2020 Victorian Muscle Netwok Symposium
On Thursday 15th October muscle researchers ‘zoomed in’ to the 3rd annual Victorian Muscle Network Symposium to learn about cutting-edge studies being undertaken in Victoria.
Established to provide a networking and collaboration platform for early-career researchers (ECRs) in the muscle community, the Victorian Muscle Network brings together emerging research leaders from universities and research institutes and provides a platform for enriching learning and understanding across diverse muscle-related projects.
Now in its third consecutive year, the annual symposium was delivered virtually in 2020 but maintained engagement with over 100 registrants for the event. This year’s keynote speakers were Associate Professor Mirana Ramialison (Murdoch Children’s Research Institute) who presented her work on novel genetic determinants for heart development and disease, and Professor Sean McGee (Deakin University) who discussed protein kinase D signalling and its contribution to cardiac dysfunction in obesity. Attendees heard many high-calibre presentations from other ECRs including Masters and Ph.D. students, on diverse muscle-themed topics ranging from disease and development in model organisms to clinical translation for muscle-wasting conditions.
Congratulations to the symposium organising committee: Dr. Avnika Ruparelia (Australian Regenerative Medicine Institute, Monash University), Dr. Justin Hardee (Centre for Muscle Research, Department of Physiology, The University of Melbourne), Dr. Danielle Hiam (Victoria University), and Dr. Adam Trewin (Deakin University), for orchestrating a fantastic day! The symposium was closed by Professor Gordon Lynch, Director of the Centre for Muscle Research, who summarised the day’s research achievements and thanked the symposium sponsors for their generous support.
The Centre for Muscle Research was delighted for our Ph.D. student, Francesca Alves, who received a prize for the best student talk at the 2020 Victorian Muscle Network Symposium! Fran presented her work on impaired muscle regeneration after ischemia reperfusion damage in aged mice, and was one of four high-quality presentations by ECRs from the Centre for Muscle Research.
Our sincere thanks to our sponsors Aurora Scientific, the Department of Physiology at The University of Melbourne, and the Institute for Health and Sport at Victoria University for their generous support of thesymposium.
Please join us next year for the 2021 Victorian Network Symposium. If you would like to join the organising committee, please contact us here.