OPUS Spotlight: Siddharth Rele
Veronique Price
Siddharth (Sid) Rele is a University of Melbourne medical student completing his research project with the OPUS Centre for Research Excellence. Sid completed a Bachelor of Biomedical Science at Monash University and it was through this degree that he was first introduced to the world of research. This experience fostered a passion for biomedical research […]
OPUS Spotlight: Dr Sina Babazadeh
Veronique Price
After graduating from Monash University medical school, Dr Babazadeh completed a PhD in orthopaedic surgery at the St Vincent’s Hospital in Melbourne, where he focused on improving outcomes in knee replacement surgery. Since then, he has trained as an orthopaedic surgeon, specialising in knees, hips and wrists. He completed further specialist training in wrist surgery […]
Introducing SOMA: Students in Orthopaedic and Musculoskeletal Academia
Veronique Price
Students in Orthopaedic and Musculoskeletal Academia (SOMA) brings together students from different locations and institutions who are interested in musculoskeletal and orthopaedic health. We foster an inclusive and active culture of engagement with research, peer-to-peer support, teaching, and advocacy. The group formed in mid-2019 when Cade Shadbolt, now SOMA’s secretary, highlighted the potential benefit of […]
Three Steps to Change How We Think About Knee Osteoarthritis
Veronique Price
A recently published editorial in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, which was written by lead author JP Caneiro and an international team of leaders in the field of osteoarthritis, calls for three actions to improve the way that we think and talk about knee osteoarthritis Patients with knee osteoarthritis suffer from pain and physical […]
OPUS Methods: Machine Learning and Medical Research
Veronique Price
In this first short piece in the “OPUS Methods” series, MD-PhD candidate Daniel Gould explains what machine learning is and how it can identify patients at risk of readmission after total knee replacement. Machine learning may sound futuristic, but it has become an increasingly common method in medical research over the past decade. Unlike more […]
Responding to Surgery’s Opioid Crisis
Veronique Price
Each year, tens of thousands of patients who are prescribed opioids after surgery remain reliant on these medications even after their acute surgical pain has subsided. This worrying trend is one of the most widely recognized ways in which surgeons have contributed to opioid crises in many regions around the world. However, the troubling link […]
Tackling Musculoskeletal Conditions on a Global Scale
Veronique Price
A team of researchers from around the world, including our own Samantha Bunzli, recently released a report outlining a set of global health priorities with the aim of improving the prevention and management of non-communicable diseases. The report analysed the policies of 30 Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Member States to better understand […]
Fellowship Success: A/Prof Michelle Dowsey
Veronique Price
The Dame Kate Campbell Fellowships were recently announced, and A/Prof Michelle Dowsey was one of the lucky few to be awarded a fellowship. The OPUS team was delighted to learn that our own A/Prof Michelle Dowsey was awarded a Dame Kate Campbell Fellowship. Named in honor of Dame Kate Campbell (1899-1986), a paediatrician whose pioneering […]
Veronique Price
The ECCO research stream, which aims to better understand and meet the needs of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander Australians with osteoarthritis (OA), has had another early win. Researchers from this stream, including Tilini Gunatillake (PI), Peter Choong, Gail Garvey, Sam Bunzli, Michelle Dowsey, Toni Mason, and Penny O’Brien, were recently awarded a competitive grant […]
Fellowship Success: A/Prof Maria Inacio
Veronique Price
The Hospital Research Foundation (THRF) recently announced $5.7 million worth of research grants, and A/Prof Maria Inacio was one of the lucky few to be awarded a fellowship. Every year more than 10% of older Australians use government subsidised aged care services. As providers of aged care services support, the Commonwealth government monitors the […]
Veronique Price
Daniel Gould began his journey with OPUS in July 2018 while working on his MDRP, a research project that is a part of the University of Melbourne’s medical degree. Since then, he has worked on the SMART database as a research assistant, and in June of this year he became the University of Melbourne’s first combined […]
Veronique Price
Recently published findings from a randomised controlled trial, led by Michelle Dowsey, suggest that offering mindfulness training to certain patients before their joint replacement can improve their pain and function after surgery. Pre-surgery psychological distress can lead to poorer outcomes following total joint replacement (TJR) surgery. Depression, anxiety, neuroticism, catastrophizing, poor self-esteem, and low self-efficacy, […]