The Department of Paediatrics

THE DEPARTMENT OF PAEDIATRICS THE DEPARTMENT OF PAEDIATRICS The Department of Paediatrics, within the School of Clinical Sciences at Monash Health, is based at Monash Medical Centre in Clayton – the largest hospital in the Monash Health network and the principal teaching hospital of Monash University. Located in the new Monash Children’s Hospital (a dedicated 230-bed state-of- the-art facility) and within the Monash Health Translation Precinct (MHTP), the Department plays a very important role in the research translation of the School and University. This co-location provides our students and clinician-scientists with unparalleled access to patients, research facilities and collaborative opportunities throughout our local and international partner network, including The Ritchie Centre—the largest perinatal research centre in Australia. 3 4 RESEARCH in the Department of Paediatrics Our research focuses on: • neonatology • immunology • cancer • infectious diseases • vaccine safety • sleep disorders • cystic fibrosis • inflammatory bowel disease • diabetes • the integration of databases in primary, secondary and tertiary care Clinical research into the diseases affecting management of pulmonary hypertension, and newborns, children and adolescents is conducted the immunology of neonatal and childhood at the Monash Children’s Hospital, Monash Health lung disease. Animal and clinical studies in Clinical trials are conducted and the Department of Paediatrics, with basic the use of melatonin to prevent brain damage by Monash Kids Research in: research at The Ritchie Centre, in partnership from birth asphyxia are funded by the Gates with the Hudson Institute of Medical Research. Foundation. Vaccine safety research in pregnancy • infectious diseases and childhood is funded by the World Health • immunisation The Ritchie Centre is the largest perinatal Organisation, US National vaccine Program research centre in Australia and functions Office, and Monash Health Foundation. • endocrinology as a major research arm for the Department • urology of Paediatrics. The Ritchie Centre has an annual research budget of about $10 million. • neurology Academically, The Ritchie Centre enjoys an especially close relationship with Monash Newborn. A key part of our strategy is ensuring Clinical research into diseases cutting edge laboratory research is tested and of childhood are funded by translated into patient care. the NHMRC, philanthropic Key areas of translational research include foundations, and industry neuroprotective strategies and the prevention of lung disease through optimising non-invasive grants. respiratory support, the timing of cord clamping, functional cardiac echocardiography and the 5 6 TEACHING in the Department of Paediatrics Teaching is at the core of our department focus. We deliver Paediatrics and Children’s Health curriculum for the Bachelor of Medical Science and Doctor of Medicine (MD) for medical students year 4C (undergraduate and postgraduate). We actively support students and practitioners/ Monash Children’s provides all paediatric and clinicians wanting to undertake research neonatal services for Monash Health across in paediatrics. We encourage applications three campuses: Monash Children’s Hospital in for Honours (Bachelor of Medical Science, Clayton, Dandenong and Casey Hospitals. It is Bachelor of Science, Bachelor of Biomedical one of Australia’s largest children’s hospitals and Science) and PhD research projects, and have is Victoria’s largest provider of neonatal services. fantastic opportunities for early career academic Last year Monash Children’s treated 39,000 paediatricians and scientists who have recently children in its paediatric and neonatal wards completed a higher degree and are transitioning to and 66,000 children attended its emergency independent research funding. departments. As a teaching hospital, Monash Children’s Monash Children’s Hospital is already operating Hospital trains the next generation of doctors and close to the scale and capacity of Melbourne’s paediatric specialists. Monash Newborn is part of Royal Children’s Hospital, serving one of Australia’s the Melbourne Neonatal Fellowship Program, a fastest-growing population centres. rigorous academic program for neonatal registrars and paediatricians. The hospital also provides active nurse education in the special area of newborn care. 7 8 MONASH NEWBORN Monash Newborn at Monash Children’s Hospital provides exceptional care and treatment for sick and premature babies. Monash Medical Centre, Clayton is the only Victorian hospital where both newborn baby and mother can both be treated on the same An experienced team of eleven neonatologists The babies in Monash Newborn may have been site if they both require (neonatal paediatricians) and neonatal nursing born at Monash Medical Centre, Clayton but intensive care. staff deliver 24 hour specialist care to ensure the some come from other hospitals, regional areas best possible outcomes for the 1,500 babies and occasionally other states. Many arrive via the admitted every year. Paediatric Infant Perinatal Emergency Retrieval Monash Newborn is the (PIPER) service which transfers very sick newborns Monash Newborn provides 64 fully staffed cots largest of the four Neonatal and infants between hospitals in Victoria. – 32 each in our Neonatal Intensive Care Unit Intensive Care Units (NICU) (NICU) and our Special Care Nursery (SCN). In In some cases, babies have had medical in Victoria. our NICU there are mostly two cots per room conditions identified prior to birth by the and in our SCN, mostly three cots per room. renowned Fetal Diagnostic Unit and require To provide exceptional care for such large medical or surgical intervention before and numbers of sick and premature babies the after birth. nursery has been divided into two teams. Following birth and admission to Monash Monash Newborn has been designed to Newborn, parents receive a discharge or transfer deliver family-centred health care based on plan for their baby and may also be referred to a partnership between parents, staff and the other specialist services. After discharge, selected extended family. The new rooms have much groups of babies are followed-up at our special greater space, more privacy and enable families Growth and Development Clinic, which focuses to actively participate in the care of their baby. on the first two years of life. There are also designated family areas and facilities including ‘rooming in’ rooms where the family can stay overnight or longer before taking their baby home. 9 KEY STAFF DEPARTMENT OF PAEDIATRICS Professor Nick Freezer Professor Nick Freezer is the Head of the Monash use in children, especially children aged under University Department of Paediatrics, Medical Director six. Professor Freezer was among the first group of the Women’s and Children’s Program for Monash of researchers to alert the world to the dangers Health and Medical Director of Monash Children’s of over treating asthmatic children with inhaled Hospital. As a practising respiratory physician, he corticosteroids. continues to research the dangers of corticosteroid Professor Marcel Nold Professor Marcel Nold is the newly appointed passionate about his research, making a meaningful Professor Paediatric Immunology at Monash. As difference to his baby patients and their families. neonatologist and a clinician-scientist, paediatrician, Aiming to lay the foundations for much-needed new his work, carried out in Germany, the USA and therapies, he employs bedside-to-bench-and-back Australia, is focussed on interventional immunology approaches to explore the molecular mechanisms and has attracted the interest of opinion-leading underpinning severe diseases of premature infants, journals and pharmaceutical companies. His work such as bronchopulmonary dysplasia, pulmonary is currently being commercialised for translation to hypertension and necrotising enterocolitis. clinical trials in two companies. Professor Nold is Professor Rosemary Horne Professor Rosemary Horne is a Senior Principal She is Chair of the Physiology working group of the Research Fellow and heads the Infant and Child International Society for the Study and Prevention of Health research group within the Ritchie Centre, Infant Deaths and the Red Nose (formerly SIDS and Hudson Institute of Medical Research and Kids Australia) National Scientific Advisory Group, Department of Paediatrics, Monash University. Her a Director of the International Paediatric Sleep research interests focus on numerous aspects of Association, and is on the editorial boards sleep in infants and children. Rosemary has published of the Journal of Sleep Research, Sleep and more than 170 scientific research and review articles. Sleep Medicine. 10 Professor Arvind Sehgal Professor Arvind Sehgal is a Consultant Neonatologist and has functional echocardiography in critical care at Monash Newborn and Professor in the Department as his clinical and research interest. He organises of Paediatrics, Monash University. He completed the biennial Monash Cardiovascular Symposium and a Fellowship in Neonatal Cardiology at University has led ‘Topic Symposia’ and Echocardiography College Hospital, London, UK and The Integrated workshops at international conferences. He has more Neonatal Perinatal Fellowship at The Hospital for Sick than 80 publications in international peer-reviewed Children and University of Toronto, Canada. Professor journals and recently completed his PhD under the Sehgal joined Monash as a neonatologist

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