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Author Archives: Kathleen Sircombe

2024 Research Staff Award

 

The 270th Scientific Meeting of OMSRS which is the 2024 Research Staff Awards was held on the 19th June at Colquhoun Lecture theatre between 5-6.30 pm. This year four staff shortlisted by Editorial Panel led by Dr Adam Middleton presented.

 

The meeting was convened by Professor Shyamal Das, President of OMSRS, and judges for presentation were Dr Adam Middleton, Dr Benedict Seo, Associate Professor Aniruddha Chatterjee and Dr Natasha Flack.

The winner was Jerry Hsu from the Department of Psychological medicine (Abstract: CW Hsu, CC Lin, Gray A, Ross J, Akuhata-Huntington Z. Investigating an ‘overdose’ of digital mental health intervention targeting depression using  cognitive bias modification). The winner received a certificate and $500 prize money.

The runner up was Teodora Georgescu from the Department of Anatomy (Absttract: T Georgescu, I Sawyer, AM Stewart1 M Gillett, SR Ladyman, DR Grattan. Suppression of both bacterial and viral fevers in late pregnancy in mice.).The runner up received a certificate and $250 prize money.

These awards are kindly sponsored by the Otago Postgraduate Medical Society (OPMS). The CEO of OPMS, Associate Professor Aniruddha Chatterjee was present to hand over the Awards.

 

Congratulations Jerry and Teodora!

 

Best wishes,
Professor Shyamal Das

President, Otago Medical School Research Society

PhD Student Award 2024

The 271st Scientific Meeting of OMSRS, which is the 2024 PhD meeting, was held on August 14th at the Barnett Lecture Theatre from 5:00 to 7:30 pm. This year, nine shortlisted PhD students presented. Unfortunately, one shortlisted student could not present due to illness.

 

The meeting was convened by Professor Shyamal Das, President of OMSRS, and the judges for the presentations were Dr. Adam Middleton, Dr. Benedict Seo, Associate Professor Tania Slatter, Dr. Emily Gray, and Dr. Frances March de Ribot.

 

The winner was Sara Crellin from the Department of Psychological Medicine (Abstract: S Crellin, P Glue, P Sheard, PM Heyward, D De-Ridder. “Novel therapeutic targets in the treatment of bipolar disorder”). She received a certificate and $500 in prize money.

The runner-up was Venus Michaels from the Department of Women’s & Children’s Health (Abstract: VR Michaels, A Boucsein, JJ Haszard, B Galland, KA Meredith-Jones, Y Zhou, SD Jones, RG Paul, E Wiltshire, C Jefferies, MI de Bock, BJ Wheeler. “Impact of AID on sleep in type 1 diabetes for young people with suboptimal glycemia”). She received a certificate and $250 in prize money, kindly sponsored by MediRay.

The Division of Health Sciences Pro-Vice Chancellor, Associate Professor Megan Gibbons, attended as the Chief Guest. She appreciated the high standard of presentations and handed over the awards.

Congratulations, Sara and Venus!

 

Ngā mihi,
Professor Shyamal Das

President, Otago Medical School Research Society

2024 PhD Student awards

Tēnā koutou 

 

The Otago Medical School Research Society is proud to announcethe 271st Scientific Meeting of the Society which will showcasethe research performed by10 University of Otago PhD students.A panel of judges will award $500 to the best speaker (sponsored by OMSRS), and the runner-up will be awarded $250 (sponsored by Mediray). 

 

The meeting will occur between 5.00 – 7.30 pm onWednesday 14th August 2024in the Barnett Lecture theatre, 1st floor Dunedin Hospital.  

 

Our speakers are listed below 

Please join us to celebrate our emerging Otago Health researchers. 

 

Time Presenter Title Department
5pm Prof Shyamal Das (President OMSRS) Opening remarks and Karakia President OMSRS
5.05pm Venus Cahusac de Caux Impact of AID on sleep in type 1 diabetes for young people with suboptimal glycemia. Women’s & Children’s Health
5.15pm LIJO N VARGHESE Varghese Understanding the role of microRNAs in cardiac ageing Physiology
5.25pm Anita Lu Characterising the role of RNF125 in RIG-I anti-viral signalling. Biochemistry
5.35pm Matt Howes Validating and applying a liver-on-a-chip to address the effects of fructose on steatotic liver disease Pharmacology & Toxicology
5.45pm Jildou van der Werf IL-6 promotor SNP rs1800795 influences macrophage polarisation, colitis and response to emerging therapies. Pathology
  Short interval    
6.05pm Kirstin McDonald DECIPHERING THE ROLE OF LNCRNAS IN LYSOSOME AND NEURON HEALTH Biochemistry
6.15pm Caitlin Berry-Kilgour Decellularised Ecklonia radiata as a sustainable cellulose matrix for tissue engineering Pharmacology
6.25pm Sara Crellin Novel therapeutic targets in the treatment of bipolar disorder. Psychological Medicine
6.35pm Douglas Gaskarth Microbial metabolite butyrate stimulates an effector programme in CD8+ T cells that boosts anti-tumour function Microbiology and Immunology
6.45pm Deanna Beckett Dental consequences of vitamin D deficiency and insufficiency during pregnancy and early infancy Women’s and Children’s Health
7pm Prof Shyamal Das (President OMSRS) Closing remarks and Karakia  
7.10pm Prof Meghan Gibbons (PVC Health Sciences) Presentation of prizes  

 

         
Nāu te rourou, nāku te rourou, ka ora ai te iwi 

(With your basket, and my basket, the people will be well) 

PhD Student award 2024 – call for abstracts

Kia ora koutou 

The Otago Medical School Research Society is proud to announce theCall for Abstracts for the PhD Student Awardat the 271st Scientific Meeting of the Society. 

This will occur between 5.00 – 7.30 pm on Wednesday 14th August 2024, in the Barnett lecture theatre, Dunedin Hospital. 

A panel of judges will award $500 to the best speaker, sponsored by OMSRS. The runner-up will be awarded $250, kindly supported by Mediray

To be eligible for the award you must: 

have not previously won this Award

either,

have not graduated with your PhD, or

have graduated with your PhD in the calendar year of the meeting

report the results of health-related research that you have made a major contribution to as part of your PhD, and which was performed under the auspices of the University of Otago, Dunedin.

For details on how to enter and abstract preparation guidelines, please see our blog pagehttps://blogs.otago.ac.nz/omsrs/abstract-submission/.

Abstract submission closes at5pm onFriday 12thJuly 2024

 

Nāu te rourou, nāku te rourou, ka ora ai te iwi 

(With your basket, and my basket, the people will be well)” 

2024 Research Staff Award

Tēnā koutou 

 

The Otago Medical School Research Society is proud to announce 270th Scientific Meeting of the Society which will showcase the research performed by four University of Otago Research Staff members. A panel of judges will award $500 to the best speaker, and the runner-up will be awarded $250. The meeting and prizes are kindly sponsored by Otago Postgraduate Medical Society. 

 

The meeting will occur between 5.00 – 6.30 pm on Wednesday 19th June 2024  in the Colquhoun Lecture theatre, 1st floor Dunedin Hospital.

  

Our speakers are listed below:

 

Approx time Participant Department  Title
5pm Prof Shyamal Das President of OMSRS Opening Karakia
5.05 pm Fareeda Barzak Biochemistry Novel RNF125 variant associated with Tenorio Syndrome
5.25pm Teodora Georgescu Anatomy Suppression of both bacterial and viral fevers in late pregnancy in mice
5.45 pm Lewis Forester Pharmacology and Toxicology Investigating the relationship between calcitonin gene-related peptide and the calcitonin receptor in the brain of rats and mice
6.05pm Jerry Hsu Psychological Medicine Investigating potential ‘overdose’ of digital mental health intervention targeting depression using cognitive bias modification
6.25 pm Prof Shyamal Das President of OMSRS Closing remarks and closing Karakia
6.30 pm  Kai and presentation of the awards to winner and runner up

 

Please join us to celebrate our Otago Health researchers.  

  

              
Nāu te rourou, nāku te rourou, ka ora ai te iwi 

(With your basket, and my basket, the people will be well) 

         

Dr Zoe Ashley

OMSRS Meeting Secretary

Summer Student Award 2024

The 269th Scientific Meeting of OMSRS which is the 2024 Pat Cragg Summer Student Awards was held on the 24th April at Barnett Lecture theatre between 5-7.30pm. This year 10 students including 3 online presenters who were shortlisted by Editorial Panel led by Dr Adam Middleton from 24 submissions.

Student presenters pictured with Professor Shyamal Das and Professor Pat Cragg.

The meeting was convened by Professor Shyamal Das, President of OMSRS, and judges for presentation were were Dr Jack Dummer, Dr Frances March de Ribot, Associate Professor Matloob Hussain and Associate Professor Rajesh Katare.

The winner was Andy Stewart from the Department of Anatomy (Abstract:  AM Stewart, DR Grattan, T Georgescu. Establishing a model of viral-induced fever suppression in late pregnancy of mice). The winner received a certificate and $500 prize money.

Winner Andy Stewart pictured with Professor Pat Cragg and Professor Shyamal Das.

The runner up was Sana Atithi from the Department of Physiology (S Atithi, JS Kim, CH Brown. Virus-Mediated Mapping of a Novel Escape Network in the Brain).The runner up received a certificate and $250 prize money.

Runner-up Sana Atithi pictured with Professor Pat Cragg and Professor Shyamal Das.

These awards are kindly sponsored by the Otago Medical Research Foundation and named after Professor Patricia Cragg. Professor Pat Cragg was present to hand over the ‘Pat Cragg Summer Students Awards’.

Congratulations Andy Stewart and Sana Atithi!

2024 Summer Student Award

Tēnā koutou

The Otago Medical School Research Society is proud to announce 269th Scientific Meeting of the Society which will showcase the research performed by 10 University of Otago Summer Student students. A panel of judges will award $500 to the best speaker, and the runner-up will be awarded $250. The scientific meeting and prizes are kindly sponsored by Otago Medical Research Foundation.

The meeting will occur between 5.00 – 7.30 pm on Wednesday 24th April 2024 in the Barnett Lecture, Dunedin Hospital, with an option to attend via Zoom (see link below)

https://otago.zoom.us/j/8357112293?pwd=NWs0enVIL1lmUmJwN0RxaDB6eFo4QT09

Meeting ID: 835 711 2293;     Password: 011302

 

Our speakers are listed below

Approx time Participant Department  Title
5pm Welcome and opening Karakia
Miss Mia Cochrane Department of Psychological Medicine Pioneering artificial intelligence in the development of cognitive bias modification as a cost-effective treatment for depression.
Mr Finlay Anderson Department of Microbiology and Immunology Targeted nanopore sequencing as a diagnostic tool for multi-drug resistant tuberculosis
Mr Andy Stewart Department of Anatomy Establishing a model of viral-induced fever suppression in late pregnancy of mice
Miss Angela Fu Department of Physiology Changes in RyR2 Phosphorylation in Genetically Modified Mice with absent CK2 activity
Miss Anna Donaldson (zoom) Dunedin School of Medicine Discrepancies in clinical coding between rural and urban hospitals in Aotearoa New Zealand.
6pm Short interval
Mr Tom McDermott Microbiology and Immunology Are CAR T cells susceptible to NK cell lysis?
Miss Lucy Simmonds (zoom) Department of Surgical Sciences, Dunedin School of Medicine A Qualitative Study of Barriers and Facilitators to Compression Stocking use in Patients with Chronic Venous Disease
Miss Sana Atithi Physiology Viral-mediated mapping of a novel escape network in the brain
Miss Jessica Darnley Microbiology and Immunology Virus discovery in New Zealand mosquitoes
Miss Samantha Ponder (zoom) Pathology, Dunedin School of Medicine Effect of Amiloride on CPT1A expression in Reducing Kidney Fibrosis.
7.20pm Closing Karakia and kai
7.30pm Presentation of winner and runner up prize

 

Please join us to celebrate our emerging Otago Health researchers. 

 

         
Nāu te rourou, nāku te rourou, ka ora ai te iwi

(With your basket, and my basket, the people will be well)

MSc and Honours Student Awards 2023

The Otago Medical School Research Society’s 268th  Scientific Meeting was held on 8th November.  This year we had 17 abstracts from MSc and Honours students across the Division of Health Sciences and Sciences. The Editorial panel has shortlisted 10 students who presented their research. Dr Glen Reid from the Department of Pathology, Associate Professor Jaydee Cabral from the Department of Microbiology and Immunology and Dr Mathias Fellner from the Department of Biochemistry were judges for presentations. The meeting was convened by OMSRS President Associate Professor Shyamal Das.

Masters and Honours student speakers.

Professor Paul Cooper, Dean of the Faculty of Dentistry handed over the prizes to the winner and runner-up. The winner received $500 and the runner up received $250 along with certificates. The scientific meeting and prizes are kindly sponsored by Mediray.

Congratulations to the winner, Zei Kagaoan, for their presentation titled ‘Prolonged cleaning in ethanol decreases bond strength of 3D-printed crowns’.

Winner Zei Kagaoan pictured with Associate Professor Shyamal Das and Professor Paul Cooper.

and to the runner-up Maddie Hardie Boys for her presentation titled ‘Cross-resistance to cephalosporin antibiotics occurs in Pseudomonas aeruginosa lacking the aminoarabinosylation system.’

Runner up Maddie Hardie Boys, pictured with Associate Professor Shyamal Das and Professor Paul Cooper.

Congratulations to our winners, and to all the student speakers!

Summer Student Award 2024 – Call for Abstracts

Kia ora koutou

The Otago Medical School Research Society is proud to announce the Call for Abstracts for the Summer Student Award at the 269th Scientific Meeting of the Society.

This will occur between 5.00 – 7.30 pm on Wednesday 24th April 2024 in the Barnett Lecture. An option for attending and presenting via Zoom will also be offered.

Up to 10 speakers will be selected to present an 8 minute presentation, with 4 minutes for questions. A panel of judges will award $500 to the best speaker, and the runner-up will be awarded $250, kindly sponsored by Otago Medical Research Foundation.

To be eligible for the award you must:

  1. have not previously won this award
  2. report the results of health-related research that you have made a major contribution to, and which was performed during the most recent summer research fellowship under the auspices of the University of Otago, Dunedin.

For details on how to enter and abstract preparation guidelines, please see our blog page https://blogs.otago.ac.nz/omsrs/abstract-submission/

Abstract submission closes at 5pm on Friday 22nd March 2024

 

Nāu te rourou, nāku te rourou, ka ora ai te iwi

(With your basket, and my basket, the people will be well)

2023 MSc / Hons / PGDipSci Student Award

Tēnā koutou,

The Otago Medical School Research Society is proud to announce 268th Scientific Meeting of the Society which will showcase the research performed by 10 University of Otago MSc / Hons / PGDipSci students. A panel of judges will award $500 to the best speaker, and the runner-up will be awarded $250. The scientific meeting and prizes are kindly sponsored by Mediray.

During the break between speakers we will hold the AGM of the society.

The meeting will occur between 5.00 – 7.30 pm on Wednesday 8th November 2023 in the Barnett Lecture, with an option to attend via Zoom

https://otago.zoom.us/j/92124148539?pwd=K2FjUHZqS055Q3J3OWhxU0Z0b2dKZz09

Our speakers are listed below

Speaker Title Department
Opening karakia
Lucy Anderson Exploring novel effective connectivity neurofeedback training for treatment of fibromyalgia: A pilot randomised placebo-controlled study Department of Surgical Sciences
Samantha Nie Characterising the cardiac inotropic mechanism of the carbon monoxide prodrug oCOm-21. Pharmacology and Toxicology
Caitlin Syme Validation of shear wave elastography as a potential new tool to monitor occurrence of endoleak after endovascular abdominal aortic aneurysm repair. Department of Surgical Sciences
Phillipa Wilson Cardiometabolic Risk Factors and pTau181 in Middle Age Psychology
Andy Stewart The role of lactogenic hormones in suppression of fever responses during late pregnancy Anatomy
Interval including OMSRS AGM
Sushanth Yadhav A cytotoxic cell-targeting approach to induce sterility in mammalian predator species of Aotearoa Anatomy
Harry Gardner The contribution by tau protein to hippocampal metaplasticity Psychology
Nadia Kuepper Cannabinoids influence insulin secretion in a mouse pancreatic β-cell line Pharmacology and Toxicology
Maddie Hardie Boys Cross-resistance to cephalosporin antibiotics occurs in Pseudomonas aeruginosa lacking the aminoarabinosylation system. Department of Microbiology and Immunology
Zei Kagaoan  Prolonged cleaning in ethanol decreases bond strength of 3D-printed crowns Oral Rehabilitation
Closing remarks, karakia and kai
Please join us to celebrate our emerging Otago Health researchers.

 

         
Nāu te rourou, nāku te rourou, ka ora ai te iwi

(With your basket, and my basket, the people will be well)