Menzies Institute for Medical Research

02/04/2026

🐣 Easter Closure Notice 🐣
We'll be closed for the Easter break from Friday through to Tuesday and be back open on Wednesday!
Wishing everyone a safe and happy Easter 🍫

31/03/2026

🌟 We’re Hiring🌟
Are you passionate about putting community voices at the heart of medical research?

We’re seeking an experienced and values driven Institute Consumer and Community Involvement (CCI) Manager to lead meaningful engagement with consumers and communities across our research.

👉 If you’re a skilled communicator, relationship builder, and advocate for genuine community partnership, we want to hear from you!

Job description in the comments.

30/03/2026

Through their much-loved podcast, Two Parkies in a Pod, Kuhan and David bring honesty, humour, and authenticity to conversations about what it really means to live well with Parkinson’s.

💻This Wednesday, Kuhan and David are joining Professors Michele Callisaya and Jane Alty from the Tasmania Parkinson’s Project for a free webinar.

Whether you’re living with Parkinson’s, are a carer, or just someone who wants to hear more about Parkinson’s, the webinar is an opportunity to ask questions and hear powerful lived-experience perspectives.

📆 Wednesday 1st April, 6pm
📍 Free online event

Read more and register using the link in the comments 👇

29/03/2026

🎓 As she completes her PhD at Menzies, Surbhi Agarwal is helping shed new light on how the brain’s immune cells behave in multiple sclerosis (MS).

Surbhi’s research looks at inflammation in the brain and a protein called NLRX1, which helps regulate immune responses after injury or infection. By studying what happens when this protein is missing, her work is shedding light on how early immune responses may contribute to damage in MS.

“I was drawn to this work because MS is a complex disease where the immune system plays a major role in damaging the brain and spinal cord,” Surbhi says. “Understanding how immune cells in the brain regulate inflammation could reveal important mechanisms that drive the disease.”

Originally from India, Surbhi moved to Taiwan to pursue molecular biology and human genetics and worked on Parkinsons disease as a research assistant for two years. Her interest in brain diseases and inflammation, sparked during her work in Taiwan, has shaped her PhD journey.

Looking ahead, Surbhi hopes to continue her career in neuroscience research, building on her PhD work to deepen our understanding of how the immune system affects diseases of the brain, including MS.

✨Congratulations Surbhi on your impactful work so far!

Pictured: Surbhi Agarwal (left) with her PhD supervisor Dr Jessica Fletcher

26/03/2026

Our Cardiovascular Research Flagship team have found seeing inside your own arteries could be the wake-up call Australians need to take action to prevent a heart attack or stroke.

Our team, together with the Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute, found that numbers alone — like cholesterol or blood pressure — don’t always drive change.

They tried showing people images of calcium build-up in their coronary arteries and the study of over 250 people in Hobart and Melbourne over eight years found:

* People who saw their artery scans were far more likely to take statins
* After 3 years, 85% stayed on treatment
* Even seeing the image once increased action
* Participants improved cholesterol, blood pressure, and overall heart risk

Why does it work? Because the risk was visible — not abstract.

23/03/2026

📣 Our MS Research Flagship's March newsletter is out now!
2026 is a special year for the MS Research Flagship as it celebrates 10 years of working alongside the MS community to reduce the impact of multiple sclerosis.

In this edition, read about:
🎉 10 years of the MS Research Flagship and the milestones shaping MS research in Tasmania and beyond
🔬 How world‑class research and lived experience are driving progress
🤝 Community events and initiatives helping fund the future of MS research.

Link to the full newsletter in the comments 👇

23/03/2026

Dr Kim Jose, Associate Professor Amanda Neil, and Professor Verity Cleland are passionate about using community voices to shape their research.

When Amanda was preparing a grant for a study on literacy and mental health, she brought people with lived experience into the room and asked them, “Is my research asking the right questions?”
What she heard changed the research framing.

Community members don’t talk about “low literacy skills” the way researchers often do. They say “literacy challenges” — a phrase that avoids labels and recognises that while reading can be tough, skills can grow and improve.

As Amanda says, “it’s changed the language we use continuously in our work.”

Meanwhile, Verity and Kim led the Communities for Walkability Project, a citizen‑science study looking at how walkable regional Tassie towns are and how that affects community wellbeing. After the research, they asked locals:

What worked well? What should we do next?

The answer was clear: the citizen‑science approach really resonated. Now they’re encouraging more researchers to adopt it.

Want to help shape future research at Menzies with your lived experience?
👇 Register your interest via the link in the comments!

19/03/2026

In recognition of World Parkinson’s Day, we invite you to an engaging seminar hosted by Professor Michele Callisaya on Thursday 9th April.

💬 It brings together researchers and community leaders working to improving understanding, care, and outcomes for people living with Parkinson’s disease.

Featuring presentations from:
👤 Sam Bramich – PhD candidate & sleep scientist, Wicking Dementia Centre
👤 Claire Myers – President, Parkinson’s Tasmania
👤 Celeste Holden – PhD candidate, Menzies Institute for Medical Research

Attend in person or online. Register via the link in the comments 👇

18/03/2026

Menzies supporter Clare Reilly - Multiple Sclerosis Advocate is preparing to take on an extraordinary challenge: completing the 1,000km Munda Biddi Trail in Western Australia using an off‑road wheelchair.

Clare lives with multiple sclerosis (MS), and through her 'Wheelchair meets wilderness' challenge she is raising awareness and funds to support MS research at the Menzies Institute for Medical Research. Her goal is to raise $100,000 to help improve treatment and care for people living with MS.

We are incredibly grateful to Clare for her commitment to advancing MS research, and wish her all the best on her adventures!

To find out more about Clare's journey and how you can support her challenge go to the link in the comments ⬇️

17/03/2026

This Brain Awareness Week, build your understanding of the brain and mental health with Mental Health and MS, a free, self‑paced online course.

The course explores how anxiety, depression and multiple sclerosis interact to affect daily life, and shares practical, evidence‑based strategies to support mental wellbeing. Across three modules, you’ll hear from people living with MS, alongside clinical psychologists and neurologists.

Developed by the MS Research Flagship at Menzies, in collaboration with the MS community.

Key details
🧠 Duration: Self‑paced
⏱️ Effort: 1.5–2 hours per module
📜 Completion certificate: Yes
💻 Cost: FREE

Click on the image to enrol ⬇️

Mental Health and Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is a free online course that aims to enhance understanding of mental health and its interaction with anxiety, depression and MS.

16/03/2026

🧠 Brain Awareness Week starts today!🧠
Did you know our Cardiovascular Research Flagship has a strong focus on stroke? This is because Tasmania has the highest per-capita incidence of stroke in Australia- a 2025 study from our Flagship also found that people in lower socio‑economic groups experience a 33% higher risk of stroke.
But there’s good news: around 80% of strokes are preventable.

Later this year, we’ll be launching a massive open online course (MOOC) dedicated to stroke prevention — practical, evidence‑based, and free to access. Keep an eye on our page for updates!🧠
💛 Key risk factors you can change include:
• High blood pressure
• High cholesterol
• Smoking
• Being overweight or obese
• Poor diet
• Lack of physical activity
• Alcohol consumption
🌟 Coming soon:
Later this year we’ll be launching a massive open online course (MOOC) dedicated to stroke prevention — practical, evidence‑based, and free to access. Keep an eye on our page for updates!🧠

12/03/2026

Dr Laura Laslett is a Senior Research Fellow and epidemiologist at Menzies, working within our MS Research Flagship to improve the lives of people living with multiple sclerosis (MS). Her work focuses on understanding sleep, which is one of the most persistent and disruptive symptoms experienced by many in the MS community.

😴 Through her 'Pathways to Treatments for Better Sleep' research program, funded by MS Australia, Dr Laslett is investigating how sleep changes over time, which treatments have already been tested, and whether new approaches could offer meaningful improvements. Her research uses detailed, long-term sleep monitoring, including research-grade wearable devices and daily symptom reporting, to build a clearer picture of sleep challenges faced by people with MS.

In her latest study, Dr Laslett and her team are exploring whether smartwatches and symptom-tracking apps are practical and useful tools for capturing real-time changes in sleep and MS symptoms. This work will help shape future clinical trials and advance more personalised approaches to managing sleep problems in MS.

On World Sleep Day 2026, we celebrate Dr Laslett’s commitment to creating better pathways to restorative sleep, and better quality of life, for people living with MS.

For more about Laura's latest study check out the link in the comments ⬇️