Latest News


Ageing & Pharmacology

Innovative research on show.

An impressive group of emerging leaders addressed the Kolling’s Neuroscience and Pain Showcase, sharing details of their diverse and exciting research projects. With a broad range of expertise in this field, the showcase involved representatives from the pain management and rehabilitations teams, as well as the ageing, mental health, neurogenetics and neuromuscular imaging groups. The early and mid.....
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Category: Neuroscience and Pain Research, Research Excellence

Remarkable service recognised in Queen’s birthday honours.

We would like to congratulate our Kolling Institute researcher Professor Sarah Hilmer who’s been awarded an AM for her service to clinical and geriatric pharmacology as part of the Queen’s birthday honours. Professor Hilmer has worked as the Head of Clinical Pharmacology and as a geriatrician at Royal North Shore Hospital since 2005. Her research and clinical expertise is respected both nationally .....
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Category: Awards, Research Excellence

Research shows your age and sex influence the impact of medications .

A new study by researchers at the Kolling Institute will directly guide the use of medications by older Australians after it identified the profound adverse effects of taking multiple medications. The study follows the latest figures which show around 50 per cent of Australians over 75 years take five or more medications every day to treat multiple chronic illnesses. The trend is leading to an incr.....
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Category: Research Excellence

The Kolling’s up and coming talent recognised .

Acting Executive Director Professor Jim Elliott has announced the winners of the inaugural Kolling Institute Emerging Leader Awards, saying there’s an inspiring depth of expertise throughout the institute. Professor Elliott said the new awards recognise our young leaders across our basic and translational research, and were initiated by the institute’s Workforce and Culture Enabler Committee. “Four.....
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Category: Awards

Researchers develop new program to reduce medication burden  .

A team from the Kolling Institute led by Professor Sarah Hilmer has helped develop a valuable, new national program to reduce the adverse impacts of taking multiple medicines. Medicines with an anticholinergic effect can successfully treat many conditions such as depression, dementia and chronic non-cancer pain. Cumulatively however, they can cause serious adverse effects such as falls, confusion, .....
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Category: New Treatment, Research Excellence

Researchers tackle one of the nation’s biggest health challenges.

Researchers from the Kolling Institute will support an important, Australia-wide project to address the inappropriate use of medications in residential aged care. The initiative, to be co-ordinated by Monash University’s Centre for Medicine Use and Safety, has been awarded $2 million through the Medical Research Future Fund. It will see pharmacists embedded in residential aged care facilities.....
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Category: Neuroscience and Pain Research, Research Excellence

Research to inform new guidelines on the safe use of medicines .

Two Royal North Shore Hospital clinician researchers will play a key role in a national research project to improve the use of medications across the community. Head of the Department of Clinical Pharmacology and Kolling researcher Professor Sarah Hilmer and Head of the Department of General Practice Associate Professor Fiona Robinson will help drive the project which has been awarded more than $2......
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Category: Funding support, Research Excellence

Age and sex influence the adverse effects of multiple medications.

There are calls for a carefully-considered, tailored approach to the prescription of multiple medicines with new research finding a person’s age and sex influence the impact of multiple medications. More than half of older Australians take five or more regular medications, with the higher number of medications directly linked to a higher chance of adverse reactions, like falls, confusion and frailt.....
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Category: Neuroscience and Pain Research, New Treatment

Researchers offer new approach to detect frailty in older adults.

A team of researchers led by the Kolling’s Professor Sarah Hilmer has developed a valuable resource to identify frail and vulnerable people in hospital, in an important step towards optimising their care. Frail older adults have a higher risk of experiencing adverse outcomes in hospital such as falls, confusion and malnutrition, and many have longer hospital stays. Professor Hilmer said more than 2.....
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Category: Musculoskeletal Research, New Treatment

Researchers guide better use of medicines.

With the majority of older Australians taking five or more medications, a team from the Kolling Institute has developed a valuable tool to better understand adverse outcomes. The analytical resource has been developed by Professor Sarah Hilmer and Dr John Mach, after several years of research investigating the effects of using multiple medications. Previous studies have generally looked at the inte.....
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Category: Research Excellence