<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><rss version="2.0"><channel><title>Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences Events</title><link>http://www.fmhs.auckland.ac.nz/services/rss.aspx</link><description>Latest event list from Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences</description><language>en-nz</language><pubDate>20/05/2013 5:59:32 p.m.</pubDate><lastBuildDate>20/05/2013 5:59:32 p.m.</lastBuildDate><copyright>The University of Auckland</copyright><category>News</category><item><title><![CDATA[Centre for Longitudinal Research seminar: The key to pre-eclampsia and IMPROvED outcomes]]></title><description><![CDATA[For centuries pre-eclampsia has been an enigma – but recent advances have the potential to radically alter screening, diagnosis and treatment. Professor Baker’s presentation will provide an insight into the latest developments.Speaker: Professor Phil Baker graduated from the Nottingham University (UK) and was subsequently awarded a Doctorate in Medicine. He then completed his training as an Obstetrician and Gynaecologist in the UK. He is currently Director of Gravida: National Centre for Growth and Development and Professor of Maternal and Fetal Health at the Liggins Institute.Please RSVP by Monday 27 May to: Mandy HeathcoteEmail: m.heathcote@auckland.ac.nzPhone: 09 373 7599 ext 86612]]></description><pubDate>04 Jun 2013</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[PharmaTell seminar: New age cures for age old diseases: Nanotechnological approaches ]]></title><description><![CDATA[Dr Parekh obtained his BPharm (Hons I) in 1997, and a PhD in pharmaceutical chemistry from the University of Nottingham, UK in 2002. Relocating to Australia in 2003 he spent two-years developing ‘Dendrimers’ - chemically-derived drug/gene delivery vectors.&#160; In 2005 he joined the School of Pharmacy establishing his independent research group.&#160; Dr Parekh has supervised 4 PhD students to completion, with 6 PhD student projects underway (2013).&#160; He has received the Trailblazer award from Uniquest Pty Ltd on two separate occasions, based on his technologies and their commercial potential. He is an adjunct-faculty member at Manipal University, India and has established satellite research/commercialisation laboratories in both India (IKP – Hyderabad) and Singapore (NUS-NanoCore). Active projects and collaborations underway with counterparts in India, China, Singapore, Germany, UK &amp; Brazil explore the application of dendrimers, liposomes, bubble liposomes as well as traditional Chinese &amp; Indian medicine for health and cosmetic benefit.&#160; New Age Cures for Age Old Diseases:&#160; Nanotechnological Approaches.Speaker: Harendra (Harry) S. Parekh.&#160; PhD (UK), MRPharmS (UK), MPS (Aust.) Senior Lecturer; Research Group Leader – Drug &amp; Gene Delivery. School of Pharmacy, Pharmacy Australia Centre of Excellence, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia. For further information please contact:&#160; School of Pharmacy Administration Phone: +64 9 373 7599 ext 82851&#160; Fax: +64 9 367 7192 Email: enquiries@auckland.ac.nz ]]></description><pubDate>31 May 2013</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[Vaikoloa Seminar Series: The Fonofale Model - A framework for health assessment, treatment, research and policy.]]></title><description><![CDATA[The Fonofale Model of Health is widely accepted as a framework for Pacific Health assessment and care, and is the recognized model of Pacific mental health used by the Mental Health Commission of NZ.Speaker: Fuimaono Karl Pulotu-Endemann has been an advocate and trail blazer for Pacific people, Mental Health and Pacific Nursing in New Zealand for over two decades. He was one of the first Pacific Registered Comprehensive nurses in New Zealand and in 1990, he became one of the first two Pacific Island Justices of the Peace.Fuimaono has held Governance and leadership roles in the Health Sector including establishing the Postgraduate Forensic Psychiatric Care course at the Manawatu Polytechnic, being a founding trustee of the Pacific Islands Aids Trust and a Director on the Capital and Coast DHB. Fuimaono was the first Pacific person to be appointed to the Mental Health Commission and has had a key role in the establishment of Pacific mental Health services for New Zealand.During the 1980s Fuimaono created and developed the Fonofale Model of Health, widely accepted as a framework for Pacific Health assessment and care and the recognized model of Pacific mental health by the Mental Health Commission of NZ.Fuimaono is an inspirational and compelling speaker. He has been a keynote speaker on issues of Mental Health, Youth and Adolescents, Sexuality and HIVAIDS at conferences in India, Hawaii, Samoa, Australia and New Zealand.RSVP to Telusila Moala-Vea, Pacific Health Section, t.vea@auckland.ac.nz, ext: 86351]]></description><pubDate>30 May 2013</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[Pharmacology seminar: Advancing our understanding of cannabinoid regulation of human immune cells using the power of flow cytometry and xCELLigence Biosensor technology]]></title><description><![CDATA[Advancing our understanding of cannabinoid regulation of human immune cells using the power of flow cytometry and xCELLigence Biosensor technology Presented by: Dr Scott Graham, Senior Research Fellow and Sir Charles Hercus Fellow, Head of Neuro-Immune Interactions Research Group, Centre for Brain ResearchUnusual intracellular trafficking of Cannabinoid Receptor 2: Agonist-induced up regulation of surface receptorsPresented by: Dr Natasha Grimsey, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Receptor Signalling Lab, Centre for Brain ResearchDrinks and nibbles to followFor more information please contact:Michelle McRaeEmail: michelle.mcrae@auckland.ac.nzPhone:&#160; +64 9 373 7599 ext 84484]]></description><pubDate>30 May 2013</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[The 2013 Harkness Report-Back Seminar: Strategies to Improve Care Integration - Lessons From Rural Patient Centred Medical Homes]]></title><description><![CDATA[Every year the most recently-returned Harkness Fillow In Health Care Policy and Practice reports back to a New Zealand audience about his/herresearch conducted during the Fellowship; draws some condusions from the research within the US and New Zealand contexts; and speaks abouthis/her Harkness Fellowship experience.During her Harkness Fellowship, Dr Sarah Derrett was based at the Department of Medeone at the University of Chicago where she investigated integrated health care In rural American Safety Net Clinics and larger Community Health Centres. Sarah’s project aimed to increase understanding about how, in practice, rural clinics transitioning to patient-centred medical homes (PCMH) have implemented a plan to sustain care integration.She conducted case studies at rural sites participating in the Qualis Health and MacColl Centre for Health Care Innovation Safety Net to Medical Home Initiative, and interviews with a cross-section of staff. Sarah will summarise her research findings and consider the implications for policy makers and service providers in the US and New Zealand of the considerable variation in the strategies found.Speaker: Sarah Derrett is a Senior Research Fellow at the Injury Prevention Research Unit, Department of Preventive and Social Medicine at the University of Otago, Dunedin School of Medicine. Prior to commencing the fellowship she was Deputy Director of this Research Unit. Her research focuses upon disability and health outcomes with a particular interest in patient-reported outcomes, health systems access and prioritisation. She is the Principal Investigator of the HRC-funded Prospective Outcomes of Injury Study (POIS) since 2007; is a co-investigator on a longitudinal study of New Zealanders with spinal cord injury, and a study investigating health outcomes for people with end stage renal failure requiring dialysis. Outside work she has been involved in the establishment of a patient-led charity Beat Bowel Cancer Aotearoa which is focused on reducing the impact of bowel cancer in New Zealand.There is no charge and all are welcome to attend. Please RSVP to&#160;e.kinane@auckland.ac.nz.]]></description><pubDate>29 May 2013</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[PharmaTell seminar: New approaches and perspectives in pharmacovigilance for herbal medicines]]></title><description><![CDATA[Dr Barnes is a registered pharmacist in New Zealand and the United Kingdom; her research explores the use, safety and efficacy of herbal medicines, particularly pharmacovigilance (safety monitoring) of these products. Jo is an honorary consultant to the WHO’s Collaborating Centre for International Drug Monitoring and a member of its herbal safety signal review panel.&#160;&#160; High-profile safety concerns associated with the use of herbal medicines (HMs) have had an impact on the public health. Existing pharmacovigilance (drug safety monitoring) methods typically have developed in the context of conventional, prescription medicines; applying them to monitoring safety of HMs presents numerous additional challenges, related to their characteristics and the ways in which HMs are regulated, accessed, used, named, and perceived. This presentation will discuss current methods of pharmacovigilance for HMs, present results from new and modified methods, and give a future perspective on pharmacovigilance of HMs.&#160; Speaker: Jo Barnes, Associate Professor in Herbal Medicines, School of Pharmacy, University of Auckland For further information please contact:&#160; School of Pharmacy Administration Phone: +64 9 373 7599 ext 82851&#160; Fax: +64 9 367 7192 Email: enquiries@auckland.ac.nz ]]></description><pubDate>27 May 2013</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[Obstetrics & Gynaecology research seminar: Role of histone deacetylases in placental physiology/pathology]]></title><description><![CDATA[Gene activity is intrinsically linked to the surrounding chromatin architecture, which can be altered through DNA methylation and the post-translational modification of histone tails.&#160; These modifications are also involved in the recruitment of transcription factor complexes.&#160; One of these modifications, histone acetylation, is generally associated with transcriptional activation.&#160; Histone acetylation levels are maintained through the opposing actions of the histone acetyltransferases (HATs) and the histone deacetylases (HDACs).&#160; Inhibition of HDAC activity promotes the hyper-acetylation of the histones via unopposed HAT activity.&#160; Despite the importance of appropriate HDAC activity during development, little is known about the role of HDACs in the placenta and fetal membranes. The research findings to date and future avenues of research in this field will be discussed.Speaker: Anna PonnampalamAll welcome. Refreshments to follow.]]></description><pubDate>24 May 2013</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[Auckland Cancer Society Research Centre seminar: Killing tumours from the inside out: Bystander effects of hypoxia-activated prodrugs]]></title><description><![CDATA[Tumour hypoxia can be exploited by hypoxia-activated prodrugs (HAPs), but most HAPs are activated only under extreme hypoxia whereas more moderately hypoxic cells probably confer resistance to radiotherapy and chemotherapy. The ability of active metabolites to diffuse locally from severely hypoxic zones (bystander effect) may therefore be critically important for their use. During my PhD studies under supervision of Professor Bill Wilson and Dr Kevin Hicks I developed, tested and used a spatially resolved pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic (SR-PK/PD) model to evaluate the contribution of bystander effects to activity of the HAP PR-104A. This model calculates spatial gradients of O2, prodrug and metabolite concentrations and resulting killing in a digitised 3D tumour microregion. The model was utilised to identify strategies for optimisation of HAPs and their clinical application. In this talk I will highlight the most important findings of my PhD thesis.Speaker: Annika Foehrenbacher, PhD Student, Auckland Cancer Society Research Centre** Open session **For further information please contact Jack Flanagan&#160;&#160; &#160;]]></description><pubDate>24 May 2013</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[Auckland Medical Research Foundation free public lecture: Meningococcal Meningitis: a terrifying illness]]></title><description><![CDATA[Meningococcal meningitis is a terrifying disease which can kill previously healthy people within a matter of hours. The bacterium responsible for this disease, Neisseria meningitis, is&#160; commonly present on the surface of the throat, where it causes no problems at all. However, in a very small minority of people who have&#160; throat colonisation the organism can invade first the blood and then the fluid around the brain, causing septicaemia and meningitis. Early diagnosis of meningococcal meningitis and treatment with penicillin has dramatically reduced the risk of death. However a small proportion of people who develop this disease die from it. This lecture will discuss one such tragedy and our current understanding of the disease and its treatment and prevention.Dr David Galler is a Senior Intensive Care Specialist at Middlemore Hospital and Dr Mark Thomas is an Infectious Disease Physician at Auckland City Hospital, and an Associate Professor in Infectious Diseases in the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences at the University of Auckland. They will share their clinical experience and knowledge of relevant medical research about this terrifying illness.Dr Mark ThomasInfectious Disease PhysicianAuckland City Hospital, and A/Professor in Infectious Disease in the Faculty of Medicine&amp; Health Sciences, The University of AucklandDr David GallerDirector Clinical LeadershipKo Awatea, Centre for Health System Innovation &amp; Improvement, CMDHB and Senior Intensive Care Specialist Middlemore HospitalFor information about this lecture please contact Kathleen HawthornePhone: 09 923 1701Email: amrf@medicalresearch.org.nzWebsite: www.medicalresearch.org.nz]]></description><pubDate>23 May 2013</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[Molecular Medicine & Pathology seminar: From SNP chips to sequencing: Genomic applications in NZ sheep]]></title><description><![CDATA[To enhance the value, productivity and profitability of the New Zealand sheep Industry, AgResearch’s Animal Genomics team have developed a ‘genomic tool box’ for both genome wide selection and association studies. Next generation sequencing has allowed the rapid development and implementation of Ovine SNP chip technology from low (5K) to high (700K) density. These and the use of genotyping-by-sequencing in sheep will be presented.Speaker: Dr Shannon Clarke (AgResearch Ltd, Invermay, Dunedin)Shannon Clarke is a scientist who does fascinating work with genomics on a massive scale! Her group have developed their own genome-wide analysis tools for understanding the biology and improving the breeding of agricultural animals.Anyone wanting to meet with Dr Shannon Clarke should email Cris Print.&#160;Followed by drinks and pizza]]></description><pubDate>23 May 2013</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[ Fulbright Awards seminars for students and academic staff]]></title><description><![CDATA[Your chance to find out about Fulbright exchange awards to the United States of AmericaFulbright New Zealand’s educational advising team are visiting The University of Auckland as part of their annual Outreach Tour to inform students and academic staff about opportunities to study, research, teach or present their work in the United States of America. Come along to hear accurate, comprehensive and current information about higher education in the US and an introduction to the range of prestigious Fulbright exchange awards which can help you get there.See www.fulbright.org.nz for further information]]></description><pubDate>23 May 2013</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[Methods & Issues seminar: Identification of the barriers to the early diagnosis of lung cancer - a mixed methods approach ]]></title><description><![CDATA[Lung cancer is a major cause of mortality and health inequalities in New Zealand Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related death in New Zealand, with five-year survival rates being lower in New Zealand than in other Western countries, and survival for Maori even worse at less than half of that for non-Maori. Survival from lung cancer is linked to disease stage at diagnosis. Thus identifying approaches to diagnose lung cancer earlier has the potential to improve health outcomes significantly. This three-year Health Research Council (HRC) funded project used a mixed methods approach to identify the barriers to the early diagnosis of lung cancer across primary and secondary care, and from the patient and clinician perspectives. Methodology included clinical audit, patient interviews, patient and practitioner focus groups, and practitioner surveys. The methods and results of this project will be presented at this seminar. Speakers:  Dr Rob McNeil (Snr Lecturer, Health Systems)&#160;and Melissa Murray (Project Manager, Cancer Trials New Zealand)This seminar is chaired by Prof Mark Elwood, Professor of Cancer Epidemiology, School of Population Health &#160;]]></description><pubDate>23 May 2013</pubDate></item></channel></rss>