They’re on top
Congratulations to Dr Amal Osman and Dr Intifar Chowdhury who have been announced as this year’s inspiring researchers who will be taking part in the ABC Top 5 media residencies.
Dr Osman and Dr Chowdhury will be in residence at the ABC offices for two-weeks of media training and practical experience. They will be working alongside some of Australia’s best journalists and broadcasters, to get a better understanding of how best to communicate their vital research with the world.
Read more here.
Jaw-some work!
A documentary featuring contributions from Professor Charlie Huveneers and Dr Lauren Meyer is currently available to view on the ABC. Super Shark Highway will also be streamed on Disney+ in early July, as part of NatGeo’s Shark Fest. The documentary highlights recent work that Professor Huveneers and Dr Meyer have done on white sharks.
It’s been a busy time for the Southern Shark Ecology Group, who also recently co-authored another Science paper about shark conversation. “Global tracking of marine megafauna space use reveals how to achieve conservation targets” is the group’s third Science paper in 15 months.
Kick starting research
Congratulations to Dr Alexandra Manson from the Caring Futures Institute who has been awarded a Heart Foundation South Australian Kick Start Fellowship for her research into how school food systems can support children’s health, growth, and development. The fellowships support early career researchers in cardiovascular health, helping them take the next step toward becoming fully funded postgraduate researchers.
Funding boost for disability support worker training
Associate Professor Michelle Bellon from the College of Nursing and Health Sciences is part of an interstate consortium that has been awarded $1.87 million to develop a national training program for disability support workers in the use of psychotropic medications for people with intellectual and developmental disability in Australia.
Led by the University of Canberra, the consortium also includes a Community Researcher with intellectual disability as co-lead, Mr Tim Cahalan, ensuring inclusive research and co-design practice
Psychotropic medicines (a class of medication that alters behaviour, mood, thoughts and perception) and their use in the treatment of people with intellectual and developmental disability has long been flagged as an area for improvement, with notable recommendations from the 2023 Disability Royal Commission calling for the development of a national training program addressing their use.