In August we bring you speakers who will discuss the 3D printed jaw that you recently saw in the news, as well as how laughter impacts your health.

Our friends at Mr Wow’s Emporium will be hosting us again with cold beers and delicious food from the Vodoo Jerk Truck.  Be there and be square!

Tuesday, 4 August 2015
at Mr Wow’s Emporium
97b Smith Street, Fitzroy
Doors 7pm/$5

Back to the lectures at hand:
*Presentation 1
Development and implantation of a novel 3D printed human jaw prosthesis
by Dr David Ackland
Description: In an Australian-first surgical procedure, Dr David Ackland and his bioengineering research team at the University of Melbourne, along with Oral & Maxillofacial surgeon George Dimitroulis (Epworth Freemasons’), have corrected a young man’s rare congenital jaw deformity, using a 3D printed jaw joint. The prosthetic jaw joint replacement was designed and tested using musculoskeletal modelling techniques, and placed into a human cadaver, before being 3D printed in titanium and polyethylene and implanted into the patient. The surgery eliminated the patient’s pre-operative jaw pain, and corrected his noticeably screwed lower jaw and limited range of jaw motion. The computational techniques developed and the latest 3D printing technology will help to facilitate a new direction in research and manufacture of implantable devices in Australia.

Bio: Dr David Ackland completed a Bachelor of Science (neuroscience) and Bachelor of Engineering (Mechanical) with honours in 2004 at the University of Melbourne. He went on to complete a PhD in shoulder biomechanics in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, the University of Melbourne (2009) and was postdoctoral research fellowship in the same department. He was appointed lecturer in the Department of Mechanical Engineering in 2012. Dr Ackland has expertise in the study of joint structure and function through computational modelling and simulation of human movement. A major focus of his research to date has been the application of motion analysis, computational modelling and simulation to understand function of the human musculoskeletal system in the normal, diseased, and surgically altered states. Dr Ackland also specialises in the design and testing of implantable joint prostheses in the human body.

*Presentation 2
Laughter is the Best Medicine…and here’s the proof!”
by Merv Neal
Description: In this interactive, thought provoking, and sometimes confronting presentation Merv will discuss his two research studies that he completed with Deakin University and Monash Medical Centre. He will share the method, the results, and some stories about how he was able to get everyone from business people to end of life hospital patients laughing. None of Merv’s presentations are complete without a few laughter exercises.

Bio: Merv is the “Laughter (Yoga)Guy,” and the C.E.O. of Laughter Yoga Australia and New Zealand. He has appeared recently on 60 Minutes, Today Tonight, and ABC radio. A work related illness showed Merv first hand how laughter can cure, as well as prevent, a variety of life threatening illnesses…even when the doctors said no. He is now a professional speaker and facilitator, who does Conference keynotes, workshops, professional development seminars, and retreats.

*Presentation 3
Drugs: the good, the bad and the ugly.
by Dr Christina Perry
Description: Different classes of drugs have different actions on the central nervous system (your brain!). This means that they might make you feel euphoric, relaxed or excited. They can break down inhibitions, decrease pain and anxiety, or make you see the world in a different way. They do this because they either mimic the action of particular chemical signals in your brain or change the way your brain produces these chemicals – tapping right into the way that you think and feel. However, all drugs have one thing in common: they activate the dopamine pathways. This is the reward centre of the brain, and it makes you want more. Even when you know that it isn’t good for you. Dr Perry will take you through how these dopamine pathways change the way you behave, and why it is so difficult to change drug seeking behaviour once it is established – tracing the pathway from use to abuse to addiction.

Bio: Dr Christina Perry is a behavioural neuroscientist, and mother of two boys; which makes for a very busy life, and full of surprises. Her background is in psychology, although she also has a degree in molecular biology (she really enjoyed university, and prolonged her time there as much as possible). Her interest in addiction began in psychology honours, where she learned that rats love beer. She spent 4 more years at the University of New South Wales studying why rats love beer, before moving down to Melbourne, to the Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, where she discovered that rats don’t like cocaine nearly as much as they like beer. However, she has learned a few other things along the way, and hope that she can share them with you