- Monash Medical Centre
- 3 min read
School of Clinical Sciences at Monash Health researchers took centre stage at one of the world’s most prestigious gatherings in vasculitis medicine, presenting cutting-edge findings that are helping to reshape how this rare and complex disease is understood and treated globally.
Two School of Clinical Sciences at Monash Health researchers were recognised at the highest level at the 22nd International Vasculitis Workshop, a landmark global conference held in Melbourne that brought together leaders and up-and-coming clinicians and scientists in vasculitis research, clinical care and patient advocacy.
Vasculitis is a group of rare diseases characterised by inflammation of the blood vessels.
Dr Huan Dang, Young Investigator Award recipient
Monash Health nephrologist Dr Huan Dang, a PhD candidate in the school, was awarded the prestigious Young Investigator Award for Translational Research at the Workshop.
His research demonstrated that a potential new non-immunosuppressive therapy is likely to protect the kidneys in patients with ANCA-associated vasculitis, a severe autoimmune disease that can lead to kidney failure. Dr Dang’s findings open the door to safer, kidney-protective strategies that could transform patient outcomes.
Dr Chunni Lu
Further recognition came when Research Fellow Dr Chunni Lu had her abstract ranked among the two top Immunology/Translational Science abstracts submitted to the Workshop. Her discoveries extend beyond vasculitis alone, with implications for understanding the workings of the immune system regulation more broadly.
Both researchers were featured in plenary sessions at the Workshop, with Dr Dang presenting in the opening day’s Plenary Session Young Investigator Competition, reserved for the most outstanding early-career researchers worldwide and Dr Lu presenting in the Monday Plenary Session, where she shared new insights into the role of T cells in ANCA-associated vasculitis.
Professor Richard Kitching from the Centre for Inflammatory Diseases within the Department of Medicine, School of Clinical Sciences at Monash Health, is Chair of the Australian and New Zealand Vasculitis Society (ANZVASC), who organised the Workshop. He was a Workshop co-convener and the chair of the Workshop’s organising committee and International Scientific Advisory Committee.
Professor Kitching said that the Workshop provided a unique chance to rapidly improve vasculitis care, research and education in Australia and New Zealand.
‘Vasculitis is a collection of rare diseases that often profoundly disrupt people’s lives and can be fatal,’ he said. ‘Hosting the key international gathering of vasculitis clinicians and researchers here in Melbourne has been a valuable experience that has strengthened collaboration and generated momentum for improvements in vasculitis care, education and research in Australia and New Zealand.’
‘Physician-scientists, physicians and scientists from across Monash University and Monash Health were major drivers of the Workshop, which had a record-breaking attendance of over 1,300 attendees to our Main Workshop, the Community and Patient Conference, the Vasculitis Education Course and the ANCA Laboratory Testing Meeting,’ he said.
It was the first Vasculitis Workshop to be run by a national society (ANZVASC), and only the second outside Europe and North America. One of the many successes of the Workshop was the focus on consumers, with a well-attended Community and Patient Conference and patient-centred events throughout the Main Workshop.
Professor Kitching also congratulated Dr Dang and Dr Lu on their achievements at the Workshop.
‘Their recognition reflects both their talent and capability, and the global competitiveness of Monash vasculitis research and the strength of our clinician-scientist training pathway.’
This article was originally published by Monash University here.
