Office of Research - The “ORB”

To provide guidelines for the unfortunate occurrence of an adverse event, please note that a document called ‘Unexpected Adverse Event Guidelines’ has been posted on the Animal Welfare Committee web page.

Dr Claire Drummond

We are excited to be able to post our fourth Mini Interview with an Early Career Researcher at Flinders.

Our thanks to Dr Claire Drummond for responding to our earlier post seeking participants.

Claire has considerable health promotion experience with a range of research skills. Her PhD was in the area of Australian school canteens, where she investigated the role of the school canteen in the school system and
implications on children’s health. While undertaking her studies, she has been lecturing and tutoring in both the University of South Australia and Flinders University across a range of degrees including Bachelor of Education (primary and secondary streams), Bachelor of Health Sciences (Sport Science and Human Movement) and Bachelor of Health Sciences (Health Promotion).

In her current role as lecturer in the Department of Paramedic and Social Health Sciences, she teaches in a range of areas which provides students with the skills necessary to be a Health Promoter or Paramedic. Claire is also the Honours Coordinator and the Health Promotion Stream coordinator in the Bachelor
of Health Sciences.

1. What is your area of research?
My PhD research was in the area of school canteens and their place within the school system.  I have been researching in the area of school canteens since 2003 (my honours research was also in school canteens).  My interest and research in school canteens has led me to be part of a collaborative team  winning a $1.25 million grant from the Department of Health and Aging to develop a national nutrient categorisation system, training and evaluation for use in canteens across Australia.  My other big research interest is nutrition education in schools and health promotion

2. What made you chose a career in research?
My initial reason for commencing research was due to having children!  I was concerned about the nutrition messages presented to them at kindy and school and wanted to make sure that they were privy to the most appropriate health and nutrition education that could be offered. I carried out nutrition education workshops in local kindy’s and that led me to research the healthiness of school canteens and what support canteens actually had within the school system.

3. Why did you choose Flinders to be a part of your research career?
I was very lucky to be taken under the wing of another academic here (Kate Ridley in Education) who wanted me to teach in her topics in the Phys Ed component of the Bach of Education. My base degree is in sports science so I was eager to teach in that area. From there I was introduced to a number of motivating people (a main one being Associate Professor Eileen Willis) who encouraged me to apply for a lecturing position in Paramedic and Social Health Science. It was then that I saw an opportunity to further my research within school canteens and this has lead me to great ties with Department of Nutrition and Dietetics and Public Health.

4. What challenges do researchers in your field face?
I am primarily a qualitative researcher and one of my main issues is that sometimes it is difficult for my research methodologies to be taken seriously, especially by hard care scientists. I firmly believe that there is a place for mixed mode research - it is not enough to know what is occurring, we must also find out why it is occuring. This can only happen when both quantitative and qualitative methods are used in research.

5. What advice would you have for people considering a career in research?
I would say you must be patient - don’t give up and keep working until you have a result.  One of the hardest things about any sort of research  is seeing a project through. But the benefits are worth it in the long run.

6. What do you see as being the next “Big Thing” in your area of research?
Currently I am in a team which is being considered to deliver a physical activity and nutrition package to schools in South Australia.  I hope that the team I am part of wins this grant as I am really looking forward to being part of such a package.

If you are an Early Career Researcher at Flinders and would lke to participate in our Mini Interviews please contact Kristy Manuel.

NHMRC Proposed Key Project Grant Dates - please be aware that the dates provided below are not yet confirmed and are not available on the NHMRC website. They are indicative only and may be subject to slight change.

• Project Grant applications open on Monday 8 December 2008
• Applications will close Tuesday 17 March 2009 (Office of Research closing date 24 February 2009)

Please note that as new NHMRC ID numbers will not become available until early December for next year’s grant rounds, you will not be able to be allocated an ID number until that time.

Please contact Kim Graham on 8201 3541 or by email with details of:

• Proposed Title (or indicative keywords)
• Lead CI
• Other Flinders University Investigators taking part
• Lead/Administering Institution
• Flinders University contact (if not the same as Lead CI)
• Faculty
• School/Department

The following items may be of interest. They are from the Higher Education section of The Australian, published today.

• Pre-Bradley review spat divides universities
  The higher education sector is deeply divided over questions of funding and status as it awaits the findings of the Bradley review.
• Quality in repeat business
  The private sector style measure of “repeat business” should be used to drive research funding alongside the Rudd Government’s research assessment exercise, leading lobbies said this week.
• Slip into something a little more devastating
  Large undersea landslides off Australia’s east coast indicate the area may be at risk from tsunamis some day, say scientists who returned last week from a 15-day voyage mapping 13,000sqkm of the continental slope between Byron Bay, NSW, and Noosa Heads, Queensland.
• Winners strive to be lively in class
  The teaching and learning push is too strong to be diverted by any dramatic policy change in research funding or the structure of higher education, a leader in this new field predicts.
• Nelson nine still in the dark
  On June 6 in Canberra, an exclusive academic club held its first — and perhaps its last — meeting.
• Ending the reef madness
  Ove Hoegh-Guldberg is blunt about the gloomy prospects for the Great Barrier Reef.
• Crabs give claws for thought
  Down in the intertidal world of the tropical mangrove mudflats, male fiddler crabs slug it out over sex and territory. Size matters, specifically the dimensions and strength of the all-important larger claw.
• Queensland water recycling funds flow to university
  The university at the forefront of the Bligh Government’s campaign to defend the safety of southeast Queensland’s recycled waste-water scheme is receiving millions of dollars in funding from the two companies behind the project.

All PhD students who have commenced their programme of study in the last twelve months are invited to attend this interactive workshop by the Ethics Centre of SA.

The aim of the workshop is to give participants:

• an understanding of the ethical issues that may arise in research involving human participants (across the full spectrum from biological samples to whole populations) applied during discipline specific workshops;
• tools to analyse and address these issues;
• an understanding of what constitutes good practice in research; and
• assistance in the preparation of Human Research Ethics Committee applications.

Dates:  Monday 8 December 2008 (9.30 am - 4.00 pm) and Tuesday 9 December 2008 (9.30 am - 1.00 pm)

Venue:  C4-16 (Centenary Building), University of South Australia City East Campus.  A map will be forwarded to registrants.

Refreshments, including lunch, will be provided.

Current PhD students who have research projects which require Human Ethics Approval are strongly encouraged to attend this workshop.

To register contact Amy Baker (amy.baker@unisa.edu.au).

The University has been advised by the NHMRC that its 2008 Equipment Grant allocation to be funded in 2009 is $134,875.

The University invites applications that will be considered by a Selection Committee. The Committee will rank and approve the allocation of the funding received from the NHMRC.

Applications should be submitted by close of business 19th January 2009 to:

Julie Petticrew, Office of Research, Room B1, Basement Level, Union Building (entrance at south eastern corner), Flinders University. Please ensure a completed and signed Flinders University Certification Form accompanies your application.

The NHMRC has clearly defined objectives with regard to the purchase of awarding equipment grant funding:

• institutions should be strategic in the purchase of larger items of equipment that will benefit health and medical research in Australia
• institutions are encouraged to support equipment that will be used collaboratively
• where possible, Australian made equipment should be purchased.

Selection Criteria:

The Selection Criteria ranks grant applications in accordance with the following selection criteria:

• the equipment should support highest quality health and medical research funded by the NHMRC (or through another competititve grant process)
• consideration is given to the lack of access to similar equipment in the institution or region
• consideration is given to the collaborative gain to be achieved through the use of the equipment (eg. multi-user equipment which crosses disciplines, research groups and departments).

Potential applicants should note this scheme would not normally support requests for what would be described as ‘general research infrastructure’. This scheme is designed for the purchase of equipment that is clearly strategic in nature.

Application process:

While there is no application form for these grants, applications should include the following:

1. Name(s) of applicant(s).
2. Detailed description of equipment sought and how the the purchase of this equipment would meet the above selection criteria, in particular how the funding will improve productivity, collaboration and expertise.
3. Each item of equipment must be costed and listed in order of priority.
4. The percentage of total cost of equipment sought from the NHMRC and a detailed account of where the other funding will be derived. Applicants are also encouraged to include a justification of the relative percentage funding that they are seeking.
5. A list of the NHMRC and other competitive grant(s) held, including:
   • funding body
   • project title
   • dollar amounts
   • investigators list of significant publications/patents for the past 5 years.

Note: Items 3, 4 and 5 above must not exceed 4 pages.

Applicants should note that Flinders is no longer required to match on a dollar-for-dollar basis the allocation provided by the NHMRC. However, the University is keen to maximise the opportunity provided by the NHMRC funding for equipment to attract matching funding from other external bodies. Therefore applications that can match NHMRC funds with other existing funds will be viewed favourably.

Enquiries: Please contact Julie Petticrew by phone on 8201 5371 or by email.

Please note that the Social and Behavioural Research Ethics Committee now has new requirements for submission of applications which are as follows:

• an electronic copy  (not PDF format) of the application and all accompanying documentation emailed to the Secretary; and
• one hard copy of the signed application and all accompanying documentation printed on one side of the page only and clipped, not stapled, forwarded to Sandy Huxtable, Secretary, Social and Behavioural Research Ethics Committee, Room B1, Union Building (Flinders University, GPO Box 2100, Adelaide SA 5001).

One of Australia’s leading science broadcasters, the ABC Science Show’s Robyn Williams, is visiting Flinders on Thursday, 27 November, and will address the topic Is good media essential to a successful research career? in the Noel Stockdale Room in the Central Library at 1.00pm.  All welcome. Please RSVP to susan.malin@flinders.edu.au. Download the flyer.

The US Department of Defense Ovarian Cancer Consortium Development Award has been released and is available electronically from the Grants.gov website and the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Program (CDMRP) eReceipt website.

• Pre-application Letter of Intent is due: January 13, 2009 (copy to Office of Research by January 8, 2009)
• Proposal submission deadline: January 27, 2009 (Office of Research submission deadline January 20, 2009)

A summary of Ovarian Cancer Research Program (OCRP) funding opportunities to be announced in January 2009 is provided below:

• Idea Development Award
• Translational Research Team Award
• Ovarian Academy Award

Please visit the CDMRP website for more details.

Dr Gavin Prideaux

We are excited to be able to post our third Mini Interview with an Early Career Researcher at Flinders.

Our thanks to Dr Gavin Prideaux for responding to our earlier post seeking participants.

Gavin received his PhD from Flinders University in 1999. His thesis focused on the evolution of the extinct short-faced kangaroos, which originated around 10 million years ago and were widespread across Australia until around 40 thousand years ago. After his PhD he completed a series of postdocs at the University of California, Naracoorte Caves and Western Australian Museum.

Each of these positions involved a combination of research and curation of fossil collections. Over the past decade and a half, he has spent many months excavating fossil bones from caves across southern Australia and ancient lake-beds in central Australia, or poring over the contents of museum drawers across the world. He returned to Flinders University in 2007 as an Australian Research Fellow in the School of Biological Sciences.

1. What is your area of research?
Palaeontology, or the study of past life, and in particular the evolution of Australian marsupials. Most of my research is focused on tracking the responses of southern and central Australian vertebrate faunas to environmental changes over the past few million years. Currently, I am trying to unravel why most of Australia’s larger animals became extinct 50 to 40 thousand years ago.

2. What made you choose a career in research?
I love trying to work out why things are the way they are. As a schoolkid, and as an undergraduate, I was never very good at dividing my time evenly between tasks and subjects; once I really got into something I couldn’t let it go. It wasn’t until I began my PhD that I realised this was a virtue.

3. Why did you choose Flinders to be a part of your research career?
Flinders is an open, relaxed place to work and study. And there are few universities in Australia in such a great location. Having spent several years overseas and interstate, I saw an outstanding opportunity to return to Flinders and take over the running of the Palaeontology Lab from my old mentor, Rod Wells.

4. What challenges do researchers in your field face?
Like all fields of research, funding is the key. Fortunately, one can address many interesting questions in palaeontology on a shoestring budget, but nevertheless, money does create opportunities. Palaeontology in
Australia is one of several scientific fields at a crossroads. There are less than 10 full-time palaeontologists in Australia, and most are on the cusp of retirement. It is critical, therefore, that we keep emphasising
how important the fossil record is as our long-term data repository on biotic responses to climate change.

5. What advice would you have for people considering a career in research?
Don’t die wondering: anyone can succeed if he/she is prepared to work hard and persist. I could not imagine a more rewarding career path.

6. What do you see as being the next “Big Thing” in your area of research?
Application of new technologies to old questions. For me, I’m particularly keen on watching developments in micro-CT scanning, synchrotron science, geochronology, and isotopic and fractal analyses. Combined with more traditional methods, there is great potential for powerful and unforeseen insights into the life and times of our ancient biota.

If you are an Early Career Researcher at Flinders and would lke to participate in our Mini Interviews please contact Kristy Manuel.