Strategic review of health & medical funding

The CRC for Mental Health has provided a submission to the independent Strategic Review of Health and Medical Research, chaired by Simon McKeon AO. The CRC’s submission contends that “the CRC program’s focus on collaboration by multiple institutes and the involvement of end-users and industry throughout the research process offers an opportunity for solutions to large-scale problems to be investigated in a manner which would not be possible under other funding mechanisms in Australia. Read the full submission here.

Differences between India and Australia may shed light on preventing dementia

Comparing Australian and Indian populations may prove the key to understanding the role of genetics and lifestyle in the onset of dementia.

By comparing patient information between the two countries, Australia’s leading neuroscientists in the CRC for Mental Health hope to understand factors which could prevent or delay dementia.

“There are significant lifestyle differences between India and Australia which could hold the key. As an example, the Indian diet is more likely to be vegetarian or contain spices such as turmeric. If we can find differences in the way dementia progresses between populations and link these with lifestyle changes, we could improve options for those living with dementia”, said Dr Peter Hudson, from the CRC for Mental Health.

Over 35 million people worldwide live with dementia, a condition which causes changes in memory, personality and behaviour. The CRC for Mental Health is investigating prevention, early diagnosis and treatment of types of dementia, including Alzheimer’s Disease.

Dr Peter Hudson and Professor Ralph Martins, CRC neurodegeneration program leader, have recently returned from the Victorian Government’s Super Trade Mission to India, strengthening ties with Indian Neuroscience Institutes in New Delhi, Bangalore and Chennai.

Appointment of new Chief Executive Officer

Professor Ian Cooke has been appointed as the new Chief Executive Officer of the CRC for Mental Health.

The CRC for Mental Health was founded under the Australian Federal Government’s CRC program to research early detection and treatment of neurodegenerative disease and psychoses.

Ian is a scientist with a track record of initiative and achievement in research, teaching, management, entrepreneurship and organisational leadership. His most recent positions were concurrent appointments as Chief Executive Officer of Foursight Associates Pty Ltd, an influential science and technology consulting company and Professorial Fellow at Monash University in the Asia Pacific Centre for Science and Wealth Creation.

Ian takes over from Dr Graeme Chandler who retired in December after leading the Centre through the successful funding bid and establishment.

The CRC for Mental Health was established under the Cooperative Research Centres program, an Australian Government Initiative. The CRC program supports end-user driven research collaborations to address major challenges facing Australia.

CRC staff intranet

The CRC’s intranet provides staff with information about our policies, procedures and templates. If you would like access to the intranet please contact your Project Leader or the Communications Manager, Melanie Carew on 03 8344 1645.

Ashley Bush appointed Chief Scientific Officer

The CRC for Mental Health is very pleased to announce the appointment of Professor Ashley Bush as its Chief Scientific Officer.

Professor Bush is a psychiatrist and translational neuroscientist. He currently heads the Oxidation Biology Laboratory at the Mental Health Research Institute (MHRI at the University of Melbourne. He is also the co-director of Biomarker  Discovery within the Australian Imaging Biomarker Lifestyle Flagship Study of Ageing (AIBL), a CSIRO initiative. In addition, he was one of the founders of Prana Biotechnology Ltd (a public company listed on the Australian Stock Exchange). He was a contracted scientific advisory consultant at Prana for many years, until he resigned from that position in October 2011.

As Chief Scientific Officer to CRC for Mental Health Limited (a not for profit public company), Professor Bush will provide  scientific oversight and advice to the organisation on its research into mental health diseases, psychoses and mood disorders. The CRC’s research focuses particularly on “biomarkers”, representing a change in research direction to the field in which Professor Bush previously worked at Prana, but being an area in which he has worked at MHRI and at AIBL.

“Biomarkers could be an enormous aid in the early detection and clinical trial monitoring of diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease or schizophrenia,” said Professor Bush, speaking on his appointment.

“CRC for Mental Health researchers will be looking for specific cells, small molecules or subtle brain image changes which could be the first signs of disease. Any of these biomarkers might allow us to diagnose mental health issues before the onset of mental decline.”

The CRC for Mental Health was established under the Cooperative Research Centres program, an Australian Government Initiative. The CRC program supports end-user driven research collaborations to address major challenges facing Australia.