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Strong research pipeline flags positive trend

With an increasing focus on our research activity, the Royal North Shore Hospital Scientific Staff Council is keen to celebrate the efforts of some of our emerging leaders.

It has presented four awards recognising an outstanding commitment to research excellence.

Kolling Institute musculoskeletal researchers Dylan Ashton and Dr Carina Blaker were joint winners of the best publication award for their paper which identified new tendon allograft options for knee injuries.

Carina also took out the outstanding early to mid-career researcher award in the basic science category, while fellow Kolling researcher Associate Professor Rebecca Kozor clinched the outstanding clinical researcher award for her work using high resolution imaging to help diagnose and treat heart disease.

Dr Katherine Bates received the outstanding research student award for her work on the identification of new biomarkers and risk factors for heart disease.

Chair of the Scientific Staff Council Dr Sumit Sahni said he was pleased to be able to present the awards to this impressive group.

“A huge amount of important work goes on behind the scenes,” he said.

“Many of our researchers are quietly making crucial progress with their research, and it’s wonderful to be able to recognise their remarkable efforts extending our understanding of particular conditions and lifting the standard of care we all receive.

“The quality of nominations we received was particularly high, making the decisions difficult and highlighting the expertise we have on the Royal North Shore Hospital campus.”

Carina welcomed the announcement.

“I was really honoured to receive the award recognising our research and I’m very grateful to the Scientific Staff Council for their ongoing support,” she said.

“Our research is aimed at broadening our understanding of different tissues so that we can personalise treatment options.

“We are increasingly seeing that a tailored approach will deliver a better individual fit and a better outcome for patients.

“I hope this award helps to draw attention to the steady progress we’re making in this field.”

15 February 2024
Philanthropic support building our research expertise

A collection of researchers will develop their skills and establish crucial new collaborations following generous funding through the Skipper Charitable Trust.

Six researchers have received a 2024 Beryl and Jack Jacobs Travel Award, enabling them to travel for conferences and work with experts across the globe.

Academic Director Professor James Elliott was thrilled to announce the successful recipients, saying each researcher demonstrated how their travel opportunity will broaden their research expertise and lead to exciting new progress.

Dr Karen Bracken from the Osteoarthritis Clinical Research Group will travel to the University of Bristol to work with the team at the renowned Bristol Trials Centre. There she will gain a better understanding of recent advances in clinical trials, directly supporting her role as a clinical trials program lead.

Dr Barbara Lucas from the John Walsh Centre for Rehabilitation Research will attend the Australasian Academy of Cerebral Palsy and Developmental Medicine Conference in Cairns to present her ground-breaking research from the Best START trial into early intervention in children with Cerebral Palsy.

Dr Vicky Duong from the Osteoarthritis Clinical Research Group will travel to the United States and Canada to work with researchers at Harvard University, the University of North Carolina and the University of Toronto. This is set to be a valuable opportunity for Vicky to expand her international networks following her successful Category I NHMRC funded project in Australia.

Brian Kim from the Neuromuscular Imaging Research Laboratory will visit the United States to work with colleagues at the Northwestern University in Chicago. Brian is establishing machine learning methods to automatically quantify the soft tissues of the shoulder in patients needing surgical repairs.

Dr Vibha Patil from the Meniere’s Disease Neuroscience Lab will travel to Spain to build on her work into the genetics of Meniere’s Disease, a debilitating disorder of the inner ear.

Amanda Purcell, a PhD student in the Renal Laboratory, will also travel to Spain and the UK to further her studies around predicting gestational diabetes in early pregnancy. Amanda is set to learn cutting-edge techniques, complementing her growing knowledge in this field and strong analytical skills.

Professor Elliott said these opportunities would not be possible without the financial boost delivered through the Skipper Charitable Trust.

“I would like to thank the family behind the trust for their wonderful ongoing support of our early and mid-career researchers,” he said.

“Their help is directly strengthening our research expertise and increasing our long term impact.”

8 February 2024
Kolling NEWS

We’re kicking off the year with plenty of encouraging research news.

Read on for details about new funding, fascinating research into the link between heart disease and osteoarthritis and promising work into a new diabetes treatment.

We also unveil the winners of our travel awards program, generously backed by philanthropic funding.

Click here: Kolling NEWS

5 February 2024
Bad knees might cause broken hearts

Exciting research is set to get underway investigating a ground-breaking approach to reduce osteoarthritis associated heart disease.

Kolling Institute researcher Professor Chris Little will lead the project after receiving a highly competitive National Health and Medical Research Council Ideas grant of close to a million dollars.

Professor Little and Dr Cindy Shu from the Raymond Purves Bone and Joint Research Lab will collaborate on the novel study with Kolling heart disease researcher Dr Anastasia Mihailidou and Professor Anthony Ashton from the Lankenau Institute for Medical Research in the USA.

Professor Little has welcomed the significant funding, saying it follows years of specialised work in this field.

“We’re very excited about this research and we’re hopeful it may make a big difference,” he said.

“We have known about the link between osteoarthritis and heart disease for many years, with those experiencing osteoarthritis twice as likely to develop heart disease as those without the painful joint condition.

“We had thought the conditions were linked because they shared the same risk factors like age, obesity and a lack of exercise, but our recent research has showed for the first time, that there might be a biological connection where the joint disease might actually be causing heart disease.

“Our team found that if we induced osteoarthritis in one knee of a mouse that was otherwise fit, young and healthy, within 16 weeks that mouse had evidence of heart disease.

“We then went onto show that if you take serum from these mice or a patient who has diseased joint tissue from a knee injury like a cruciate ligament tear, that serum caused heart cells to become sick.

“We were able to identify a group of factors (micro-RNAs) that were released into the blood from the joint tissue that were causing this.”

The new research project funded through the NHMRC will now investigate which specific micro RNAs are contributing to the development of heart disease.

“If we can define which factors released into the blood are the most important, we may be able to help develop a new diagnostic tool for heart disease and potentially stop osteoarthritis contributing to cardiovascular disease,” Professor Little said.

“Our research could lead to both a diagnostic test as well as a therapeutic target. It could change the health advice around risk factors for heart disease.

“Our grant success highlights the breadth of expertise we have at the Kolling and the impact of collaboration, where we have researchers specialising in different fields coming together to identify new avenues to research.

“It’s certainly one of the great things about working in the Kolling.

“I would like to acknowledge the crucial preliminary work undertaken by Dr Cindy Shu, and the earlier financial support from the Raymond E. Purves Foundation and the Hillcrest Foundation through Perpetual Philanthropy.”

There was further good news for the Kolling with musculoskeletal researcher Dr Jillian Eyles receiving a prestigious $660,000 Investigator grant to develop strategies to promote best-practice for osteoarthritis care.

It’s estimated close to 30 per cent of the population experiences osteoarthritis.

17 January 2024
Grant success for our innovative ideas

We’re thrilled to congratulate a collection of our Kolling Institute researchers who have won highly-competitive National Health and Medical Research Council grants for innovative investigations.

Professor Chris Little has been awarded close to a million dollars for his Ideas grant “Getting to the Heart of Osteoarthritis”, which hopes to reduce osteoarthritis associated cardiovascular disease risk.

Professor Little and Dr Cindy Shu from the Raymond Purves Bone and Joint Research Lab will collaborate on the novel study with Kolling heart disease researcher Dr Anastasia Mihailidou and Professor Anthony Ashton from the Lankenau Institute for Medical Research in the USA.

We’d also like to congratulate musculoskeletal researcher Dr Jillian Eyles who has received a prestigious $660,000 Investigator grant to develop strategies to promote best-practice for osteoarthritis care.

The significant grants reflect the expertise of our Kolling Institute researchers in musculoskeletal and heart disease, and recognise their consistent research impact and influence.

19 December 2023
Kolling Symposium celebrates life-changing impact of research

A large group of inspiring researchers delivered presentations at the inaugural Kolling Institute Symposium, highlighting the strength of research underway at the institute.

Close to a hundred people attended the event at the Northside Conference Centre focusing on the key themes of collaboration, innovation and wellbeing.

Senior researchers and up-and-coming investigators took to the stage, outlining the progress being made with the Kolling’s basic science right through to its crucial implementation research.

Academic Director Professor James Elliott said it was evident that significant achievements are being delivered, and I would like to recognise the considerable efforts by all our researchers from our heart and kidney disease scientists through to our neuroscience and pain, and musculoskeletal investigators.

“It’s during big events like this one where we gain a much better idea of the ground-breaking work being undertaken at the Kolling and where we have the chance to meet with like-minded investigators from other teams.

“It was also encouraging to hear from four consumer representatives who generously discussed their personal health experience. They provided crucial feedback on how to further involve consumers in our research community and future strategic initiatives.”

Professor Elliott said the symposium was part of the overarching research strategy to raise the profile of the Kolling, its impressive researchers and its valuable work.

“The event complemented the large collection of seminars and events we held throughout the year, and I am sure it went a long way towards broadening awareness of our potentially life-changing research and impact.”

At the event Professor Elliott announced the successful recipients of the 2023 Kolling Awards. This year eight researchers received an award across the following five categories.

Clinical Research Dr Vicki Duong and Dr Sumit Sahni

Discovery Research Professor Jose Antonio Lopez-Escamez

PhD completion Dr Natassia Rodrigo

PhD supervision Associate Professor Claire Ashton-James and Dr Ryan Davis

Professional Staff Quoc Nguyen (non-technical staff) and Shihani Stoner (technical staff)

Professor Elliott said I would like to thank the Workforce and Culture Research Enabler and the Kolling Executive Committee for their co-ordination and support of the awards. It’s so important we acknowledge both our emerging and established leaders, and those having a remarkable impact with their research.

“I would also like to acknowledge the researchers and professional staff for their tremendous commitment and contribution towards our research success.

“Each of these award winners is driving substantial improvements in their individual areas of expertise, and I’m pleased that we’re able to direct the spotlight onto their significant achievements through the Kolling awards program.”

11 December 2023
Kolling Institute Research Video

At the Kolling Institute, we are tremendously fortunate to work with so many skilled and dedicated researchers. Our Kolling video gives you an insight into some of our latest research and our inspirational teams.

11 December 2023
Collaboration driving research impactc

The strength of interdisciplinary research across the Northern Sydney (Arabanoo) Precinct was highlighted during a dynamic showcase at the Kolling Institute.

The annual event, which has been steadily lifting its profile, featured the latest research progress across allied health, nursing, medicine, as well as pharmacy, dentistry and public health.

More than a hundred people attended this year’s event hosted by the Precinct academic directors Professors Jim Elliott and Robyn Gallagher, and Associate Professor Margaret Schnitzler.

The showcase provided an insight into the successful collaborations between the University of Sydney and the Northern Sydney Local Health District, and their impact on the delivery of care.

Associate Professor Elizabeth Clarke detailed her interdisciplinary research investigating the use of kangaroo tendons for human ACL reconstructions. This project involved engineers and medical scientists from the Kolling, along with orthopaedic surgeons and an Australian industry partner.

A/Prof Clarke also discussed the Kolling Orthopaedic Biomechanics Robotic Arm, an exciting collaboration between engineers from the University of Sydney, orthopaedic surgeons from the NSLHD and global industry partners.

Elizabeth said these two examples highlight how interdisciplinary collaboration can achieve outcomes far greater than the sum of the parts.

“We would not have achieved the research and innovation goals without any one of the partners and team members on these projects,” she said.

Exercise physiologist Rosanna Tran delivered her presentation on the FORTRESS trial, which is assessing a frailty intervention in hospitals. Funded by the NHMRC, the trial is using a validated screening tool and an evidence-based intervention.

Rosanna, who is based at Hornsby Hospital, said the collaborative research will help establish a cost-effective model of care to help manage frailty and its adverse impacts.

Professor Mark Molloy from the University of Sydney discussed his collaboration with Royal North Shore Hospital colorectal surgeon Professor Alexander Engel to identify molecular markers of disease risk for bowel cancer.

“This project demonstrates how clinical services can be an important contributor to interdisciplinary research through linking our own strengths,” he said

“Collaborating with clinicians helps to make my research more impactful by bringing a patient-centric perspective.”

It’s anticipated there’ll be further interdisciplinary collaboration following the showcase event.

27 October 2023
Most people with knee pain receive low-value, inappropriate care

With knee pain affecting a large share of the community, our researchers at the Kolling Institute are calling for clinicians and GPs to avoid delays in adopting the most up to date, evidenced-based guidelines.

Investigators from the Kolling’s Osteoarthritis Research Team report that knee pain is particularly disabling, accounting for five per cent of all visits to a GP.

The most common causes of pain are knee osteoarthritis, patellofemoral pain and meniscal tears.

Knee osteoarthritis affects an estimated 654 million people worldwide – a tremendous number of people, while meniscal tears affect approximately 12 per cent of the adult population. Meniscal tears can occur following a twisting injury or as a result of a degenerative condition.

In young people, knee pain is often the result of an acute traumatic injury, such as an ACL injury, meniscal tear or patellofemoral pain, and these conditions typically affect sporting populations under 40.

Following extensive investigations, our researchers have found that the majority of people with these conditions receive low-value and inappropriate care.

Dr Vicky Duong said our latest research, published today, indicates that the first-line treatment for these conditions should focus on conservative management, including exercise, education and self-management.

“Our research demonstrates the importance of initially visiting a GP or physiotherapist to aid diagnosis and management,” she said.

“Imaging is not required to diagnose these conditions, and importantly, surgery is not indicated for most people.

“Surgery is only recommended in specific circumstances, for instance where patients have end-stage osteoarthritis with disabling pain.

“We hope that our work will help inform the clinical community about the optimal, evidence-based care and that those recommendations are adopted as quickly as possible throughout hospitals and the broader community.”

The research involved national and international collaborators including teams from La Trobe University, the University of Medicine, Mandalay and Southern Medical University, China.

The paper has been published in the prestigious JAMA journal.

25 October 2023
Combined digital interventions improve recovery following knee replacement surgery

For the thousands of people who undergo a total knee replacement each year, a new technological approach may hold the key to a better recovery following surgery.

Researchers from the Kolling Institute conducted a randomized clinical trial, investigating whether a digital technology package delivered remotely was effective in reducing pain and improving mobility after a knee replacement.

Dr Vicky Duong from the Osteoarthritis Research Team said total knee replacement surgery is an increasingly common surgery for advanced, end-stage osteoarthritis.

“We know however, that one in 10 people report dissatisfaction two years after surgery,” she said.

In response to this trend, the team launched a clinical trial involving more than a hundred people, where they measured the impact of a combined digital program involving fortnightly health-coaching sessions, a Fitbit activity tracker and an exercise mobile app.

Dr Duong said we found this approach aided recovery, and patients had improved pain and greater mobility three months after surgery compared to those who only received usual care.

“Encouragingly, this positive trend was mirrored at six and 12 months,” she said.

“We also found improvements in function, activity participation and quality of life as a result of the digital program.

“For many people there is little post-operative care once a patient leaves rehabilitation, but our research indicates that delivering follow-up care with a combined digital package may give patients the support and encouragement they need to get back on their feet with confidence.

“This approach could be particularly important for rural and remote communities as the program has the potential to extend access to care and improve equity.

“We would also like to see future studies consider patient preferences and abilities.

“Some participants, especially those who were older were hesitant to use unfamiliar devices. Overall however, the approach was well-accepted.”

The study has been published in the prestigious JAMA Network Open journal.

12 October 2023

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