that they spoke. It was the Holy Spirit who gave them the words to speak. But now Jesus says that the Holy Spirit will give words to his disciples. Again, not to tell the future, but to proclaim Christ.And you see the same thing in the book of Acts. When the Holy Spirit comes on people with power they don't speak a new message about the future but they proclaim the gospel about Jesus.So Jesus says in Acts 1:8,But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1:8 NIV)Or in Acts 4:8 we're told,Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them… (Acts 4:8 NIV)And then Peter preaches a gospel sermon.Or in Acts 4:31, it says,After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly. (Acts 4:31 NIV)Similarly, Acts 11:23–24 tells us about Barnabas:When he arrived and saw what the grace of God had done, he was glad and encouraged them all to remain true to the Lord with all their hearts. He was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith, and a great number of people were brought to the Lord. (Acts 11:23–24 NIV)Does God still speak? Yes, God still speaks. He uses us to speak. In the past God used a few prophets to speak about the coming of Jesus, but now that Jesus has come, God pours out his Spirit on all believers so that they can speak about Jesus.The most exciting and wonderful blessings that the Spirit brings to our lives is the power and ability to speak words about Jesus into a lost world.Christians often think, “Well, God could never use me because I don't know the right things to say.” But God has given us his Spirit for exactly that purpose to empower us to speak.If we know that gospel we can make it know to others as well. We can make known to them what they didn't know before. And we can do that because God has given us his Spirit for exactly that purpose.Does God Give People Insight into the Future?So the heart of prophecy is speaking the truth about Jesus. And God empowers every Christian with his Spirit to do exactly that.But doesn't answer the question of whether God still ever gives people special insight into future like he did in the past?I think it's reasonable to suppose that God still can and does at times prompt people with respect to the future.There doesn't seem to be any reason to suppose that he wouldn't do that any longer. And there are certainly a few examples of that in the New Testament.There are examples of the Holy Spirit leading people in plans and in decisions. We see that in Acts, as the Holy Spirit leads Paul and others regarding where to do their missionary work. So in Acts 13 it says,While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” (Acts 13:2 NIV)And it does seem in experience, too, that the Holy Spirit does prompt and prod us to do certain things.I remember a friend of mine was going for a walk one morning and she walked past a man waiting at a bus stop, and she thought to herself, “I should talk to that man.” She kept walking and then she thought, “No, I really think I should go back and talk to that man.” And so she went back and asked him if he knew Jesus or something like that. At which point he broke down and by the time the bus came this man wanted to trust and follow Jesus.I remember in my own experience too, I once had the overwhelming conviction while I was reading a part of the Bible that I should go and talk to a particular and make sure they were ready to die and to make sure that they really trusted in Jesus. Their life didn't seem to be in immediate danger but I felt very convicted that I should do it so I prayed and went. We had a wonderful conversation and we prayed together. And two or three weeks later they were admitted to hospital suddenly and within about 48 hours they had died.The Holy Spirit certainly prompts and stirs us to do things and we ought to be responsive to those things.But we also need to remember that impressions, thoughts, ideas, and strong emotions are not the sure word of God. Feelings and ideas and impressions can be wrong and misleading. And so we need to test them against the Bible and hold them loosely. We can't trust them in the way that we can trust the sure words of God in the Bible.But more than that, we also need to keep absolutely crystal clear that the reason God has given us his Spirit is not so that we can do some neat party tricks, or so that we can know God's plans for our lives or the lives of others.God's great gift of the Spirit is for the purpose of making his great gospel known. God has spoken so that we would know his Son, Jesus, and so that others would know him too.If that disappears from our understanding of what it means to speak prophetically then we've missed the point.How Does the Spirit Equip Us to Speak?But a final question, then, is how God puts his words in our mouths. How does he do that? How does the Holy Spirit equip us to speak about Jesus?Well, of course, God can do that directly. He can put words into our minds and hearts to speak. But one of the key ways that God equips and trains us to speak is through the Bible.It was the Holy Spirit who caused the Bible to be written down for us. And the Holy Spirit has not suddenly decided to abandon the Bible.The Bible is not a dead book. The Bible is the living word of God. And the Holy Spirit still speaks to us through the Bible.We tend to think that supernatural insight must be something that comes to us spontaneously. But according to the Bible, even just to understand the Bible is supernatural insight.Paul says in 1 Corinthians 1 that we only understand the gospel because God has given us the Holy Spirit.We saw earlier those words of Peter, in 1 Peter 1:10, where he says,Concerning this salvation, the prophets, who spoke of the grace that was to come to you, searched intently and with the greatest care…. (1 Peter 1:10 NIV)The prophets searched intently and with the greatest care. They didn't just put their feet up and wait for the next revelation. They searched and combed through the Bible.And one thing you notice when you read the prophets is how steeped they are in the Bible. They knew the parts of the Bible that they had inside out. And the words that God gave them to speak were applications of the Bible. The apostles constantly refer to the Old Testament in their evangelism and in their letters. You couldn't do that without knowing the Bible really well.It's entirely possible that God could give us some spontaneous, supernatural insight into what the Bible means. But almost the entire emphasis of the New and Old Testaments is that God prepares people slowly to speak for him by teaching them and through them studying his Word.It's a mistake to think that God is only speaking through us when we say something unprepared and spontaneous. As though God is only involved in our lives at the last minutes and has been absent from our lives for the long years of formation and correction that we've already lived.OutroDoes God still speak? Yes. God still speaks to us in the Bible. And in the Bible the Holy Spirit equips us to speak words to people. God puts his words in our mouths to build up the church, to proclaim the good news about Jesus, to call people to repentance, to train us for every good work and to make us wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.That's it for this episode of Thinking Theology. And that's it for this year of Thinking Theology.There will be a special bonus episode in the next week or so dealing with the current pressing issue of vaccination and how we as Christians should think about that. In that episode I'll be speaking with my sister, Associate Professor Dr Elissa Deenick, who is a research immunologist with the University of New South Wales and the Garvan Institute. She'll be joining me to talk about vaccines, Covid and Christianity. So look out for that.And next year we'll be continuing on with Thinking Theology by looking at who God is and what he's like.Please join me then.

About  Dr Susan Henshall: Susan started her career in research and led a translational cancer research laboratory at the Garvan Institute of Medical Research. Over the course of her career, she has completed a MPH and held appointments at the University of NSW and Georgetown University.  In 2013, she founded the global health consultancy, Three Stories Consulting that works with organisations to make the best use of evidence for successful advocacy by creating resources and building capacity around global health issues with a focus on NCDs. Since moving to Europe Susan has thrived in her roles in global health at the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC) and now as CEO of City Cancer Challenge Foundation. CREDITS:Guest: Sue Henshall Host: Alicia MooProducer: Kate Crilly FOLLOW:Twitter: @icongroupglobalInstagram: @icongroupglobal Facebook: @IconGroupglobal LinkedIn: Icon GroupWebsite: icongroup.global

In support of the National Breast Cancer Foundation, our Catalyst Webinar/Podcast series was taken over by our virtual Pink Ribbon event where we heard from three remarkable guests who work in the medical innovation and wellness spaces.  Our guest speakers were:Prof Sarah Hosking - CEO of the National Breast Cancer Foundation. In continuing our tradition of our Pink Ribbon event, Prof Hosking updated us on NBCF's current focus and gave an insight into the challenges and achievements in running a not-for-profit business during Covid-19.Prof Sandra O'Toole - Head of Translational Breast Cancer Research, The Garvan Institute of Medical Research & Senior Staff Specialist, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital. Prof O'Toole shared her story and firsthand experiences of hospital life and continuing breast cancer research during Covid-19. - See accompanying slides hereDr Jemma King - Founder BioPsychAnaltyics, Research Fellow University Queensland and Lecturer Sydney University MBA.Dr King is a specialist in the field of Human Behaviour, Stress and Emotional Intelligence. She shared her top 4 practical, science based hacks, that you can start using right away to support you in living a healthier lifestyle. - See accompanying slides hereBreast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in Australia. The National Breast Cancer Foundation funds world-class research into the detection, prevention and a cure of breast cancer. The NBCF is committed to funding research to reach one determined goal: zero deaths from breast cancer by 2030.  Watchers and listeners are invited to donate to the National Breast Cancer Foundation to help further research into prevention and cure.  Herbert Smith Freehills will make our usual gift donation to the Foundation.

In support of the National Breast Cancer Foundation, our Catalyst Webinar was taken over by our virtual Pink Ribbon event where we heard from three remarkable guests who work in the medical innovation and wellness spaces. Our guest speakers were: Prof Sarah Hosking - CEO of the National Breast Cancer Foundation. In continuing our tradition of our Pink Ribbon event, Prof Hosking updated us on NBCF’s current focus and gave an insight into the challenges and achievements in running a not-for-profit business during Covid-19. Prof Sandra O’Toole - Head of Translational Breast Cancer Research, The Garvan Institute of Medical Research & Senior Staff Specialist, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital. Prof O'Toole shared her story and firsthand experiences of hospital life and continuing breast cancer research during Covid-19. See accompanying slide here - https://sites-herbertsmithfreehills.vuturevx.com/20/21553/landing-pages/nbcf-pink-ribbon-prof-otoole.pdf Dr Jemma King - Founder BioPsychAnaltyics, Research Fellow University Queensland and Lecturer Sydney University MBA. Dr King is a specialist in the field of Human Behaviour, Stress and Emotional Intelligence. She shared her top 4 practical, science based hacks, that you can start using right away to support you in living a healthier lifestyle. See accompanying slide here - https://sites-herbertsmithfreehills.vuturevx.com/20/21553/landing-pages/pink-ribbon-dr-king.pdf Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in Australia. The National Breast Cancer Foundation funds world-class research into the detection, prevention and a cure of breast cancer. The NBCF is committed to funding research to reach one determined goal: zero deaths from breast cancer by 2030. Watchers and listeners are invited to donate to the National Breast Cancer Foundation to help further research into prevention and cure. Herbert Smith Freehills will make our usual gift donation to the Foundation. - https://shoutforgood.com/fundraisers/herbertsmithfreehillsPRB

CEO Dr John Lambert discusses the Amplia Therapeutics' (ASX: ATX) exciting progress in developing new experimental drugs to treat cancer and fibrosis, an update on the AMP945 clinical trial and the company's collaboration with the Garvan Institute. Amplia Therapeutics (ASX: ATX) is an Australian pharmaceutical company developing new drugs for cancer and fibrosis. Any advice contained within this presentation is general advice and does not consider your objectives, financial situation or needs, and you should consider whether it's appropriate for you. The information we are giving you is for educational purposes only. Accurate time of recording, 21 October 2020 at 12pm AEDT.

Episode Description: On this episode of ‘The Inspiration Project', Brendan Corr talks to Associate Professor Elissa Deenick who works at the Garvan Institute where she is the head of Immunity and Inflammation. Dr Deenick talks about going to a Christian School, where her interest in science originated and following Jesus. Episode Summary How an interest in the human body led to immunology. How studying science at a Christian school led to her becoming a scientist. Science explores the natural world; God created the natural world. How Christianity makes more sense of the world than other religions. What was it like as a young Christian studying science at a secular university? Pursuing the truth no matter the cost. What does it mean to be created in the image of God? Where true peace is found in an uncertain world. How Christians should view vaccines

Professor Katherine Samaras, leader of the Garvan Institute’s Healthy Ageing Research Theme, explained more on 3AW Breakfast. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How can researchers connect with philanthropists and supporters? In this week's episode of Research for What?, I talk with Anna Guillan. Anna is the Deputy Chair ofTourism Australia and the Australian consultant to Kerzner International, a global operator of luxury resorts.More relevant to this podcast is the fact that Anna is the co-founder of the NELUNE Foundation, which she established with her friend Nelune Rajapakse in 2001. Today, they have raised over $33M to support patients diagnosed with cancer. Their work at the NELUNE Foundation supports NSW public hospitals and research facilities to provide and improve cancer patient care.In this episode Anna explains how the NELUNE Foundation was born to help provide better care for under-privileged or marginalised patients. Anna talks about how the NELUNE Foundation subsequently began to support long-term and complicated research projects, as new needs developed. In particular, Anna explains how the Rebecca Wilson fellowship was established to support a young cancer researcher at the Garvan Institute of Medical Research. Anna explains the importance of relationships with the Foundation's supporters and researchers. Without a strong scientific background, Anna and Nelune aid projects and people they can trust because of their integrity, honesty and ability to communicate. They build human connections with ‘young bright minds' who share the same passion for helping others. Here, Anna gives some great tips for young researchers to communicate their work in a meaningful way that can be understood by potential supporters.Lastly, Anna hopes her contribution helps foster more collaboration in research, between teams, institutions and companies. She wishes for ‘one big mega brain trying to solve major problems' to get a better outcome for patients. Listen on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, TuneIn, Spotify and Google Podcasts. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Professor Chris Goodnow, Medical Research Director at the Garvan Institute, whose scientists have engineered human antibodies that attack SARS-CoV-2. Once optimised, the viral therapy will be tested in human clinical trials by the Kirby Institute and may provide immunity to the coronavirus for both treatment and prevention. Professor Goodnow says he is “very optimistic” that the antibodies would form the basis of a therapy. The first phase of human clinical trials could start towards the later part of this year.

In today's edition of The Oncology Podcast Rachael talks to Dr Michelle McDonald from the Garvan Institute about her research on bone metastasis and intravital imaging.Dr Michelle McDonald is Group Leader of the Bone Microenvironment Group at the Garvan Institute of Medical Research. Her research career spans over 18 years, attaining her PhD in 2008. Her current research team aims to develop new strategies to target cells of the bone environment to prevent tumour growth both within bone and spreading from bone to other sites. Using a specialised live animal imaging technique, Michelle visualises interactions between single tumour cells and bone cells, investigating how these interactions control the growth and behaviour of tumour cells in bone. Her work has recently attracted a number of competitive grants and spans collaborations with academic and industry partners internationally.Rachael Babin is the Editor-in-Chief of The Oncology Newsletter and Publisher of www.oncologynews.com.au. The Oncology Newsletter is a weekly publication for healthcare professionals with an interest in oncology, featuring the latest news, views and reviews. Click here to subscribe. We hope you enjoy this podcast - thank you for listening. 

The BioMedTech Horizons Program is focused on supporting translation of Australian medical technology innovation to address key health challenges. MTPConnect convened our Round 1 BioMedTech Horizons Program recipients together in Melbourne for a chance to hear about all projects underway, swap ideas on challenges being faced and gain advice from commercialisation experts. Listen in to Carina Biotech's Professor Jane Rathjen, Griffith University's Professor David Lloyd and Professor Randy Bindra, and Garvan Institute of Medical Research's Professor Luke Hesson. The episode also features MTPConnect Managing Director & CEO Dr Dan Grant and intellectual property expert Rob McInness, Principal at Rob McInness IP Advisory.Credits: Host Shannan Osrin.

Be inspired as we chat with Corey Tutt who has made it his mission to spread his love of science to remote and regional indigenous communities through sending science books to schools & linking these students to scientists via Skype. This project is completely self-funded and he works hand in hand with local elders in each community. Not only is Corey increasing scientific literacy, he is also helping kids see true pathways to higher education! Hosted by Ben Newsome from Fizzics EducationAbout Corey Tutt Corey is a proud Indigenous man from the South Coast(with Kamilaroi heritage),  who is currently working at Sydney University. Corey has a passion for all things science and has been working with Indigenous youth and animals in his spare time.  Corey has worked at Roo gully WA, Shoalhaven zoo as an Alpaca shearer as well as with the RSPCA and Animal Welfare League, before deciding to continue his studies. When he started work at the Garvan Institute of Medical Research, his passion for science developed further. He started to teach himself genetics, starting with primary school level and eventually working up to higher level genetics. When he moved to the University of Sydney in 2016 and his first point of call was to find AIME, the very group that mentored him as a teenager. Today is Corey learning more about his culture and is looking to develop pathways to science within the university for indigenous students by creating an indigenous science committee and podcast to be released in July 2019. Outside of the university, he is spreading the word of about science by helping indigenous people find science in remote areas. Using his connections within the animal industry, he is also to find young indigenous people work. Corey hopes to develop and collaborate these programs and ideas to a spread to other remote communities and create the pathways to science moment to encourage more indigenous people to pursue science and to work with animals. For the past 6 months, Corey has been sending books to 48 remote schools from all around Australia to get people excited by science he has also created the virtual classroom bringing scientists to the bush via Skype. About the FizzicsEd Podcast With interviews with leading science educators and STEM thought leaders, this science education podcast is about highlighting different ways of teaching kids within and beyond the classroom. It's not just about educational practice & pedagogy, it's about inspiring new ideas & challenging conventions of how students can learn about their world! https://www.fizzicseducation.com.au/Know an educator who'd love this STEM podcast episode?  Share it! The FizzicsEd podcast is a member of the Australian Educators Online Network (AEON ) http://www.aeon.net.au/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A very special episode for me - if you are new to my podcast and looking for just 1 episode to listen to, please make it this one. Today I am so happy to share with you a quote by Vanessa Juresic, who sadly passed away in May 2018 from breast cancer. I never knew Vanessa, but when I read her final words - it changed me more than any other quote has changed my actions. Links I mention in the podcast are below - Vanessa's Final Words - full letter https://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/health/health-problems/vanessa-juresics-final-heartbreaking-words-to-her-grieving-family-and-friends/news-story/fc61484315b33bb02286947bcee5ba1c - Vanessa's Fundraising for the Garvan Institute - https://au.gofundme.com/vanessa039s-adventures - Information about the Garvan Institute's Breast Cancer Research https://www.garvan.org.au/research/diseases/cancer-breast - NEW - Please visit The White Butterfly, a charity that Vanessa's family have set up to help raise funds and awareness for Breast Cancer. https://www.thewhitebutterfly.org/ As always, you can find me on Facebook and Instagram under @thisquotechangedmylife -- but I truly hope you listen to this episode and take something from it that will inspire you to just START THE THING. LIVE! And get messy. Make mistakes. Make them again. And know you are going to be okay!

Martijn Bijker was born and raised in the Netherlands where he did both his Masters and PhD in immuno-oncology. In 2007 he moved to Sydney, Australia to start his postdoc at the Garvan Institute and 4 years later transitioned to the pharmaceutical industry where he consecutively worked as a Medical Science Liaison (MSL) with Abbott, AbbVie and Amgen. He quickly realised that like him, many other PhD/Postdocs struggled to find good information to prepare themselves for the transition from academia into the pharmaceutical industry. This inspired Martijn to found his own career and coaching company.   For complete show notes, including links to items mentioned in this episode and a transcript of the podcast, visit www.phdcareerstories.com. You can also find us on social media: www.facebook.com/PhDCareerStories www.twitter.com/PhDCareerPod www.instagram.com/phdcareerstories www.linkedin.com/company/phd-career-stories

James had an unconventional journey into Bioinformatics. He dropped out of university twice but managed to use his programming skills, that he had developed through his own initiative, in conjunction with his determination to eventually end up at the Garvan Institute as a Genomic Systems Analyst. In this episode we talked about Bioinformatics, what type of questions programmers can answer compared to pure biologist, the cutting edge technologies being developed at the Garvan, the education system, his world record, and more. 

Gabriel Farago's latest Jack Rogan thriller is a medical adventure that deals with the dark matter of the human genome and a visionary scientist with the power to change the future of medicine. Sounds like Sci Fi you think?  Well it's not. It's had approval from top cancer researchers. Jenny: Hi there, I'm your host Jenny Wheeler and today Gabriel  tells us about the virtual reality game that's helping make dark science real to ordinary people  - and why he thanks Dan Brown for his writing career. Six things you'll learn from this Joys of Binge Reading episode Where you can take Professor K's  virtual reality tour Why world class cancer researchers praise Professor K How Dan Brown helped Gabriel's career Where he'd take fans for a mystery literary tour The four contemporary writers he most admires And the mind attitude that's the secret to his success Where to find Gabriel Farago: Website: https://gabrielfarago.com.au Facebook and Twitter https://twitter.com/gabriel_farago https://www.facebook.com/gabrielfaragoauthor/ What follows is a "near as" but not word for word transcript of our chat with links to important mentions. Jenny: And now, here's Gabriel.  Hello there Gabriel, and welcome to the show. It's great to have you with us. Gabriel:  It's an absolute pleasure to be here and thank you for asking me. Jenny: It's lovely to think of you sitting in the Blue Mountains in Sydney right now, is the weather good? Gabriel: We had a little bit of fog this morning but yes it's good.  I'm sitting right on the side of the Blue Mountains, on the edge of a World Heritage National Park, and I write in my attic here so it's an absolutely wonderful setting for a writer. Author Gabriel Farago in Budapest Jenny: Beginning at the beginning . . . .Was there a “Once Upon A Time” moment when you realised you had to write fiction or your life would be the lesser for it?  If so what was the catalyst? Gabriel: Looking back on my life that's a difficult one to answer  I don't believe it has been one particular moment  It's been more of a journey than a moment.  I have had a very long legal career. I've been a barrister for many years, running court cases and I have met some very interesting people who were inspiration for taking up writing. However my interest goes back much further than that. I have a literature degree and I have been interested in books going right back to when I was a boy in Austria. Jenny: I see.  You've now published three historical mysteries in the Jack Rogan series, but did you start with Jack? Gabriel:  Yes, I started with Jack. My first book, The Empress Holds the Key, was a very ambitious project and was ignited by my interest in ancient Egyptology and the church and the scriptures and how all of those mesh together in the past. So that book took me ten years to complete. I was still practising law at the time, so it's been a gradual process. The Empress Holds The Key - Gabriel Farago Jenny: Your most recent book, The Hidden Genes of Professor K, introduces us to a visionary scientist with the power to change the future of medicine.  One of your colleagues at the Garvan Institute has described it as a journey into the "dark matter of the human genome" - and I'm very interested in your connection with that institute - it's an internationally recognised cancer research facility in Sydney and several of the scientists there have contributed to a foreword for the book. Gabriel:   Yes they have and I think it's appropriate that I tell you a little of how that came about. A writer should only write about things he knows about and is interested in and medical research has been an area of interest of mine for many years. The Garvan Institute is  a world-renowned institute with 500 scientists working there on cutting edge medical research. I have been a director of the institute for ten years and having had the privilege of seeing the work they do  - ...

Soon individual genome sequences will be a standard part of health records, which will revolutionise biomedical discovery, personal healthcare, and health system management. Millions of genome sequences integrated with millions of clinical records and other information from personal devices and the internet of things will create a multi-dimensional data ecology that will require advanced systems not only to secure the privacy and provenance of the data, but also to enable its analysis by machine learning and artificial intelligence. The last of the great cottage industries will become the most important of the data-intensive industries of the 21st century. Hear more on what the future holds from Professor John Mattick, Garvan Institute of Medical Research. Held as part of Sydney Ideas on 21 November http://sydney.edu.au/sydney_ideas/lectures/2017/21st_century_medicine_2017.shtml

In this episode, Professor Jerry Greenfield will join the host Jan Alford to discuss key interactions of other hormones in diabetes. Professor Greenfield is an Endocrinologist and Clinical researcher. He is Head of the Department of Endocrinology and Director, Diabetes Services, at St Vincent’s Hospital. His current positions and roles include: Professor of Medicine, University of New South Wales; Clinical Associate Dean, St Vincent’s Clinical School, University of New South Wales; Editor-in-Chief, Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism Case Reports; Editorial Board member, Clinical Obesity; Council Member, Australia and New Zealand Obesity Society. He previously held an NHMRC Neil Hamilton Fairley Postdoctoral Research Fellowship, which allowed him to study in the Departments of Medicine and Clinical Biochemistry, University of Cambridge, Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Cambridge, UK (2005-6, Supervisors: Prof Stephen O’Rahilly and Dr Sadaf Farooqi). He undertook a PhD at the Garvan Institute from 2001-2004, under the supervision of Prof D Chisholm, Prof L Campbell and Prof K Samaras). He graduated from the Faculty of Medicine with Honours (class 1) from the University of NSW in 1995. To download a certificate of completion, please visit https://learning.adea.com.au/lms/course/view.php?id=86 and complete the survey.

Almost every week it seems there’s a story in the news telling us about food and nutrition, and what we should eat to be healthy and avoid being overweight. But very often this week’s message contradicts what we heard only last week. In this podcast, weight loss scientist Associate Professor Amanda Salis speaks to our host Dr Chris Neff about the challenge of eating well in a world of confusing advice. Amanda is a senior research leader at the University of Sydney’s Boden Institute of Obesity, Nutrition, Exercise and Eating Disorders based at the Charles Perkins Centre. Amanda studied in Australia before she went to the University of Geneva, in Switzerland, where she studied for her PhD. When she returned to Australia in 1998 she worked at The Garvan Institute for Medical Research and then took up her role at the University of Sydney. Today, she leads a research team that is unraveling the science of how our brains affect hunger, emotions and body weight. She leads clinical weight loss trials aimed at helping people to attain and maintain an optimum body weight. She has a long and distinguished record of academic publishing and is also the author of two books about weight management for the general public.

Executive Director of the Garvan Institute, John Mattick, drops into our recording suite to talk about his career so far. Boyden's Leadership Matters podcast series is the brainchild of Boyden Australia's Allan Marks and Alun Parry as they look into what makes a leader. The series will interview a suite of Australian leaders to find out what makes them tick and what advice they would give to aspiring senior leaders.

Vodafone and the Garvan Institute have created an app for Android that allows you to help them fight cancer - simple, effective. Headphones for your kids that keep them safe and protect their ears, zip-lock protection for your smartphone or tablet, Costco selling Mobile phones and plans, a new App for Apple TV to help you find the movies you want, teach your kids about recycling with a game on your smartphone and the new idea for People Mangement.

The blokes have got their hands on the new iPad Pro, so what's it like? All their thoughts and more, plus Microsoft Surface Pro 4 is out what's that like? A Pro tablet quinella. Tag has a new Watch, this one is smart - so - is it a big deal? DreamLab allows you to join the Garvan Institute's fight against cancer, Presto for Foxtel platinum users, Call of Duty Black Ops III reviewed by the man who knows it best, Kid friendly headphones and Stephen's minute reviews.

The blokes have got their hands on the new iPad Pro, so what's it like? All their thoughts and more, plus Microsoft Surface Pro 4 is out what's that like? A Pro tablet quinella. Tag has a new Watch, this one is smart - so - is it a big deal? DreamLab allows you to join the Garvan Institute's fight against cancer, Presto for Foxtel platinum users, Call of Duty Black Ops III reviewed by the man who knows it best, Kid friendly headphones and Stephen's minute reviews.

Vodafone and the Garvan Institute have created an app for Android that allows you to help them fight cancer - simple, effective. Headphones for your kids that keep them safe and protect their ears, zip-lock protection for your smartphone or tablet, Costco selling Mobile phones and plans, a new App for Apple TV to help you find the movies you want, teach your kids about recycling with a game on your smartphone and the new idea for People Mangement.

Vodafone and the Garvan Institute have created an app for Android that allows you to help them fight cancer - simple, effective. Headphones for your kids that keep them safe and protect their ears, zip-lock protection for your smartphone or tablet, Costco selling Mobile phones and plans, a new App for Apple TV to help you find the movies you want, teach your kids about recycling with a game on your smartphone and the new idea for People Mangement.

Duff’s guest is John Mattick is the director of the Garvan Institute of Medical Research. The Garvan Institute is one of Australia's largest medical research institutions with approximately 650 scientists, students and support staff.  Garvan's research is focused on the major diseases that affect today's society. Professor Mattick’s   research led to the discovery of the function of Non-coding DNA, for which he earned a top award for genetics.  Over the past 20 years he has pioneered a new view of the genetic programming of humans and other complex organisms, by showing that the majority of the genome, previously considered ‘junk’, actually specifies a dynamic network of regulatory RNAs that guide differentiation and development. He has published over 250 research articles and his work has received coverage in Nature, Science, Scientific American, New Scientist and the New York Times, among others.

As part of the International Cancer Genome Consortium, the Australia Pancreatic Cancer Genome Initiative (APGI) is working to develop personalised medicines for pancreatic cancer patients. Dr Marine Pajic discusses her work carrying out preclinical studies to validate new agents proposed for personalised pancreatic cancer treatments. Thanks to the positive results of these studies using patient DNA and RNA to identify treatment targets, the APGI is expecting to launch the IMPACT trial of personalised medicines at the end of the year.

Dr. Jackie Center from the Garvan Institute of Medical Research talks about osteoporosis in men.