Neurosurgery research

The Neurosurgery Department provides a comprehensive in-patient and out-patient neurosurgical service, treating the full range of intracranial, spinal and peripheral nerve disorders.

The department treats approximately 2,100 in-patients (with around 50% being elective and 50% emergency) and 4,000 out-patients annually. Trauma accounts for approximately 35% of the caseload.

Sub-specialty interests are in cerebrovascular surgery, spinal surgery, skull base surgery, pituitary surgery and neurotrauma.

Ongoing research collaborations with internal and external researchers across surgical, preclinical and multidisciplinary / medical device projects include:

The Monash Bionic Vision Project
Early interventions to improve outcomes after traumatic brain injury (TBI) in conjunction with the Intensive Care Unit (EPO-TBI and POLAR)
Randomised controlled trial (RCT) of antibiotic impregnated external ventricular drains
Monitoring of cerebral pressure reactivity in pediatric TBI
Immediate cooling and emergency decompression for the treatment of spinal cord injury: pilot, safety and feasibility studies
Incidence and treatment of clinically significant dysphagia amongst patients treated in halo-thoracic orthoses for traumatic cervical spine injury
A mechanistic approach to therapy development for chronic traumatic encephalopathy using small and large animal models of concussion
EPIBIOS4RX: a multicenter clinical observational trial monitoring traumatic brain injury patients with potential development of post-traumatic epilepsy from acute to chronic periods after injury.

Achievements

Professor Jeffrey Rosenfeld was appointed Foundation Director of the newly established Monash Institute of Medical Engineering (MIME) in 2014
Philip Lewis completed his PhD entitled ‘Monitoring of cerebral autoregulation: clinical, physiological and technical concepts’
Professor Jeffrey Rosenfeld was appointed a Knight of Grace in The Order of St John in October 2014.

Selected Grants

Professor Rosenfeld’s grant funding for 2014 included:

Two NHMRC Project Grants as a co-investigator (CIB) for 2014-2016: (i) ‘A mechanistic approach to therapy development for chronic traumatic encephalopathy using small and large animal models of concussion’, led by Professor Robert Vink (CIA) from the University of Adelaide ($475,640); and (ii) ‘Immediate cooling and decompression for the treatment of spinal cord injury: pilot safety and feasibility studies’, led by Dr Peter Batchelor (CIA) from the University of Melbourne ($581,561)
A Booster Grant of $300,000 for 2014-2016 from the Defence Health Foundation for work to reduce alcohol-related incidents in Navy trainees as part of The Alfred’s P.A.R.T.Y (Prevent Alcohol and Risk-related Trauma in Youth) program
Co-investigator status on a Convergence Science Research Award of $US500,000 funded by the U.S. Department of Defence’s Peer Reviewed Alzheimer’s Research Program entitled ‘US Army Medical Research and Material Command and Telemedicine and Advanced Technology Research Centre’ for 2014-2017 (CI: M Weiner).

Postgraduate students

1 PhD student