The Prince Charles Hospital Foundation Newsletter

June 2014

Kate takes new organs for a spin Less than a year after her life-saving double lung and heart transplant, Kate Phillips strapped on her helmet and rode 65km to raise money for transplant research. Kate, her fiance Andrew and her brother Sam rode from Caboolture to Chermside for this year’s Cycle of Giving in February. The 28-year old landscape architect and jeweller was born with a hole in her heart. Before her first birthday Kate had developed pulmonary hypertension and had open heart surgery and then a pacemaker fitted. By 23, Kate knew she was getting sicker. “I couldn’t even put on my shoes. I had to lie down after a shower.” During one visit to The Prince Charles Hospital, Kate had what she calls a “little cardiac arrest”. She was at risk of sudden death. Her doctors had already discussed the possibility of transplantation, but it wasn’t until Kate passed out one day and hit her head that she realised it was necessary. Fortunately, Kate received her new heart and lungs last year, after only a few months on the transplant list. “I immediately felt better. It was weird to feel a heart beat and have pink lips,” she says. “Straight after the transplant I looked healthy for the first time.” Kate Phillips crossing the finish line at the Cycle of Giving.

627 Rode Road Chermside Queensland 4032 t: (07) 3139 4636 f: (07) 3139 4002 e: [email protected]

Changing of the guard In November we farewelled our Chief Executive Officer, Kate Ashton, and welcomed new chief Michael Hornby. Kate led the Foundation for six years, expertly shepherding us through the global financial crisis, overseeing the refresh of our brand, and championing the introduction of New Investigator and Equipment grants in 2010 and the

Program and PhD grants in 2013. After putting us on strong and sustainable footing, Kate and her husband returned to England to be closer to family. Our new CEO, Michael has over 20 years working in the non-profit sector, including education, animal welfare and community safety.

Michael has lived in northern Brisbane for many years with his family and has always been active in the local community. He is impressed every day by the variety and ingenuity of the research happening here at The Prince Charles Hospital.

New CEO Michael Hornby

Woolcock gala Professor Judith Whitworth AC delivered the sixth Paddy Woolcock Lecture at our gala in October. The Woolcock is held every two years to celebrate research. This year’s theme was exploring the unknown through medical research. Professor Whitworth is an inspiring doctor and researcher who helped develop Australian and international policy around the management of hypertension. She has served on committees with the World Health Organisation and the National Health and Medical Research Council. She spoke about the importance as a young doctor of embracing research opportunities and of Australia’s wonderful history of health research. The Foundation also received $115,000 from the Patrick & Dorothy Woolcock Medical Research Fund, managed

Top: Professor Judith Whitworth AC; Below: Research nurse Anne Carle; Double lung transplant recipient Kate Rootsey.

by Queensland Community Foundation on our behalf. The Paddy Woolcock Lecture was first held in 2003. It has been delivered by Laureat Professor Peter Doherty AC, Professor Michael Good AO, Professor Ian Frazer AC, Professor Fiona Wood AM, and Professor John Shine AO. Professor Whitworth and Professor Patrick McGorry AO gave key note addresses at the hospital Research Forum which was held the same week as the Woolcock gala.

Our Chairman Bernard Curran and Queensland Community Foundation’s Glen Poole with the Woolcock bequest cheque.

Finding cures. Saving lives.

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First PhD Scholarships awarded Four young researchers have received our first-ever PhD Scholarship grants.

millions of people around the world (nearly 2 million in Australia and 27 million in the USA).

The scholarships will provide some financial support for the next three years while the students complete their research.

Maruf will see if these drugs which prevent blood vessel formation will stop the arthritis from spreading into healthy joints.

Speech pathologist Anna-Liisa Sutt is continuing the work she started last year with her New Investigator grant, using speech valves for patients in ICU who have a tracheotomy (a breathing tube in their throat). Her first study showed that patients using the valve were able to participate more in their care and recovery, leading to generally improved quality of life while in hospital. Anna-Liisa’s PhD research will look at what effect the speech valve has on lung function. Scientist Kelly Chee is hoping her PhD research will help to create personalised cancer treatments. Kelly will use DNA sequencing to find the specific DNA changes that occur in the development of lung cancers and mesothelioma, with the aim of finding ways to stop or prevent those changes. Lung cancer is one of the biggest killers in Australia and throughout the world. Mesothelioma is expected to be an epidemic in Australia by 2020. For his PhD, Dr Maruf Abdullah-Al will study whether two particular drugs are effective for stopping the progress of arthritis. Osteoarthritis is a painful chronic condition that affects

Annalicia Vaughan explained her research at our grants presentation.

Annalicia Vaughan’s PhD research will look at the effects of aging and environmental pollution on the lungs, particularly in relation to respiratory disease. Chronic lower respiratory disease is one of the top five causes of death in Australia. Annalicia will use donated lung tissue to test how the lungs react to different inhaled substances and how lung disease progresses with age. The Foundation is proud to support these students through their research.

Equipment grants offer tools for research Congratulations to the recipients of our 2014 equipment grants.

Large Equipment grants

Professor Malcolm West – digital camera for photographing research samples Professor John Fraser – a pump for circulation research Ms Janet Shaw – sequencing equipment for lung disease research

Dr Roland Steck – designing specific equipment for medical engineering projects Professor Kwun Fong – equipment to assist with DNA sequencing for lung cancer

Small Equipment grants Miss Margaret Passmore – liquid nitrogen unit for storing tissue samples Dr Frances Kinnear – oxygen monitors for emergency medicine research

Professor John Fraser and Dr Fran Kinnear

The Prince Charles Hospital Foundation

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Chop, Scoop, Lick! The doonas have come down from that hard to reach shelf in the linen cupboard, the jumpers are out from the bottom drawer - it must be nearly Ekka time! We’re calling for volunteers for our Ekka strawberry sundae stalls. Ekka will run from 8-17 August and this year will include two full weekends.

Volunteers receive entry to the Ekka and a tasty strawberry sundae for your efforts. To register, jump online at www.tpchfoundation.org.au or call our office on 3139 4636 during business hours.

Already over a thousand people have registered to volunteer, but we’re still looking to fill hundreds of places. We have three five-hour volunteer shifts each day: • 7am - 12pm • 11.45am - 5pm • 4.45pm - 10pm Volunteer duties include chopping strawberries, scooping ice cream, serving customers, washing up, restocking and spritzing the cream. During Ekka we’ll use around 9 tonnes of delicious Queensland strawberries, over 20,000 litres of ice cream and about 150,000 wafer cones.

Chris’s super fundraiser After years of growing his beard and dreadlocks, carpenter Chris Lonsdale-Cooper shaved them off to raise money for transplant research. Chris’s dad Roger had a lifesaving double lung transplant last year and the family wanted to support research to save more lives. They raised an amazing $11,000, inspired by their superheroes - Roger’s medical team at The Prince Charles Hospital.

Clockwise from above: Still hairy - the Lonsdale-Coopers at the start of their evening fundraiser; Mum starts the dreadlock chop; Feeling the air on his bare chin for the first time in years; Chris and girlfriend Louise present the cheque to Foundation CEO Michael Hornby.

Finding cures. Saving lives.

www.findingcures.com.au

Fresh crop of researchers Grant recipients Anna-Liisa Sutt, Margaret Passmore, Monica Narula, Sara Diab and Professor John Fraser, with Dr Colleen Olive and Dr Shaun Gregory (at back).

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Fostering the careers of young researchers is a key priority for the Foundation. We offer two rounds of funding for New Investigator Grants each year. In October 2013, we awarded 14 grants and another 14 this April. Congratulations to these first-time researchers: • • • • •

Vainess Mbuzi is investigating how Indigenous patients and their relatives experience hospital care. Rylan Hayes and Daniel Kilburn will examine possible side effects of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO). Donna Hickling is studying the nutritional needs of transplant recipients. Annalicia Vaughan is looking at how lungs react to diesel emissions over time. Yunhui Chen and Emma Schummy are both working on different aspects of artificial heart support.

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Jeff Overington is a study into managing chronic lung disease in outpatients. Kristen Demedio is looking at the nutritional support for malnourished elders in the community. Jodie Lay and Tatiana Paim are studying falls prevention and management. Ricky Nelles and Timothy Sladden are looking at improving donor lung health before and after transplantation. Camille Ribolzi and Sam Liao are both working on better will study heart-lung bypass and surgical tubing. Monica Narula, Sara Diab, Natasha Van Zyl and Elissa Milford will each look at different aspects of blood loss and transfusion. Jo Philipp Pauls, Kristin Moser and Eric Wu are each working on ways to improve ventricular assistance devices. Catherine Saxon is looking at patient experience of broncoscopy from a nursing perspective. Kelly Chee is working on personalised cancer treatment. Louise Franz is finding cancer mutations in bronchial washing samples. Vicky Stewart is testing a screening tool for vertigo. Rebecca Francis will look at activity levels in heart transplant recipients. Joseph Hanna is studying how Marfan syndrome progresses in some patients.

The Foundation received support from the Private Practice Trust Fund towards these grants.

Supporting experienced excellence In October the Foundation awarded 11 Experienced Researcher Project grants. These include projects looking at lung and heart transplantation, osteoarthritis, heart surgery, better ways to diagnose heart and lung disease, lung cancer, intensive care and cystic fibrosis.

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These grants have been developed to support strategic, world class, sophisticated research.

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Congratulations to the following recipients:

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Professor Scott Bell will look at the effect of common bacteria in the lungs of patients with cystic fibrosis. Assoc. Prof. Yoke Lin Fung is examining how heart

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The Prince Charles Hospital Foundation

valve disease progresses. Professor Philip Walker and Professor Malcolm West are examining different types of aortic aneurysms. Assoc. Prof. Daniel Chambers will consider what is the ‘normal’ lung bacterial environment. Professor Kwun Fong received two grants for lung cancer genetic research. Mr Shaun Gregory and Professor John Fraser both received grants looking at different aspects of mechanical heart support. Professor Peter Molenaar is studying the effectiveness of particular medications on heart failure. Professor John Fraser will also research the potential neurological effects associated with heart valve replacement. www.tpchfoundation.org.au

Cycle of Giving It was a sunny day, but blowing a gale for the 9th annual Cycle of Giving in February. Over 500 riders braced against the wind to ride from the Sunshine Coast, Caboolture and Redcliffe to 7th Brigade Park Chermside to celebrate organ and tissue donation. The Cycle of Giving was sponsored by the Australian Organ and Tissue Authority and Donate Life. The event was supported by Queensland Rail, Coca Cola, Charlie’s Fruit Market, IGA, Health World, Energex, Brisbane Events, Kennards, Mike’s PA Hire, Karostori and Westpac.

cycle ambassador Australian champion Kirsty Broun and her cycling academy, inlcuding Olympian Liz Hepple. Our new ambassador, former world cycling champion Kerrie Meares rode the train with the participants and cheered people over the finish line. Thank you to everyone who took part in the Cycle of Giving this year. We hope to see you again next DonateLife Week!

This year’s event saw six transplant recipients participate, including Kate Phillips who rode 65km less than a year after her heart and double lung transplant., and lung transplant recipient Michael O’Neill who took to the saddle despite not being a cyclist. This is the second year the Foundation has managed the Cycle of Giving after receiving the baton from Mary Long, aka the Queen of Hearts. Cyclists raised over $50,000 for research through registrations and fundraising activities. We were thrilled this year to be joined again by our

Heart and lung transplant recipient Kate Phillips crosses the finish line after 65km.

Kate’s lung specialist Dr Dan Chambers (right) rode 100km from Landsborough. Research scientist Margaret Passmore and Chief Lung Transplant Scientist Stephanie Yerkovich rode from Caboolture (below).

Olympic cyclist Liz Hepple, CEO Michael Hornby, and our ride ambassadors Australian champion cyclists Kerrie Meares and Kirsty Broun. Photos: Dylan Evans

Finding cures. Saving lives.

www.findingcures.com.au

Celebrating 60 years of nursing! When the Chermside Chest Hospital opened in 1954, it had three wards, 75 patients and 27 nurses.

As a Clinical Research Coordinator, Bo Janoschka works with Margie in the Dementia Research Unit. He’s been a nurse for nine years, eight of them at The Prince Charles Hospital.

This year the hospital turns 60 and for International Nurses Day in May, we celebrated 60 years of nursing at The Prince Charles Hospital. There are now over 1600 nurses at the hospital. Here are a handful of research nurses currently at The Prince Charles Hospital. Debra Enever has worked at The Prince Charles Hospital for 18 of her 24 years as a nurse. Deb is a Clinical Research Coordinator with the Lung Transplant service. Deb loves the culture and support of nursing at TPCH. Margaret Morton is the Unit Manager of the Internal Medicine and Dementia Research Unit and the Queensland Medical Education Officer for geriatric medicine.

The best part for Bo about nursing at TPCH is the people he gets to work with every day. Anne Carle is The Prince Charles Hospital’s longest serving research nurse, spending more than half of her 37-year nursing career here. Anne is currently the acting head of the Research, Ethics and Governance Unit. She provides daily advice and support for researchers at the hospital, as well as ensuring all research is carried out to the strictest ethical standards. Anne’s favourite thing about her job is the cameraderie.

Margie has been a nurse for 41 years. She’s spent 20 years working at The Prince Charles Hospital, but has always felt that this is her home. Margie’s dad was on the Hospital Board many years ago, and her mother also worked here. For Margie, the culture of the hospital enables her to provide patients with the most compassionate, safe and rewarding experience, regardless of the outcome.

Be a Charlie’s Champion! Join our Bridge to Brisbane team on Sunday 7 September and raise money for research. Not feeling sporty? You can help us reach our fundraising goal by making a donation to our team. Search for Charlie’s Champions on the Bridge to Brisbane Everyday Hero site to get involved. The Prince Charles Hospital Foundation

Jubilant Jubilee The Prince Charles Hospital is celebrating its Diamond Jubilee this year. We’re organising some activities from September to December to let the community join in the fun. The biggest event will be a community fair in October at the hospital showcasing 60 years of care and innovation. More details to come! Have you got a memory of The Prince Charles Hospital to share for the celebrations? Send us your story (up to 200 words) or photos to TPCH Foundation, 627 Rode Rd, Chermside Qld 4032 or fill in our online form at www.tpchfoundation.org.au.

www.tpchfoundation.org.au

Thank you donors and supporters! With an aging population and rising numbers of people living with chronic illness, the need for health and medical research continues to grow. The Prince Charles Hospital Foundation has committed to increasing our support for research at the hospital to $5 million per year by 2018. We can only achieve that goal by increasing our support from everyday people who care about finding cures and saving lives.

time or buy equipment or materials for their research project. The Foundation introduced New Investigator Grants in 2010 and has so far supported 97 novice researchers through the program. Another round of New Investigator grants will be awarded in October. This year we will award multi-year program grants to achieve a specific health outcome within three years.

In addition to the support for early career researchers, the Foundation has also provides funding for experienced researcher projects and equipment grants.

The Foundation receives no government funding. We run a commercial café and catering business to off-set administration costs to ensure donations go where they are needed.

We introduced PhD Scholarships this year to provide a three-year stipend to support some young people through their degree, so they can choose to work part

Thank you to our amazing donors and supporters for your ongoing commitment to finding cures and saving lives.

Good golf! Our annual charity golf day was held in November at Virginia Golf Club. Dozens of keen golfers enjoyed the gorgeous weather and lush greens for a lovely day out. Thank you to our sponsors Coca Cola Amatil, Brisbane Airport Corporation, Westpac, Eagers Holden, and Virginia Golf Club, and everyone who came along. Our crew of Virginia Golf Club regulars.

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