Dr Antonia Kolovos and Dr Melissa Shields are taking their research to the next level thanks to recent funding, while other successes include a Flinders team announced as national finalists, a finalist in the SA Climate Change Leaders Awards, and interest from visiting international scholars to increase collaborations with Flinders researchers.
Saving sight thanks to funding success
Two outstanding Flinders health and medical graduates have been awarded funding to support their research training through this year’s National Health and Medical Research Council Postgraduate Scholarship Scheme.
Eyesight and eye care were the focus of Flinders success, with Dr Antonia Kolovos receiving funding for her research into “Saving sight: Novel stratification instruments for glaucoma”, and Dr Melissa Shields looking into”Better vision for patients with ocular toxoplasmosis”. The funding outcomes were announced by the Minister for Health and Aged Care, Mark Butler.
FLEXing on award nomination
Congratulations to the FLEX (Flinders Express team), which has been named as a finalist in the 13th Annual ITS Australia Awards, being a celebration of excellence by the Intelligent Transport Systems industry. The FLEX team is a finalist in the Connected and Automated Vehicle Award alongside leading national organisations. FLEX is an electric, autonomous vehicle trial, investigating key cases and opportunities for the transport network. These include new operational modes for autonomous vehicles, use vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) communications technologies to improve performance, and developing a living lab as a test bed for connected and autonomous vehicles.
Climate change study acknowledgement
A Flinders University lymphoedema study, led by Professor Neil Pillar and Susan Witt, was a Research and Education category finalist in this year’s South Australian Climate Change Leaders Awards. The judges were impressed with this “unique submission” and acknowledged the importance of this work to provide relief to lymphoedema patients. The Department of Environment and Water awards also cover the categories of Business and Industry, Community and Government.
International visitors keen on collaboration
Flinders University recently hosted two visiting scholars from Indonesia, thanks to a flagship internationalisation program. Associate Professor Ben Wadham welcomed Dr Firman Mansir from Muhammadiya University in Jogyakarta and Dr Efendi Limbong from Mulawarman University, East Kalimantan, and together they discussed their research activities and explored how Flinders’ researchers work in teams to complete their research.