Talking Health

Dr Nedaossadat Mirzadeh is combining molecules to fight cancer.

Most of us know that getting a good night’s sleep is vital to our performance at work, health and appearance. But why is it that we never seem to get enough? Senior Research Fellow and Sleep Expert Dr Melinda Jackson explains the beauty of sleep and answers the questions that keep us up at night such as why we’ll never sleep as well as we did in our 20s and how the brain sees dreams.

Dr Claudia Diaz has earned her fame via her series of anatomic body art to educate her students. Neurovascular Man, Anatomical Man and Skeletal Man have been brought to life in her classroom. Dr Diaz explains this method of teaching and how it's helping to create a newly inspired generation of anatomists.

Associate Professor Janine Danks from the School of Medical Sciences explains how her research is bringing us one step closer to understanding how to grow bones. This research could prove invaluable in the treatment of conditions such as osteoporosis and bone cancers.

It seems now more than ever games and play are infiltrating our reality. Incentives, points and competition - these are all major components of games that have been borrowed and reconstructed to fit into the practice of the digital every day. If you think about health apps such as Nike+, My Fitness Pal or Fitbit they all incorporate those major components. Director and Founder of RMIT’s GEElab Steffen Walz explains how gamification is transforming how we manage our health and lifestyle for the better and explains what the GEElab is working on to contribute to the development.

The issue of drugs in sport has been of interest almost as long as sport itself. Athletes in ancient Greece used herbs, fungi and even bread laced with opium to improve performance while Roman gladiators made use of caffeine and strychnine. In the modern era, athletes use various drugs and medications (both narcotic and prescribed) to enhance performance and improve strength.Such doping is both illegal and dangerous but how can we detect if an athlete has cheated or not and make it stand up in court?

RMIT Associate Professor Vipul Bansal is heading up the new Ian Potter NanoBioSensing Facility at RMIT. The $1.25 million research facility is supporting the development of rapid detection nanodevices, which can cut the diagnosis time of potentially life threatening diseases and health hazards.

What is nano safety research, and how does it affect the average Australian? Dan Murphy talks to RMIT Associate Professor Paul Wright, discussing the importance of his research and what we can all learn from this new field of science.

Interview with Dr Henry Feldman, assistant professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and Chief Information Architect for the Division of Clinical Informatics. He talks about doctors using the iPad in healthcare and surgery.

Dr Phillip Samartzis, Coordinator of Sound in the School of Art at RMIT, speaks about the Designing Sound for Health and Wellbeing project, a collaboration with St Vincent's Hospital, Melbourne, that tested the effect of sound in calming stress and anxiety on patients in the Emergency Department. This interview includes samples of soundscapes and compositions that were used in the project.

Professor Denise Jackson is the Discipline Head of Laboratory Medicine at RMIT University, Bundoora West Campus. She is Head of the Thrombosis and Vascular Biology laboratory and is also an Honorary NHMRC fellow. Prof. Jackson's responsibilities include: Discipline Head of Laboratory Medicine Member of Program Advisory Committee for Laboratory Medicine Foster innovation in teaching and learning and improve teaching quality. Implement "Program Experience Portfolio". Maintain IBMS and AIMS accreditation of Lab Medicine courses. Investigate and develop new postgraduate degrees. Restructure programs to give students more flexibility. Maintain liaison, collaboration and engagement with industry. Investigate off-shore opportunities and develop business cases.

Dr Kiao Inthavong's research looks at modelling how the respiratory system works and how that affects the toxicology of inhaled pollutants and contaminants. This research concentrates on nano-materials by linking the inhaled particles and its final deposition location in the respiratory airway with the potential health diseases like lung cancer and asbestosis. Dr Inthavong is a Senior Research Fellow at the School of Aerospace, Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering at RMIT University.

A conversation with Daniel Guidone, lecturer in Clinical Pharmacy and Therapeutics in the School of Medical Sciences, RMIT University.

A conversation with Dr Sarah Spencer, RMIT University VC Senior Research Fellow with the School of Health Sciences. Sarah discusses her research into how our early childhood diets effects our weight for the rest of our lives and how being obese change the way we react to stress.