Dr Alyson Miller, Senior Research Fellow

VISUAL: Dr Alyson Miller, Vice-Chancellor’s Senior Research Fellow, School of Medical Sciences. RMIT University logo.

VISUAL: Dr Alyson Miller, RMIT University speaking to and smiling at camera.

Dr Alyson Miller: So I'm a medical researcher which means that I study diseases. In my case I'm interested in stroke. My goal is to try and identify new therapeutic targets for the treatment of stroke because there's not many treatments out there. There's only one treatment available ...

VISUAL: Dr Alyson Miller walking through laboratory, camera is following her. Three colleagues (two male and one female) are working in the laboratory.

Dr Alyson Miller: ... and most patients can't even get that treatment. Stroke is one of the leading causes of death in Australia and worldwide and also the leading cause of disability ...

VISUAL: Dr Alyson Miller walks up to and stands beside the female colleague who is seated and pouring liquid into a test tube. They smile and speak to each other about the work.

Dr Alyson Miller: ... but unfortunately there's only one treatment option for stroke.

VISUAL: Dr Alyson Miller speaking to camera.

Dr Alyson Miller: So in my laboratory our goal is to try and identify new drugs that can be used to treat multiple aspects of stroke pathology. So we're particularly interested in ...

VISUAL: Dr Alyson Miller standing beside seated female colleague who continues working on the laboratory experiment, possibly manual peptide testing.

Dr Alyson Miller: trying to find drugs to treat brain injury, the damage that occurs as a result of the stroke ...

VISUAL: Close up of the female colleague undertaking manual peptide testing.

Dr Alyson Miller: ... and also treatments that can ...

VISUAL: Dr Alyson Miller watches female colleague undertake the testing.

Dr Alyson Miller: ... reduce post-stroke complications.

VISUAL: Close up of female colleague removing a probe from test vials in a clear container.

Dr Alyson Miller: A lot of patients die after a stroke because they've had an infection ...

VISUAL: Dr Alyson Miller speaking to camera.

Dr Alyson Miller: ... and particularly a lung infection, and also because of weight loss. So we're trying to tackle stroke from a few different angles.

VISUAL: Male colleague in laboratory, camera zooms in on him pouring a liquid into a clear bottle that contains a white powder?like substance. He then places the bottle on to a magnetic stirrer (small electrical black box) and adjusts a dial on the front of the box.

Dr Alyson Miller: Okay, so an example of a current project that's ongoing in our laboratory is focusing on a novel stomach peptide or hormone which is called Ghrelin. This peptide for many years ...

VISUAL: Dr Alyson Miller speaking to camera.

Dr Alyson Miller: ... was just thought of as a hormone that told you to eat. So before you have your breakfast, when you're fasting, say overnight, Ghrelin production increases in the body and once you've had your meal then this peptide goes back down again.

VISUAL: Dr Alyson Miller and male colleague looking at and discussing print out of test results.

Dr Alyson Miller: However, more recently, we've discovered some new interesting roles for this peptide within the body.

VISUAL: Close up of Dr Alyson Miller speaking with male colleague (who is off screen).

Dr Alyson Miller: So we've found that we've got some experimental evidence that this peptide ...

VISUAL: Dr Alyson Miller and male colleague looking at and discussing print out of test results.

Dr Alyson Miller: ... may have protective functions in the brain and also blood vessels.

VISUAL: Dr Alyson Miller speaking to camera.

Dr Alyson Miller: So using the experimental models of stroke we've found that this peptide reduces brain injury after stroke and also protects the blood vessels from damage.

VISUAL: Dr Alyson Miller and a male colleague speaking in the laboratory. A female colleague is working at the lab bench in the background.

Dr Alyson Miller: Our goal now is to establish whether this peptide actually is efficacious in treating stroke ...

VISUAL: Image of a brain scan, the mouse pointer draws a red line around the circumference of a section of the brain which is red on the image.

Dr Alyson Miller: ... looking at brain injury and also looking at other aspects of stroke pathology including post-stroke infections ...

VISUAL: Close up of printout sheet test results on the printer.

Dr Alyson Miller: ... 'cause we also have some evidence that this peptide may actually reduce infections after stroke as well.

VISUAL: Dr Alyson Miller speaking to camera.

Dr Alyson Miller: I like the challenge of having to constantly evolve. The way the system works in Australia is that you really need to be evolving in your research so that usually involves learning new stuff, different disciplines.

VISUAL: Close up of white lab coat with RMIT University’s logo and Medical Sciences printed on it.

Dr Alyson Miller: I'm a pharmacologist but ...

VISUAL: Two students in the distance walking past RMIT’s Building 220.

Dr Alyson Miller: ... I do a bit of immunology, a bit of neuroscience.

VISUAL: Dr Alyson Miller walking through Medical Sciences building’s corridor, camera is behind her. She pushes the green button to open the glass doors in the corridor.

Dr Alyson Miller: It's exciting; it's a challenge and it's what keeps me fresh. So there's a ...

VISUAL: Camera is now on the other side of the glass doors as Dr Alyson Miller pushes the glass door open and walks through the doorway towards the camera. There is a sign on the glass door: Warning Restricted Area, Authorised personnel only.

Dr Alyson Miller: ... couple of reasons why or a number of reasons why I decided to apply for a VC Senior Research Fellowship at RMIT.

VISUAL: Dr Alyson Miller speaking to camera.

Dr Alyson Miller: Firstly, it was ... one was a personal reason; I was at the stage of my career where I was ready or needed to fly the nest and establish my independent research laboratory and research program which are both essential if I want to have a long term career in medical research.

VISUAL: Close up of male colleague pouring liquid into a test tube and looking at the liquid’s reaction.

Dr Alyson Miller: So the second reason why I was excited about coming to RMIT was over the last two or three years it's ...

VISUAL: Dr Alyson Miller speaking to camera.

Dr Alyson Miller: ... become apparent that RMIT are growing and they're investing in people. So they've recruited, over the last few years, a number of very experienced prominent researchers within Australia and also some younger talented researchers, up and coming researchers, like myself. So for me, personally, it's an exciting time at RMIT. It's apparent that RMIT is going places and is expanding and I'm interested ... I'm excited about the possibility of being part of that.

VISUAL: Close up of Dr Alyson Miller in a corridor at her lab smiling at the camera.

Dr Alyson Miller: Not only being part of it but hopefully directing where RMIT goes in the future in terms of research.

VISUAL: Find out more at www.rmit.edu.au/research/research-fellowship-schemes.

VISUAL: RMIT University logo and website www.rmit.edu.au.

End of video

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