The College of Health and Medicine has enjoyed double success securing two prestigious Fulbright Scholarships for 2020.
Menzies Institute for Medical Research's Professor Graeme Jones will travel to the US this year to look more closely at knee replacements for osteoarthritis, as part of a prestigious 2020 Fulbright Future Scholarship.
With the prevalence of osteoarthritis increasing with an ageing population in Australia, Head of Menzies’ Musculoskeletal Unit Professor Jones will work with colleagues at the University of California San Francisco on improved selection and identification of who should have knee replacement surgery.
The research has the potential to better allocate resources and to greatly improve the management of osteoarthritis in Australia.
Professor Jones said while most decisions to surgically replace a knee were driven by x-ray changes and or/ pain levels, these factors were not the only determinant.
“The current problem is that only 30 % of people who have a knee replacement are pain free,” he said.
“Research also shows that people with chronic pain (such as fibromyalgia) don’t respond well to joint replacement, so pain needs to be placed in context.”
“There has to be a better way to identify those best suited to these operations.”
A professor of rheumatology and epidemiology, Professor Graeme Jones works as both a consultant and a researcher using his combination of patient care and research to lead to a better understanding of the complex nature of osteoarthritis, and better treatment regimes.
Professor Jones said the Fulbright was a great opportunity to further build on his own experience in the field researching and assisting those living with osteoarthritis.
“This will give me the opportunity to foster some important international collaborations working with the program leaders of some of the biggest cohorts in osteoarthritis, to improve who has access to knee replacements,” he said.
The award is the second 2020 Fulbright Future Scholarship for Menzies, with PhD student Lachlan Tegart also set to travel to the US, to further research the health effects of airborne pollen.
Mr Tegart's research will involve the use of immunology and DNA sequencing to examine the effects of Australian native species on people’s health - including species that are not often associated with asthma and allergies.
