! !! SHMRC Connect Educate Inspire Students in Health and Medical Research Conference 2015 Conference Program 1 Sponsors Platinum Sponsors Gold Sponsors School of Medicine and Pharmacology 2 Silver Sponsors School of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine Bronze Sponsors School of Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences School of Population Health Door Prize 3 Judges Professor Sean Hood MBBS, MSc, FRANZCP Professor Sean Hood undertook his undergraduate medical degree at the University of Western Australia before completing formal postgraduate training in Psychiatry in Perth (Australia) and Bristol (United Kingdom) in 2003. Prof Hood completed his Masters’ Degree in Affective Neuroscience (University of Maastricht, Netherlands, 2003). Subsequently, he returned to Perth setting up a Clinical Psychopharmacology laboratory as a clinical academic in the University of Western Australia’s Psychiatry & Clinical Neurosciences Unit. Prof Hood is Chair of the Australian Pristiq Advisory Board and a member of the Australian Cymbalta & Vortioxetine Advisory Boards. He is a psychiatrist in academic (UWA), public (SCGH) and private practice (Hollywood Medical Centre). Prof Hood currently runs the 6th year Psychiatry MBBS program at UWA and chaired the Systems’ Committee of the new UWA MD Program. Professor Hood is currently head of the UWA School of Psychiatry & Clinical Neurosciences. Professor Neil Boudville MBBS, MMedSc, FRACP, FASN Neil Boudville is Professor of Renal Medicine and Sub-Dean for the Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences at the University of Western Australia. He is also the Head of Department of the Renal Unit at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital and the Medical Director of the WA Home Dialysis Program. He has 4 current NHMRC Project grants and is the Chair of the Scientific Committee for the Australasian Kidney Trials Network. 4 Professor Fiona Lake MBBS, MD, FRACP Professor Fiona Lake holds the Eric Saint Chair of Medicine at the University of Western Australia and is a Respiratory Physician at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital, Perth. Her clinical work is based around inpatient and outpatient care, in particular, caring for patients with chronic underlying diseases (such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and interstitial lung disease). With colleagues, Prof Lake established a community-based service for patients with COPD, with the aim of reducing admissions and improving quality of life. In her academic practice, she has had extensive involvement in medical education, both in training health professionals through curriculum development, implementation and accreditation, and in training the supervisors. Professor Mariapia Degli-Esposti BSc, PhD Professor Mariapia Degli-Esposti is a NHMRC Principal Research Fellow at the University of Western Australia and heads the Experimental Immunology Group at the Centre for Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences. Professor Degli-Esposti is also the Head of the Immunology Division and was appointed Head of Research at the Lions Eye Institute in 2009. She has achieved international recognition as a viral immunologist with her research in the interactions between innate and adaptive immune responses being widely cited. 5 Professor Rodney Dilley BSc, PhD Rod Dilley is at the Ear Science Institute Australia in Perth where he heads Molecular and Cellular Otolaryngology research. He is also an Associate Professor at the School of Surgery, University of Western Australia and Member of the UWA Centre for Cell Therapy and Regenerative Medicine. Since gaining his PhD at UWA and postdoctoral study in Seattle USA, he worked at Baker and O’Brien Research Institutes in Melbourne and Melbourne University on biology of cardiovascular disease and regenerative medicine. He developed a novel human cardiac tissue engineering method using vascularised chambers and stem cells from fat or pluripotent stem cells. Returning to Perth in 2011 his work at Ear Sciences Centre has focused on novel materials and stem cells for tissue engineering in relation to ear and hearing disorders. The work of his multidisciplinary team also includes development of devices for tissue engineering and reconstructive ear surgery. In addition, Rod has graduate and undergraduate teaching roles at UWA, Curtin, Murdoch and the University of Notre Dame and is a member of Research Committee Executive at University of Notre Dame Medical School. Professor George Yeoh Bsc, PhD Professor George Yeoh received his PhD in Biochemistry from UWA in 1972. Shortly after he was awarded the CJ Martin Overseas Research Fellow (NHMRC) and studied at the University of Pennsylvania USA and the Beatson Institute for Cancer Research, Glasgow, Scotland. He filled many roles as Visiting Scientist at a number of prestigious universities in the USA and in Europe. Following his return to Australia he was successful in obtaining an NHMRC Fellowship and achieved successive renewals to the level of Principal Research Fellow. He is currently the Associate Dean of Research in the UWA Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences, as well as a Professor of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology. Professor Yeoh is the Head of the Liver Disease and Carcinogenesis Laboratory of the Centre for Medical Research at The Perkins Institute of Medical Research, and was appointed by the University of Western Australia as its representative on the Board and brings his knowledge of stem cell biology and tissue repair to the Institute. 6 Career Development Speaker Robert Henderson MBBS, BMedSci (Hons), 7 STUDENT INFO NIGHT 21 August, 2015 Find more information 5:00pm – 7pm on our facebook page Lions Eye Institute In the Foyer, Harry Perkins Institute Student Information Night 6 Verdun St, Nedlands Research opportunities available www.lei.org.au 8 Prizes First Place Oral Presentation $1000 Second Place Oral Presentation $250 Third Place Oral Presentation $100 Most Engaging Speaker $100 Best Poster Presentation $250 Door Prize AMA Voucher worth $200 Best Question Copy of Clinical Examination, 7th Edition: A Systematic Guide to Physical Diagnosis By Talley and O’Connor 9 ! !! SHMRC Connect Educate Inspire 10 The impact of risk taking behaviour in adolescence on future executive and cognitive function, psychomotor function, attention and associative memory. Wendy Lim: UWA School of Paediatrics and Child Health Background: Risk-taking behaviour during adolescence is a major public health concern. Reduced executive cognitive function (ECF) may result in the tendency to perform impulsive actions such as risk-taking behaviours. Further neurocognitive deficits may also result from neurotoxic effects of the misused substances This study aims to investigate the relationship between risk-taking behaviours and neurocognitive function, focusing particularly on ECF, psychomotor function, attention/vigilance and associative memory. Methods: This cross-sectional study examined data from the Raine Study 16-18 year old follow up. Seven hundred and eight (n=708) participants underwent computerised cognitive testing using the CogState Battery, including the Groton Maze Learning Task (GML), Detection Task (DET), Identification Task (IDN) and Continuous Paired Associate Learning Task (CPAL). Information regarding sexual, marijuana and alcohol risk-taking behaviours were taken from self-reported questionnaires. Results: Adolescents with early sexual debut, multiple sexual partners and frequent marijuana use made more errors on tasks assessing ECF (GML) and associative memory (CPAL). They also had a slower response speed on tasks assessing attention function (IDN), but showed no difference compared to peers on tasks assessing psychomotor function (DET). Compared to their peers, adolescents with binge-drinking behaviours showed worse performance on tasks assessing associative memory (CPAL), but displayed no difference on other tasks. Conclusion: Risk-taking behaviours, such as early sexual debut, multiple sexual partners and frequent marijuana use were associated with reduced ECF, visual attention and associative memory, but not with psychomotor speed. Adolescents with binge-drinking behaviours demonstrated reduced associative memory compared to their peers, but otherwise had no significant association with other neurocognitive capacities. 11 Early Development and medical co-morbidity in rare genetic disorder: MECP2 Duplication Syndrome Zhan Lim: Telethon Kids Institute / UWA Background: Micro-duplications involving the MECP2 gene have been established as a form of X- linked neurodevelopmental disorder known as the MECP2 duplication syndrome (MDS). Cardinal features include global developmental delay, infantile hypotonia and facial anomalies. Epilepsy and recurrent respiratory infections appear to be common. However, there have been no large-scale studies describing the phenotype of this disorder. The aim is to provide exploratory analysis on the acquisition of gross motor milestones, functional abilities and comorbidities in MDS. Methods: Questionnaire data provided by parents were obtained from the International Rett Syndrome Database (InterRett). Results: Data were collected from 56 cases (48 males) with MDS. Mean age of diagnosis was 6 years, with MDS the initial diagnosis in only 11% of cases. Delayed milestones were commonly reported (47/56, 84%) by 10 months of life. Speech regression had occurred in 19 (43%) of the 44 cases who had attained babble or words for communication. Limited non-verbal communication was observed in more than 50%. The majority (71%) did not acquire independent ambulation,