Menzies Institute for Medical Research

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 ⬇️

12/03/2026

🚴‍♂️ The Tour de Cure Signature Tour is officially underway! 🚴‍♀️
Kicking off today in Canberra, this incredible ride is aiming to raise $2 million for cancer research, prevention programs and vital support projects. Over the coming days, riders will cycle an epic 1,400km through Victoria and Tasmania, finishing at the Henry Jones Art Hotel in Hobart on 21 March.

We’re proud to see University of Tasmania alumni Kelvin Lim and Professor Richard Scolyer AO (pictured below) among the riders. Kelvin recently co hosted a local Tour de Cure fundraiser, where Menzies’ Professor Joanne Dickinson and Dr Kelsie Raspin shared insights into their cancer research — research made possible through the generosity of initiatives like Tour de Cure.

Along with our PhD student Jasmine Bacon, a Tour de Cure Australia grant recipient, the team at Menzies would like to wish all riders the very best as they take on this remarkable challenge.

09/03/2026

Grab the kids, pack up the pup, and head out to Wobbly Boot Vineyard this Sunday for Wine & Woof Walk! 🐾✨
Enjoy a relaxed stroll through the beautiful vineyard, sip on complimentary wines, and learn all about our important Tasmanian devil research — all while helping raise funds for the Save the Tasmanian Devil Appeal.

📍 Wobbly Boot Vineyard
📅 This Sunday 11am
👇 More details in the comments!

06/03/2026

When we say our cities are “liveable”, what do we mean and for whom?

Maria Hobbs spent her PhD exploring this question, and her findings show that liveability isn’t the same for everyone.

We often hear that things like access to food, public transport, health care, footpaths, green spaces and community spaces make a place more liveable. And they do—but Maria’s research shows it’s much more complex for people with disabilities.

✔️ Lots of streets and intersections usually mean you can get places more directly.
❗ But for people with mobility challenges, that also means more road crossings—more stress, more difficulty.

✔️ Green spaces increase liveability.
❗ But they also drive-up house prices. And because people with disabilities in Australia are more likely to be under‑ or unemployed, they can end up priced out of their own communities.

Overall, Maria found that current liveability frameworks may overestimates accessibility for people with disabilities.

You can explore the framework at the Australian Urban Observatory website.

🎓✨ Congratulations to Maria on completing her PhD and sharing these important findings.

04/03/2026

We’re excited to share that Professor Kaylene Young and her team in the MS Research Flagship at Menzies have secured $397,626 in funding from MS Australia to explore ways of improving blood flow to the brain to slow MS progression.

Using stem cells donated by people with and without MS, the team will study how genes affect the health of brain blood vessels and identify new drug targets that could support brain repair.

With more than 37,700 Australians living with MS, this research could lead to important new approaches to reducing disability and improving quality of life.

Read more on our website 👇

02/03/2026

Generosity of Tasmanians helps us make life-saving discoveries.

⛳Tash Stevens and Professor Mark Nelson recently went to the annual Bothwell Golf Day Fundraiser where golfers and community members raised funds in support of our cardiovascular and multiple sclerosis flagships. ❤️‍🩹

It's proof that great things happen when Tasmanians putt their hearts into it!

A sincere thank you to the event organisers and the Bothwell community for their support. 🙏

27/02/2026

What does good care look like when cure is not possible? Our researchers share their insights on maintaining connection, independence and identity after a life-changing diagnosis in the latest Island of Ideas recording. Watch it here 🔗

For many people living with neurological conditions such as Parkinson’s disease and dementia, life continues for many years after diagnosis.This Island of Id...

24/02/2026

We are underway with a major national Parkinson’s care project — addressing the world’s fastest-growing neurological condition. Motivated by her own Parkinson’s diagnosis, Professor Michele Callisaya is leading a multidisciplinary team to adapt the world-renowned 'ParkinsonNet' model for regional communities. You might have heard her discussing her work on Hobart today!

The first phase of the project has begun, with surveys now open until 15 March 2026. Visit the website to get involved, whether you live with Parkinson’s, care for someone who does, or work in allied health: www.parkinsonnet.au

The goal of the ParkinsonNet project? To connect people to the right care, from the right professionals, at the right time — no matter where they live.

Backed by $2.88 million from the Medical Research Future Fund, the project is being codesigned with people living with Parkinson’s, their carers, allied health professionals and service providers across regional Tasmania and Western Victoria.

🎤 This week
Professor Callisaya is speaking this Thursday at the University of Tasmania 's 'Island of Ideas' public talk series, alongside Dr Larissa Bartlett, and colleagues from Dementia Centre. Free to attend — online or in person.
👉 Register here: https://www.utas.edu.au/events/2026/february/beyond-careas.edu.au/events/2026/february/beyond-care

22/02/2026

Collaboration is a critical part of research. Our devil facial tumour group has worked closely with the Transmissible Cancer Group at the University of Cambridge to understand the genetics of facial tumours- a great demonstration of collaboration🐾
Devil facial tumours, or DFTs, are contagious cancers that are passed on when a diseased devil bites the face of another devil- which is common when they fight and mate.
Professor Elizabeth Murchison from the Cambridge group, pictured on the left with Menzies researchers Dr Ruth Pye and Associate Professor Andy Flies, is visiting Hobart and shared their work with Menzies researchers.
There are two types, DFT1 discovered in 1996 and DFT2 discovered in 2014.
DFT1 was first sighted in 1996 and now affect devils across the state; DFT2 has only been detected in southern Tasmania to date.
Unlike most human cancers, which affect only one individual and are unique in each individual, DFTs are largely the same in different devils.
Our goal at Menzies is to develop vaccines for DFT1 and DFT2 to train their immune systems to spot cancer cells and fight them.
Unfortunately, it’s not something that’s possible in most human cancers as every cancer is unique to the person.

19/02/2026

🎙️ Tune into the latest episode of MS Australia’s Raw Nerve podcast which features Menzies MS Research Flagship’s Dr Julie Campbell and Professor Bruce Taylor diving into their major new report: Multiple Sclerosis Prevalence and Health Economic Impact in Australia 2025.
🔎 They unpack what the data tells us, from quality‑of‑life and employment impacts to the factors behind rising MS prevalence, and share key recommendations to improve outcomes for people living with MS. They also highlight why sustained, rigorous MS research and funding is more important than ever.
🎧 Listen here 👇 (🔗 more about the report in the comments)

The Raw Nerve · Episode