This page is for anyone interested in medical discoveries, news, views, events and people at UNSW Faculty of Medicine and Health. UNSW Sydney CRICOS no.00098G
ABOUT UNSW SYDNEY:
UNSW is a founding member of the prestigious Group of Eight research intensive universities in Australia and a member of the Universitas 21 international consortium. We are renowned for the quality of our graduates and our commitment to new and creative approaches to education and research. Our motto – Scientia Manu et Mente ("Knowledge by Hand and Mind") – encapsulates the University's central philosophy of balancing the practical and the scholarly. Established in 1949, UNSW has expanded rapidly and now has close to 56,000 students, including more than 14,000 international students from over 130 different countries. UNSW is now one of the top universities in the world. In 2023, we were ranked equal 19th in the QS World University Rankings. CRICOS no. 00098G
ABOUT UNSW SOCIAL MEDIA PAGES:
We believe in academic freedom, so posts don’t necessarily represent official UNSW views. Our Social Media Terms of Use (www.unsw.to/sm) explain more about what academic freedom means for our content, and outlines the house rules for engaging with our social media pages and content. Most of all, be respectful and kind to each other - these pages are for our broad community to come together, contribute to academic discussions and talk all things UNSW. You can trust you’re engaging with an endorsed UNSW social media page by checking the Social Media Directory (www.unsw.edu.au/socialmedia), or in most cases simply look for the blue verified tick on major social platforms.
22/09/2025
Children and teenagers are being exposed to violent videos online, which can skew their perceptions and behaviours.
Experts explain how such disturbing footage can affect young people, and what practical steps can be taken to reduce the chances of encountering unwanted violent videos.
Social media is awash with videos of Charlie Kirk’s assassination, highlighting the failures of platforms to protect users.
19/09/2025
UNSW researchers have discovered how bushfire smoke affects eye health, in a first-of-its-kind lab study which safely exposed people to smoke pollution.
Their newly published study shows smoke can damage the eye’s surface and trigger inflammation, a finding that could help shape future treatments to protect our eyes during bushfire season.
A new outbreak of Ebola has been declared in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, caused by the most severe strain of the virus.
UNSW global biosecurity experts explain what this outbreak means for those in the region and beyond.
The outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has claimed 28 lives, including four health workers. Here’s what it means for those in the region and beyond.
17/09/2025
Researchers from UNSW Engineering and UNSW Medicine & Health have uncovered a potential trigger for how cancer spreads through the body.
Using a biomedical device smaller than a postage stamp, the team mimicked the way cancer cells that have detached from a tumour travel around the body through progressively narrower blood vessels.
They found that when melanoma cancer cells squeezed through the tiniest channels, they began to exhibit new traits that could help them survive and form new tumours.
When detached cancer cells squeeze through the tiniest blood vessels they can become prone to grow new tumours far from where they started, a blood flow simulation experiment suggests.
16/09/2025
Australia's 2024 Sexual Health Check-up results are in, and the data reveals some concerning trends.
Cases of syphilis and gonorrhoea have more than doubled, while chlamydia diagnoses have remained high over the past decade, according to the national report by the Kirby Institute at UNSW.
More encouraging changes have been seen for HIV cases, which have declined by 27% in the past ten years.
While STIs can be easily treated in most instances, they can cause serious long-term health concerns if left untreated, says lead author Dr Skye McGregor.
“It’s important that everyone who is s*xually active discusses s*xual health with their partners, practices safe s*x, has regular STI testing, and talks to their health care provider about their s*xual health.”
Personality traits like openness and agreeableness may help explain why some people are drawn to wellness trends over conventional medicine, new research suggests.
What begins with curiosity and empathy may shift towards cynicism and mistrust of health authorities, through repeated exposure to extreme wellness content, experts say.
Certain personality traits may help explain why some educated, well-intentioned people sometimes reject conventional medicine in favour of fringe practices.
10/09/2025
Videos on “testosterone maxxing” are racking up millions of views on social media, encouraging young men to increase their testosterone levels through their diet or with synthetic hormones.
The trend exploits the insecurities of young men, particularly teenagers, by promoting increased testosterone as a way to increase “manliness” and strength.
But using synthetic testosterone, when there is no medical need, has serious health risks – including suppressing the body’s own production of testosterone, as UNSW PhD candidate Samuel Cornell and colleagues explain.
Read more:
T maxxing offers a compelling narrative: raise your testosterone, upgrade your life. But if you don’t have clinically low testosterone, there are health risks.
10/09/2025
Every patient has a story that deserves to be heard.
Join us for ‘My Health, My Story’, a lunchtime panel discussion held as part of UNSW Diversity Festival 2025.
📅 Tuesday 23 September, 12:00 - 1.30PM
📍John Niland Scientia Building or online
UNSW staff and students will share their experience of navigating Australia’s healthcare systems, highlighting the connection between health, identity, culture, and lived experience.
Meet the minds behind medical and health research at UNSW in the new podcast ‘Talk Nerdy: Connecting Curious Minds’. 🎧
Hosted by Dr Sam McAllery, Talk Nerdy shines a light on the people, passion and possibilities driving research at UNSW Medicine & Health.
This is a podcast for curious minds who are interested in big ideas, inspired by the people behind them, and are keen to connect, collaborate, and think beyond their own field.
Single women and female same-s*x couples now account for almost one in five IVF cycles, a new report shows.
There has been a steady increase in the diversity of individuals creating families using IVF, particularly single women, says Professor Georgina Chambers, Director of UNSW’s National Perinatal Epidemiology and Statistics Unit.
“It is increasingly enabling individuals who need medically assisted fertility treatment to build their own families – regardless of relationship status or s*xual orientation."
Single women and same-s*x couples are now a significant part of Australia’s IVF landscape, new research shows.
05/09/2025
Why do some people with cancer respond well to immunotherapy while others don’t?
Researchers at UNSW and the Garvan Institute of Medical Research have uncovered a mechanism that could explain these varied responses, bringing us closer to more personalised and effective cancer treatment.
Researchers have discovered new pathways that may explain differences in the way people with cancer respond to immunotherapy.
03/09/2025
Congratulations to PhD candidate Tiana Wang, winner of UNSW's 3 Minute Thesis (3MT) competition!
Tiana presented her research on an RNA-based nasal spray designed to treat HTLV-1, a devastating virus closely related to HIV that affects tens of millions globally.
“From start to finish, the journey has reinforced the importance of science communication and how vital it is that everyone can understand the impact of our research as PhD students.”
Tiana will now represent UNSW at the Asia-Pacific 3MT Finals and the global International Universitas 21 competition.
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We believe in academic freedom, so posts don’t necessarily represent official UNSW views.
Our Social Media Terms of Use explain more about what academic freedom means for our content, and outlines the house rules for engaging with our social media pages and content.
Most of all, be respectful and kind to each other – these pages are for our broad community to come together, contribute to academic discussions and talk all things UNSW.
You can trust you’re engaging with an endorsed UNSW social media page by checking the Social Media Directory, or in most cases simply look for the blue verified tick on major social platforms.
About the UNSW Faculty of Medicine
UNSW Medicine is a collaborative community at the forefront of modernising medicine. As one of the world’s top 50 medical faculties, discover how we’re building the future of health.
