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Alliance Catalyst Fund

The Monash Warwick Alliance encourages the development of joint research and education collaboration with the aim of mutually beneficial growth in the research and teaching excellence of both institutions. The Alliance Research Catalyst Fund has been established with the specific intention to foster new initiatives with high potential that combine complementary aspects of each institution towards novel research outcomes.

Congratulations to the following recipients who have been awarded funding in this round:

Embassies and encounters: new sources for global history

Global History enables us to look beyond nation states to understand what connected and bound the world together. The period from 1600 to 1800 was a crucial watershed in human history. For the first time, the world was bound together by maritime trade routes that encircled the globe, tying diverse states together. In this connected world, the embassy formed one of the most important mechanisms for cross-cultural contact.

Through the Alliance, Associate Professor Adam Clulow, History Program, Monash University and Dr Guido van Meersbergen, Leverhulme Trust Early Career Fellow, Global History and Culture Centre, University of Warwick will produce the first scholarly examination of a key early modern embassy, led by Sir William Norris to Mughal India across a three-year period from 1699 to 1702. Georgia O’Connor, a MA student in the School of Philosophical, Historical and International Studies at Monash is currently writing a thesis on Norris and will also play a pivotal role.

The project goal is to produce the first scholarly edition of the Norris Embassy Diaries. Transcribing and analysing the Norris papers present a significant challenge as the manuscript and accompanying project is so large that it can only be done through collaborative efforts with both universities. To make this project possible, it will pool together specialised knowledge, skills, and resources.

Once published, the transcription will contribute to a greater understanding of the relationship between Asia and Europe in the early modern period, and will complement existing work by other academics on East and Southeast Asia. It will also enable the collaborative team to produce new research and deliver direct educational benefit to students through a series of masterclasses, a Masters-led research project and development of a website that will provide a platform for further research collaboration and teaching of global history.

Principle applicants

Associate Professor Adum Clulow

Faculty of Arts, Department of History, Monash University

Dr Guido van Meersbergen

Leverhulme Trust Early Career Fellow,
Department of History, University of Warwick

Co-applicants

Carolyn James, Associate Professor, Department of History, Monash University

Professor Giorgio Riello, Faculty of Arts, University of Warwick

Identification of markers for severe disease risk in H.pylori infected patients

Gastric cancer is a major global health issue. It is the third leading cause of cancer deaths worldwide, with almost one million new cases arising each year and a five-year survival rate of 20-30%. Exploring new ways to provide better diagnosis and treatment of this potentially deadly disease is something medical professionals over the world are seeking to achieve.

Through the Alliance, the team of Dr Terry Kwok-Schuelein, Senior Lecturer in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from Monash University and Dr Mark Achtman, Professor from the Warwick Medical School at the University of Warwick have the unique opportunity to explore one of the most common human pathogens, Helicobacter pylori (or H. pylori in short). H. pylori resides in the stomach of almost 50% of the human population. Although H. pylori infection does not cause illness in most infected people, the bacterium can trigger damage to the stomach lining and cause long-term inflammation or even tissue deterioration, leading to 50% of gastric cancer cases worldwide. The questions surrounding whether it is predestined in our genes for H. pylori infection to cause disease, or whether a disease outcome is influenced by the genes of the bacterium, or both, forms the basis of this collaborative global study.

Through the Alliance, Dr Kwok-Schuelein and Dr Achtman will lead a team to share skills, expertise and knowledge to tackle this global health issue. By combining bacterial genomics expertise at Warwick with the H. pylori pathogenesis and human genomics expertise at Monash, a unique opportunity has been created to assess the role of the relationship between human and H. pylori genetics in the development of H. pylori-associated disease.

The knowledge gained will achieve significant steps forward in the identification of carriers of the H. pylori bacteria who are at risk of adverse health outcomes even before symptoms appear. It will also assist in the selection of who should be targeted for eradication therapy and endoscopy.

Principle applicants

Dr Terry Kwok-Schuelein

Senior Lecturer, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Monash University

Dr Mark Achtman

Professor, Warwick Medical School, University of Warwick

Co-applicants

Dr Rebecca Gorrell, Research Fellow, Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, Monash University,

Dr Lawrence Young, Professor Warwick Medical School, University of Warwick

Understanding the cascade of care in tuberculosis patients: a focus in migrants

Tuberculosis (TB) is a major global public health problem affecting millions of people around the world. In times of increasing population mobility, TB will never be completely removed until it is eliminated globally. The World Health Organisation has plans to eliminate tuberculosis within the next 15 years and has published a framework giving top priority to high-incidence population groups who experience significant marginalisation and human rights violations, such as migrants and refugees.

Due to increased border mobility and conflict, South-East Asian countries particularly struggle to document diagnosed cases of TB. The University of Warwick and Monash University plan to work together in the development of a system that will not only enhance early TB detection of future outbreaks for migrants and refugees in Malaysia and Thailand, it will also act as the primary source of data collection for diagnosed cases.

The project led by Dr Jason Madan from the Warwick Medical School and Dr Shaun Lee from the School of Pharmacy at Monash University will utilise knowledge and expertise from both institutions. In particular, Warwick Medical School will draw upon their vast experience in Health Technology Assessment research, economic modelling and health economics expertise applied to TB. Monash University plan to tap into resources from the Asian Centre for Evidence Synthesis Population, Implementation and Clinical Outcomes (PICO) at Monash University Malaysia to leverage their skills in Health Technology Assessment, health economics, population health and policy development. It is highly anticipated the outcome of the system will then provide a platform for international partners to collaborate in the quest of improving the population’s well-being as a whole.

Principle applicants

Dr Shaun Lee

Associate Professor, School of Pharmacy, Monash University

Dr Jason Madan

Professor in Health Economics, Warwick Clinical Trial Unit, Division of Health Sciences, University of Warwick

Co-applicants

Dr Nathorn Chaiyakunapruk, Professor, School of Pharmacy, Monash University

Dr Peter Auguste, Research Fellow, Warwick Medical School, University of Warwick

Managing core vulnerabilities: the case of aged care

The Australian and UK aged care systems are in crisis. With limited numbers of facilities available, the cost of providing adequate care and support for residents is becoming prohibitive. Professor Mathew Hayward from the Monash Business School and Professor Graeme Currie, Pro-Dean of Research at the Warwick Business School will work together to inform a revised social framework for the aged care sector. The project will address critical issues currently challenging the sector, and propose meaningful solutions through the examination of core vulnerabilities faced by both elderly people and aged care providers. The project is also linked to healthcare improvement and involves the Monash Centre for Health Research and Implementation (MCHRI) and NIHR Collaboration for Leadership in Applied Health Research and Care West Midlands based at the University of Warwick.

The team at Monash and Warwick are uniquely poised to handle the rigorous research challenges facing this industry. Through existing relationships with aged care providers in both Australia and the UK, the team will leverage resources through access to data and networks. The overall outcome will enable access to stronger insights so that elderly people are armed with more knowledge to make better choices regarding the management of their care. Aged care providers will also be better equipped to deal with the core issues facing their service.

The work will produce industry positioning papers to enable stronger participation in public debate, and provide a starting point for the development of academic articles.

Principle applicants

Professor Mathew Hayward

Monash Business School, Monash University

Professor Graeme Currie

Pro-Dean Research, Warwick Business, School University of Warwick

Co-applicants

Professor Joseph Ibrahim, Health Law and Ageing Research Unit, Monash University

Professor Tina Kiefer, Applied Organisational Psychology Research Network, Warwick Business School, University of Warwick

False Remembering in Post-traumatic Stress Disorder

Up to 70% of the adult population in both the UK and Australia have experienced trauma at some point in their lives. A significant proportion of this group develop a disabling psychological condition known as Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Characterised by hyperarousal, persistent re-living of trauma events, avoidance of trauma-related stimuli, and negative alterations in cognitions and mood, PTSD now affects up to 10% of the UK and Australian population and is considered a common mental health disorder.

Central to PTSD and its treatment outcomes is the notion that PTSD sufferers may experience memory disruptions relating directly to the trauma event, and the general remembering of personal life experiences (Jobson et al., 2014). With trauma survivors often being required to provide evidence in legal investigations, and memory featuring prominently as evidence, debate amongst professionals continues as to whether those with PTSD provide accurate memories. With many unanswered questions relating to the cognitive mechanisms underpinning memory distortions in PTSD, and the extent to which those with PTSD can determine the (un)reliability of their memories there is need for a novel and valid methodology to better understand the development and phenomenology of false memories in PTSD sufferers.

With critical input from a team of experts, Dr Laura Jobson from the Monash Institute of Cognitive and Clinical Neuroscience at Monash University, and Dr Kimberley Wade from the Psychology Department at the University of Warwick will lead a new research initiative that will substantially advance the understanding of trauma, PTSD and false memory. The exciting collaboration positions the two universities in an exclusive position to be a world-first research program investigating false memory in PTSD. Importantly the work will have clear translation into legal policy and practise, as well as include an educational component and strategic plans to engage government and third sector organisations. In the longer term, Dr Jobson and Dr Wade hope to see an improved understanding of false memory in PTSD, a greater understanding of how facts, ideas and suggestions may modify memory in those with PTSD, guidelines to improve questioning and use of evidence of those with PTSD, a firm platform to attract external funding and longer term educational pathways.