Message from the Executive Director

Professor Alan Bensoussan

26 July 2016

Along with many Australians we have watched the election outcomes keenly. NICM congratulates the re-elected Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and welcomes the re-appointment of the Hon Sussan Ley MP as Minister for Health and Aged Care, and the new appointment of the Hon Greg Hunt MP as the Minister for Industry, Innovation, and Science. We trust the new Government will continue to support the broader public health agenda exemplified by consumer interest in integrative medicine practices. All the more important when new research highlighted in our July NICM newsletter continues to document its high use both here and in the US.

We congratulate also Dr Alan Finkel for being honoured and appointed in July as Victorian of the Year, and Associate Professor Vicki Kotsirilos for her AM.

It has been rewarding also to see strong studies being published by our PhD students, including, Kate Levett's paper in BMJ Open and Michael de Manincor's in Depression and Anxiety, which amongst others are covered in our July NICM Newsletter issue.

NICM researchers have actively contributed to several national and international conferences, including in the US, Germany, and Hungary. NICM's Michael Smith and Professor Steven Myers participated at the recent WHO working group meeting on herb-drug interactions, and Associate Professor Chun Guang Li was one of four nominated delegates representing Australia at the ISO/TCM Standards Australia international meeting in Rome.

In the coming months we will continue our contributions to planning of the Medical Research Future Fund and proposed revision to the NHMRC grant submission process. We also look forward to releasing our new NICM Strategic Plan and branding and keenly advance new and exciting research collaborations.