Eric Morand

Could One Nation soon become Australia’s most popular party? The anti-immigrant party is dragging the Liberals rightward as well

One Nation’s rise has engendered panic among traditional conservative parties in Australia. But by lurching rightwards, they will shed more progressive voters

Efficacy and Safety of Subcutaneous Anifrolumab in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus: the Randomized, Phase 3, TULIP‐SC Study Objective The multinational, phase 3, double-blind, placebo-controlled TULIP-SC trial evaluated the efficacy and safety of subcutaneous anifrolumab in adults who have moderate-to-severe SLE activity...

A few weeks late, but pleased to call out this paper in which I had a role, showing that subcut anifrolumab is effective and well-tolerated in #lupus. Hopefully this leads to ex-hospital access option for this impactful drug. Onwards!

acrjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...

Thanks to @cellpress.bsky.social Trends in Molecular Medicine for putting us on the cover! Sarah Jones and I review 10 years of progress in #lupus - we have come a long way, but have a long way to go...and we will keep working.

www.cell.com/trends/molec...

Exploring CAR NK-cell therapy for refractory lupus The treatment landscape for systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) has shifted greatly in recent years, driven by the emergence of cell-based immunotherapies targeting pathogenic B-cell populations. Among...

So proud of my amazing colleague Alberta Hoi at @monashuniversity.bsky.social for this Editorial in @thelancet.com on CAR-NK therapy for #lupus - another next big thing?
www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...

An inspiring night celebrating leadership, discovery and collaboration at ARMI’s 2025 Ambassadors’ Dinner.
With reflections from @ericfmorand.bsky.social on translating lupus research from lab to clinic, and from our own rising stars on curiosity and impact. Read more 👉 bit.ly/4o2WUsW

First-in-family uni students should be recognised as disadvantaged or risk being left behind, report says People without university-educated parents are 36% likely to enrol in degree, compared with 59% of students whose parents are tertiary educated

www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...
The power of education should be available to all.

A Nobel prize in physiology for immune tolerance The search to understand how the body keeps immunity in check

The discovery of regulatory T-cells may seem an obscure bit of biology to win such an esteemed prize. It is not. It is an excellent example of physiology leading to medicine in the way the prize’s double name alludes to

Are Childhood Vaccines ‘Overloading’ the Immune System? No.

Icymi the first time this ran, here’s a refresher: Vaccines today are more efficient and contain far fewer stimulants to the immune system than some used decades ago

www.nytimes.com/2024/12/14/h...

As a paediatrician, I urge Australians to be guided by scientific evidence when making decisions on medications | Mike Freelander Claims of a link between paracetamol use in pregnancy and autism have been repeatedly disproven – despite what the US administration suggests I have treated more than 200,000 patients in almost 40 years of practising medicine. Autism is a complex disorder which can present in many different ways and in a spectrum of severity. Causation is a very important consideration and, as a paediatrician, I know that parents often ask why their child has autism. Particularly in the severe end of the autism spectrum, genetic disorders can present with autistic features; for example Angelman syndrome, Smith-Magenis syndrome, Williams syndrome and many others. However, for the majority of the children who are diagnosed with autism, no cause is found. We also know that the number of children diagnosed with autism in the developed world is increasing. There are many reasons for this, not least that we are better at diagnosing it. However, in my work I often heard the question “why is my child autistic?” Continue reading...

As a paediatrician, I urge Australians to be guided by scientific evidence when making decisions on medications | Mike Freelander

It’s OK to use paracetamol in pregnancy. Here’s what the science says about the link with autism

It’s safe for pregnant women to take paracetamol at any stage of pregnancy. Here’s what the research says about the risk of autism.

Australian health experts warn Trump’s unfounded autism claims about paracetamol may harm pregnant women TGA confirms drug is safe for use in pregnancy as doctors worry about effect of White House misinformation

www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...

“We know that actually there is a link between fever and impacts on babies – not neurodivergence – but complications in pregnancies that result from unmanaged fever,”

So proud of my incredible @monashuniversity.bsky.social colleague Rangi Kandane-Rathnayake winning best abstract at #APLAR2025 for her work on burden of disease in #lupus. She is a star - we are using the regional power to make big strides in evidence-based decisions for lupus.

So so proud of my colleague and PhD student Laura Eades presenting her work on metabolomics in #lupus at #aplar2025. Amazing work Laura, so well presented. Congrats to @fabienvincent.bsky.social too!

Regulatory T cell therapy for Sjögren's Disease: From pathogenesis to targeted treatment Sjögren’s disease (SjD) is a chronic systemic autoimmune disorder characterised by lymphocytic infiltration of the salivary and lacrimal glands, leadi…

Proud to share Sherman's latest review on promising new treatments for #Sjogrens! 🧬 How engineered regulatory T cell therapies could help rebalance the immune system and bring relief to patients?
@ericfmorand.bsky.social‬
@monashuniversity.bsky.social

sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

This week's @thelancet.com cover and editorial
www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...

Prevalence and outcomes of a pilot definition of severe refractory systemic lupus erythematosus: observations from a multinational Asia-Pacific cohort - Arthritis Research & Therapy Background Emerging therapies have the potential to be used in patients with severe refractory systemic lupus erythematosus (srSLE), but no agreed definition of srSLE exists. We evaluated a pilot srSL...

Happy to share this paper on a pilot definition of severe refractory #lupus - outcomes are poor. We need a data-driven way to identify patients for emerging therapies like CAR-T and TCE. Here is a first attempt - more to come!
arthritis-research.biomedcentral.com/articles/10....

☀️ Sunscreen plays a vital role in protecting your skin, especially for those with lupus. Aim for a minimum of 30 SPF and remember to reapply every two hours! Explore our resource for more information: buff.ly/zqk6MI0

Staying sun safe? Comment a 🧴 if you’re keeping your skin protected this summer!

Professor Eric Morand appointed Sir John Monash Distinguished Professor Hosted by Monash University's Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences, at the Monash University Prato Campus in Tuscany, the summit explored the theme “Enabling Technologies in Medicine”, off...

‘Professor Morand has elected, at the expiry of his term as Dean in early 2026, to focus on his critically important research at Monash on improving outcomes for patients with SLE’ #lupus 🙏🏻

👏🏻 Congrats Prof @ericfmorand.bsky.social

www.monash.edu/medicine/new...

one of your best, and that is saying something.

Stephen Colbert is a profoundly good and deeply talented man with a great staff and an excellent show. They all deserve better.

10 years in lupus – progress, but not enough Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE, lupus) remains an enigmatic diagnosis with a poor prognosis. SLE is characterised by complex biology and heterogene…

Pleased to share a new Cellpress perspective article I had the privilege to co-author with my long-term colleague and collaborator Sarah Jones. Yes we have made progress in #lupus - but we need to do more.

www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Cutting-Edge Cancer Therapy Offers Hope for Patients With Lupus (Gift Article) Lupus can be debilitating and sometimes deadly for the 3 million people who have it. A treatment called CAR T appears to stop it in its tracks.

CAR-T cell #clinicaltrials for people with severe #lupus are still in the early stages. In a @nytimes.com feature, lupus patients like Jennifer say the treatment has given them hope & the chance to live a more normal life. 💜

📖 Read more: buff.ly/wZ3wlHE

#LupusResearch

🚨 TRM-SLE website is now live!

We’re proud to be part of this global collaboration of 80+ SLE experts, patient reps, regulators & industry, working to improve outcome measures in #lupus trials.

🔬 Know more about this project led by Prof @ericfmorand.bsky.social‬!

www.monash.edu/medicine/scs...

Omg

Australian-first lupus treatment at Monash Health | Monash Health In an Australian-first, Monash Health in collaboration with Monash University, has successfully treating a patient with the autoimmune condition lupus with CAR T-cell therapy. “It is absolutely a gam...

So proud to be part of this Monash Health and @monashuniversity.bsky.social team tackling #lupus and bringing breakthrough treatments to the clinic. The courage of patients facing their disease is matched only by the courage to go into a Phase 1 trial. I am in awe.
monashhealth.org/latest-news/...

Safety and Efficacy of Obicetrapib in Patients at High Cardiovascular Risk | NEJM Obicetrapib is a highly selective cholesteryl ester transfer protein inhibitor that reduces low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels. The efficacy and safety of obicetrapib have not been fu...

More brilliant work from @monashuniversity.bsky.social and monash health star steve nicholls
www.nejm.org/doi/full/10....

And here is the podcast version thanks to @lupus.org !

www.podbean.com/ew/pb-yydxq-...

Domains for inclusion in a novel Treatment Response Measure for Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (TRM-SLE): results of a modified Delphi study Objectives To achieve consensus on domains of active disease for inclusion in a novel outcome measure for SLE randomised controlled trials (RCTs), the Treatment Response Measure for SLE (TRM-SLE).Meth...

Proud to report the next publication on developing a new and improved outcome measure for trials in #lupus. Huge thanks to a huge community of patients and experts and partners who contribute to this ongoing project
lupus.bmj.com/content/12/1...

A New Trend in Global Elections: The Anti-Trump Bump In voting in Canada and Australia, right-wing parties that borrowed from the MAGA playbook were punished. Elsewhere, President Trump is having a more complex impact.

News Analysis: The Trump factor is shaping global politics, one election at a time — just not necessarily to the president’s taste. In major votes in Canada and Australia, centrists saw their fortunes revived, while parties that had borrowed from the MAGA playbook lost out.

No matter how bad you imagine smallpox was, it was worse than that.