Welcome Message

Welcome to another edition of our TSANZ Research Roundup. The wheels have officially begun turning for our 2020 TSANZ ASM, which means a wide range of opportunities to submit abstracts and will be opening on 12 July! Please visit our TSANZSRS2020 website for more details about abstracts & TSANZ Travel Awards once the submission portal is live, and pay close attention to the closing dates.
For our registered nurses, don’t forget about the TSANZ Indigenous Respiratory Nursing Awards, which will help support the cost of attendance to the TSANZ ASM for those with indigenous heritage, or working with indigenous communities in respiratory health.

We have a few new Lung Foundation Australia awards opening this month, so see below for details. Applications are still open for LFA/A Menarini travel grants for ERS and APSR – if you are interested in attending be sure to send in your submissions before the deadline. We have also extended the date for the Brian Eaton IPF award.
If you are planning on attending the TSANZ New Zealand Annual Scientific Meeting, we still have travel grant applications open until 15 July so click here to apply now.

We would also like to bring to your attention the Bupa 2019 Emerging Health Researcher Awardnominations are open on their website. This award is designed for Early Career Researchers and the recipient will receive a prize of $25,000 to put towards further research. Selected Finalists and Highly Commended nominations will also be recognised.
icare also have opened their Dust Diseases Grant program to applicants, which closes 2 August. Please scroll down for more information on both.

We hope you enjoy the July edition of your Research Roundup!

Tanya Buchanan
(standing in for Sandra Hodge earning a well-earned break!)
CEO, The Thoracic Society of Australia and New Zealand

Open Awards

Thoracic Society Awards

TSANZ NZ ASM Travel Grants 2019 – closes 15th July 2019

TSANZ ASM 2020 abstract-linked Awards – closing 11 October 2019
(N.B. the submission portal will become live on July 12)

TSANZ Indigenous Respiratory Nursing Award – closes 30th October 2019

Lung Foundation Awards

LFA / Brian Eaton IPF PhD Scholarship – EXTENDED until 14 July 2019 

Lung Foundation Australia / A Menarini Pty Ltd 2019 Travel Awards 

Travel application deadlines

ERS: 31st July 2019 (5pm AEST)

APSR: 13th September 2019 (5pm AEST)

N.B. The following awards will open 14 July

BI / COPD Research Fellowship – closes 25 August 2019

Lung Foundation Australia / Lizotte Family Research Award for IPF Research – closes 25 August 2019

LFA / Ludwig Engel Grant-In-Aid for Physiological Research – closes 25 August 2019

Ivan Cash Grant-In-Aid for IPF Research – closes 25 August 2019

How to participate

Follow the links above to access each award application form and download the information sheet.

Please email the TSANZ Awards Coordinator with any questions, comments or enquires.

Watch this space for more award announcements…

The following articles will take you to thelimbic.com

Time to tweak asthma biologics red tape: PBAC 

Phone app trained to diagnose coughs

Antibiotic use in respiratory diseases in the spotlight

AURA: think about dose, duration & choice of antibiotic use in COPD

Holy Grail:  Re-wiring the immune response to prevent asthma

Respirology – Editor’s Choice 

Respirology Issue 24.7 July 2019

Clinical usefulness of routine AFB culture and MTB PCR of EBUS‐TBNA needle rinse fluid

Ryoung-Eun Ko, Byeong-Ho Jeong, Hae Ri Chon, Hee Jae Huh, Joungho Han, Hyun Lee, Kyungjong Lee, Hojoong Kim, O. Jung Kwon, Sang-Won Um

Researchers from the Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine at the Samsung Medical Center in Seoul, South Korea. From left to right: Byoung-Ho Jeong, Sang-Won Um, and Ryoung-Eun Ko

DOI: 10.1111/resp.13488

Changes in physical activity during hospital admission for chronic respiratory disease

Mark W. Orme, Theresa C. Harvey-Dunstan, Ismet Boral, Emma J.L. Chaplin, S. Fayyaz Hussain, Mike D.L. Morgan, Michael C. Steiner, Sally J. Singh, Neil J. Greening

A single day of physical activity monitoring

DOI: 10.1111/resp.13513

Research Project and Survey Requests

What is “suspected” lung cancer?

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related mortality and morbidity in Australia. The Cancer Council’s Optimal Care Pathway suggests that patients with suspected lung cancer on CT scan be seen by a specialist within two weeks. But what exactly is “suspected” lung cancer? Does that 5mm lung nodule found incidentally on CT coronary angiogram need urgent specialist attention?

St John of God Healthcare doctors and Curtin University researchers are inviting respiratory physicians to help us define “suspected” lung cancer. We need you to review 10 short case scenarios and tell us if each of the patients should be seen by a specialist within two weeks.

To participate, click here.

You have been anonymously invited to participate because the Thoracic Society of Australia and New Zealand identifies you as a member. Consent is implied by your voluntary participation. This research study has been reviewed and given approval from the Curtin University and St John of God Healthcare Human Research Ethics Committees.
If you have questions or comments, you can contact the Principle Investigator on david.manners@sjog.org.au, the Curtin University HREC on hrec@curtin.edu.au or the SJOG Healthcare HREC on ethics@sjog.org.au.

Survey of Attitudes of Australian Specialists to Lung Cancer Screening with Low Dose Computed Tomography

To Members of the Thoracic Society of Australia and New Zealand,

Lung cancer screening with low dose computed tomography has been implemented overseas however is still a debated topic within Australia. We are conducting a survey of Australian specialists and their knowledge and attitudes towards lung cancer screening and perceived barriers to the implementation of lung cancer screening with low dose computed tomography within Australia.

The anonymous survey is available online using the SurveyMonkey survey tool and takes approximately 7 minutes to complete.  It can be accessed via the following link.  https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/AttitudesToLDCT

Please don’t hesitate to contact us if you require any further information.  We attach our study protocol and copy of HREC approval (The Prince Charles Hospital Human Research and Ethics Committee LNR/2018/QPCH/44970).

Thank you for your kind support.

Yours truly

Rachel McLellan, Advanced RACP Trainee
Kwun Fong
Henry Marshall
Rayleen Bowman
Ian Yang

University of Queensland Thoracic Research Centre at The Prince Charles Hospital
Metro North Hospital and Health Service | Queensland Government
Rode Road, Chermside, Brisbane QLD 4032, AUSTRALIA
t. 61 7 [31394000] e. ILST@health.qld.gov.au | www.health.qld.gov.au

New survey about Victorian doctors’ end-of-life decision-making

Victorian doctors in specialties likely to be involved in end-of-life decisions are being surveyed about their decision-making practices involving adult patients. Researchers from the NHMRC-funded Centre of Research Excellence in End-of-Life Care are conducting a study to determine what sort of end-of-life decisions are being made by doctors, how often these decisions occur and for what sort of patients.

At present, there are no up-to-date, representative Australian data describing the frequency and nature of medical end-of-life decisions involving adults, and the characteristics of patients about whom such decisions are made. The research aims to provide an evidence base to understand current medical practice in Victoria including the extent to which palliative care is provided to patients at the end of life. Findings from this research will also inform improvements in the quality of end-of-life care.

A sample of Victorian doctors will be contacted in April and May by the AMA’s Australia Medical Publishing Company (AMPCo) to invite them to complete a survey.  The survey can be completed in hard copy or online.  Participating doctors who complete their survey before 16 May will go into the draw for one of three prizes to the value $100, in fine wine, or a donation to a registered charity of your choice.

If you have any queries about this research, please feel free to contact Dr Rachel Feeney[rachel.feeney@qut.edu.au]. The research team is grateful for the time and insight of the doctors who support this research by completing this survey.

Genomic medicine here to stay? Have your say.

Are you a medical specialist in Australia?

If so, tell us your thoughts about genomic medicine
practice and continuing medical education!

We need to hear from non-genetic medical specialists
who work clinically in Australia.

We want to know about past, present and future aspects
of genetics and health, including genomics in healthcare.

It doesn’t matter how much you know about this,
or whether you incorporate genomics into your practice or not;
your opinions, views and experiences are valuable to us.

You will help shape future workforce practices and
continuing education and training programs

Click here to complete the anonymous 15-minute survey.
Please distribute this link to your networks

Please note there are separate studies for clinical geneticists, oncologists, pathologists, radiologists and general practitioners, who will be contacted directly.

This survey is an activity of the Workforce Development Program of the NH&MRC-funded
Australian Genomics Health Alliance. If you have any queries, please contact Dr Amy Nisselle, Specialist Project Officer, Australian Genomics Health Alliance (amy.nisselle@mcri.edu.au or 03 9936 6340).

This survey has HREC approval, The University of Melbourne (1646785.8).