Visiting international fellows for 2020

An expert in the use of Virtual Reality to treat trauma, a palaeobiologist studying the evolution of brain and sensory systems in fossil fish, a nutritionist exploring the healthiness of restaurant food, and a geomicrobiologist evaluating biological stresses associated with mining activities are amongst those coming to Flinders next year as Visiting International Research Fellows.

Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research) Professor Robert Saint has awarded funding to nine Flinders researchers to enable them to bring expert colleagues to Australia for research collaborations.

The Fellowship scheme intends to build lasting international research collaborations that raise the international research profile and reputation of the University and leads to externally funded research activity.

The successful initiatives for 2020 are:

Associate Professor Belinda Lange of the College of Nursing and Health Sciences will host Professor Skip Rizzo from the University of Southern California, USA. A pioneer in Clinical Virtual Reality, his visit will further research into the application of VR in addressing Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, and building resilience for wellbeing.

Dr Kacie Dickinson of the College of Nursing and Health Sciences will host Professor Mary L’Abbe from the University of Toronto, Canada. A director of a WHO Collaborating Centre on Nutrition Policy, Professor L’Abbe will test two hypotheses related to the quality of restaurant and packaged foods; 1) foods with health claims are less healthy than those without claims 2) that the quality of restaurant foods has not improved over the past 10 years, despite menu labelling regulations being implemented during this time.

Associate Professor Ching Li Chai-Coetzer of the College of Medicine and Public Health will host Professor Sachin Pendharkar from the University of Calgary, Canada. A sleep and respiratory physician, professor Pendharkar will further Flinders’ research into Obstructive Sleep Apnoea and innovative strategies to improve timely access to care.

Professor Fran Baum of the College of Medicine and Public Health will host Professor Ronald Labonté from the University of Ottawa, Canada.  An international public health expert, Professor Labonté will collaborate on a project on health civil society, mentor early- and mid-career researchers, deliver a public lecture and support grant applications.

Professor John Long of the College of Science and Engineering will host Professor Thomas Challands from the University of Edinburgh, Scotland. Professor Challands recently excavated important new fossil fish specimens from a key evolutionary period that are contemporary with similar fossils from Australia. The fellowship will support analysis of the materials at the ANSTO synchrotron facility in Melbourne, to shed light on the evolution of vertebrate brain and sensory systems.

Professor Mats Andersson of the College of Science and Engineering will host Associate Professor Christine Bressy from the University of Toulon, France. The first step in building a long-lasting collaboration on marine biofouling, Associate Professor Bressy’s visit will focus on a new way of managing marine biofouling dedicated to the protection of hulls and seawater heat exchangers in military ships.

Professor Gunther Andersson of the College of Science and Engineering will host Professor Scott Anderson from the University of Utah, USA. The Fellowship is a continuation of a three-year research collaboration on photocatalysis in modifying semiconductor surfaces with metal clusters.

Professor Sarah Harmer of the College of Science and Engineering will host Professor Christopher Wisener from the University of Windsor, Canada. The duo have been collaborating in recent years to develop systematic chemical and biological sensors to evaluate ecological stress conditions associated with mining activities, and will take their research to Tasmania, which has some of the worst mining-related environmental devastation in Australia.

Professor Karl Sammut of the College of Science and Engineering will host Professor Benoit Clement from ENSTA Bretagne, France. Professor Clement’s visit will foster engagement with Naval Group and Thales and advance activities under the Nicolas Baudin exchange program.

 

 

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