MIME News - Monday 21 March

If you would like a story added to our next newsletter please contact Susan Newland at mime-enquiries@monash.edu

Welcome to 2016

Welcome to the first edition of MIME News for 2016. We hope that 2016 will be as busy and rewarding as 2015 was.


The executive team at MIME have spent the first few months of 2016 planning and preparing for the launch of the 2016 MIME Seed Fund round, which officially opens with Phase 1 applications on Friday, 8 April. Following on from the success of the 2015 MIME Seed Fund round, a further $500,000 will be available in 2016, with up to $50,000 available per project. 

In the first quarter of this year MIME has hosted visits from several companies, international delegations and visitors from interstate universities. We have also launched our MIME seminar series with additional seminars throughout the year to be advertised through our regular MIME News bulletin. We hope you will be able to join various activities and collaborations throughout the year. 

2016 MIME Affinity Meetings

MIME Affinity Meetings provide an opportunity for clinician researchers at our hospital sites to connect to researchers with enabling expertise in the areas of engineering, IT, design, science and biomedicine, etc. The meetings aim to foster new collaborative connections for clinicians and researchers interested in developing leading edge medical technologies.

In April 2016, MIME will be facilitating two Affinity Meetings which have been scheduled to coincide with Phase 1 of the MIME seed funding process, - i.e. the Call to Clinicians to nominate areas of significant unmet clinical need that could potentially be addressed by engineering or IT innovation.

Clinician researchers from the Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences are invited to give a 5 minute presentation outlining a clinical need or opportunity they are willing to champion. Please advise susan.newland@monash.edu or complete the appropriate registration form below if you wish to present. Engineering, IT & other researchers seeking a clinical collaborator are also invited to give a 5 minute presentation on aspects of their research that could make a significant difference to clinical diagnostics, treatment or care. 

Engineering, IT and other MIME researchers are strongly encouraged to attend these events, to identify new opportunities to apply your expertise, and meet potential clinical collaborators. Networking time will be available. Researchers attending these events should then be well positioned to respond to Phase 2 of the MIME seed fund process - the call for Engineering or IT-enabled R&D programs addressing unmet clinical needs.

Researchers wishing to attend the Affinity Meetings should complete the online form below. MIME will provide transport between the Clayton site and the Affinity meetings.

Researchers from MIME partner organisations i.e. CSIRO, Hudson Institute and BakerIDI are also welcome to attend the MIME Affinity meetings.

The first meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, 20 April at Monash Medical Centre from 2.00pm - 4.00pm. If you would like to attend or present at this meeting please complete the registration form by Wednesday, 13 April.

The second meeting is scheduled for Thursday, 28 April at the Alfred from 9.00am - 11.00am, If you would like to attend or present at this meeting please complete the registration form by Thursday, 21 April.

Applications for clinicians to submit unmet clinical needs for the 2016 MIME Seed Fund round will open on Friday, 8 April. Applications should be submitted through the link on our website under the MIME Seed Funding tab. Up to $50,000 per project may be requested. 

Launch of the 2016 MIME Seed Fund Round

The MIME Seed Fund was established to accelerate the development of new medical technologies that address significant unmet clinical needs. The first round was launched in 2015 with $933,386 seed funding awarded to initiate 25 new collaborative projects. As a result, we are now launching a 2016 round, which will commence on Friday, 8 April with the opening of the call to clinicians to submit unmet clinical needs.


The 2016 round aims to continue building on the purpose of the 2015 round, which was designed to lay the foundations for the collaborative framework of MIME, by encouraging early clinician involvement in identifying areas of significant clinical need enabling our research to be directed to areas where it can deliver the greatest impact. Additionally, we are aiming to continue building and strengthening collaborative relationships between MNHS clinicians in Monash's partner hospitals and researchers in the Faculties of Engineering and IT, as well as reaching out to researchers in other disciplines and partner organisations.

Like the 2015 round, there will be two stages to the application process: an initial call to clinicians to define areas of unmet clinical need, followed by an invitation to all Monash staff to respond with proposed solutions. All Monash staff are eligible to participate in the multidisciplinary ‘solution' teams. Researchers from MIME partner institutions are also invited to participate as members of the collaborative teams. 


Following on from the success of 2015, there will be up to $500,000 available in the 2016 funding round. Applications may be for any amount between $10,000 - $50,000. The funding will be directed to projects that can achieve a meaningful outcome within 12 - 18 months, e.g. proof-of-concept data or initial prototype. The seed funding is aimed at progressing a project to the point that the research team is well positioned to then secure external funding from industry or grants to progress the next phase of the R&D.
Further details regarding the 2016 MIME Seed Fund round including key dates are available on the MIME website.





Update on PhD Scholarships

The student application process for the MIME PhD scholarships is opening soon. Information relating to each of the projects and how to apply will be available via the MIME website from Monday, 18 April. We encourage you to distribute information relating to the potential projects to your networks and perspective students.


The portfolio of available PhD project topics has been established via the 2015 seed fund process. For unmet clinical needs that require a challenging longer term research program, appropriate PhD projects were scoped by the multidisciplinary solution teams. 

We are now actively seeking applications from prospective students, interested in carrying out world-leading medical engineering research in these project areas. These students will have the benefit of a truly multidisciplinary learning experience, being co-supervised by both the clinical champion and the leading STEM academics and mentored by the broader research team. 

16 PhD living allowance scholarships have been made available for the MIME projects through the generous contributions of the Faculty of Engineering and the Faculty of IT, Central Clinical School, School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, School of Clinical Science Monash Health, Monash Health, the Alfred Foundation, Alfred Health Research Trust and CSIRO. 

Further information is available on the MIME website

Funding

Ramaciotti Health Investment Grants
Ramaciotti Medal for Excellence in Biomedical Research
As trustee of the Ramaciotti Foundations, Perpetual would like to advise that applications are now open for the 2016 Ramaciotti Awards.   

2016 Ramaciotti Awards
Ramaciotti Health Investment Grants of up to $150,000 are awarded to individuals in universities, public hospitals or institutes for a contribution towards the undertaking of health or medical research, with the potential path to clinical application within five years. A Health Investment grant is intended to provide enabling research support for an autonomous, early career investigator who is taking, or has recently taken, a substantive position.

Ramaciotti Medal for Excellence in Biomedical Research
The Ramaciotti Medal is an annual award of $50,000. The Medal honours an individual who has made an outstanding discovery (or discoveries) in clinical or experimental biomedical research that has had an important impact on biomedical science, clinical science, or the way in which healthcare is delivered.

APPLICATIONS CLOSE 5PM (AEST) ON FRIDAY 27 MAY 2016

For more information on the Awards, conditions, and how to apply, please visit the Ramaciotti website.


If you intend to apply for a Ramaciotti Award, please advise the Faculty Research Office (medicine.research@monash.edu), as external editorial assistance on your application is available through Monash University's Prizes & Awards Strategy.​


The CASS Foundation 
The objective of The CASS Foundation is to fund programs and projects which have the capacity to provide a benefit to a significant sector of the Australian community.

In the field of education, CASS has a preference for funding innovative, curriculum-based projects which are sustainable in the long term and which may have the potential to be exemplars for change. CASS also considers need and disadvantage in its grant-making decisions.

In medicine and science, CASS supports short term ‘proof of concept’ research in promising topic areas, which if validated, have the potential to attract longer-term funding and to contribute to better practice and delivery of services.


CASS travel grants fill a need for early career post-doctoral researchers to attend and participate in overseas conferences to further their professional development and establish contact with their international peers and research collaborators.

CASS provides annual grants for research and development in science and medicine. Each year the grant Guidelines and Application Form and process are reviewed in the light of past experience, changing circumstances and developments which might affect our prime focus. In 2015, the Foundation funded a further round of Grants in accordance with published Guidelines. A further round will be funded in 2016.

2016 Medicine/Science Grants round 
The 2016 Medicine/Science grant round will open on 15th August 2016, when the online Application portal will become available. Further details regarding the CASS Foundation is available through their website