2016 Best postgraduate student paper

Congratulations to Xian (Phoebe) Zhou and Mike Armour, NICM's 2016 recipients of the Best Postgraduate Student Paper Award.

Phoebe's paper provided scientific evidence to support the traditional use of a TCM combination for vascular disease through their synergistic interactions on anti-inflammatory pathways.

Mike’s systematic review explored the relationship between the ‘dose’ of the acupuncture intervention and its efficacy in primary dysmenorrhoea, and found that electroacupuncture may provide more rapid pain reduction compared to manual acupuncture but may not have a significantly different effect on overall menstrual pain.

The NICM award is intended to promote excellence in research and encourage NICM's early career researchers to continue writing up the research findings from their doctoral work.

Full citation:

• Zhou X, Razmovski-Naumovski V, Chang D, Li C, Kam A, Low M, et al.Synergistic Effects of Danshen (Salvia Miltiorrhiza Radix et Rhizoma) and Sanqi (Notoginseng Radix et Rhizoma) Combination in Inhibiting Inflammation Mediators in RAW264.7 Cells. BioMed Research International. 2016;2016:12.
• Armour M, Smith CA. Treating primary dysmenorrhoea with acupuncture: a narrative review of the relationship between acupuncture ‘dose’ and menstrual pain outcomes. BMJ Acupuncture in Medicine. 2016 Dec 1;34(6):416-24.