Dr Nicole Foster is heading to Germany for a prestigious international conference, while other successes include new funding into post-surgical pain, a Flinders researcher is named as an ambassador for STEM, and a new Environmental and Digital Artist in Residence is announced.
Young scientist off to science summit in Germany
College of Science and Engineering research associate Dr Nicole Foster is one of 11 young, early-career researchers from Australia who has been invited to attend the prestigious Lindau Nobel Laureates Meetings in Lindau, Germany.
Dr Foster is working on the Flinders ‘InFoDust’ Defence Innovation Partnership project to use environmental DNA and XRD (X-ray powder defraction) to analyse dusts samples to determine provenance.
The 71st annual Lindau Nobel Laureate Meetings, dedicated to chemistry, will be held from 26 June to 1 July and will bring together around 30 Nobel Laureates and around 600 young scientists from around the world. Dr Foster, who has joined Flinders University’s environmental DNA research group, tuned into the Lindau Nobel Laureate meeting last year and has been invited to attend in person this year by the Australian Academy of Science through the Science and Industry Endowment Fund.
A tour attached to the event will showcase some of Germany’s finest research and development facilities, while also providing opportunities to share the research done by the young scientists and encourage scientific collaboration between Australia and Germany.
Fighting chronic pain
Dr Dusan Matusica from the College of Medicine and Public Health has been awarded funding from the Hospital Research Foundation Group for research into post-surgical pain. The grant is one of three awarded after a competitive grant round, which called for innovative approaches to better understand and manage sub-acute, recurrent or chronic pain. Dr Matusica’s project will determine whether newly-developed biosensor technology, capable of discriminating between nerve and bone pain, can measure and predict the development of persistent post-surgical pain, which is a challenging form of chronic pain that affects patients after their surgical procedure.
Growing the next generation of STEM advocates
The Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering (ATSE) has named Dr Lauren Jones from the College of Medicine and Public Health as an ambassador of the IMNIS Catalyst program for 2022. The Industry Mentoring Network in STEM (IMNIS) connects PhD students and postdoctoral researchers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics with influential industry leaders in a one-year mentoring and professional development program.
IMNIS Catalyst provides an opportunity for past mentees to engage more broadly throughout the STEM ecosystem. The new group of 16 Catalysts will be provided with the tools and opportunities to share their STEM journeys, through receiving media and communications training, engaging with senior-level high school students and speaking at a range of internal and external events.
Virtual Reality to help herd caterpillars
The College of Humanities, Arts and Socials Sciences has welcomed Rosina Possingham as a new Environmental and Digital Artist in Residence for March and April. She will be using digital creativity to tell the story of a local butterfly. Rosina is developing an exciting VR project titled Herding Caterpillars, which will tell the story of the Chequered Copper Butterfly and its symbiotic relationship to a particular species of ant along with the flower of the Oxalis plant. These species are found in Adelaide, specifically in Nantu Wama/Lefevre Park, where Rosina will be mapping trees using photogrammetry.