Chair of Medical Research Future Fund Expert Advisory Panel
Congratulations to Professor James Smith, Matthew Flinders Professor of Health & Social Equity, College of Medicine and Public Health, who has been appointed as Chair of the Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF) Reducing Health Inequities Mission Expert Advisory Panel. The appointment was made this month by the Hon Mark Butler MP, Minister for Health and Ageing, and Minister for Disability and the National Disability Insurance Scheme.
The Panel aims to reduce inequities in health outcomes and improve access to quality health services for priority populations, including Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander communities, people from diverse backgrounds, people with disability, and members of the LGBTQIA+ community.
Preventing stillbirth through research
Congratulations to Dr Anya Arthurs, Research Fellow at the Flinders Health and Medical Research Institute, and College of Medicine and Public Health, who has received the prestigious MS McLeod Early Career Research Award for her research into detecting and slowing placental ageing to prevent stillbirth.
Through her research, she hopes to deliver diagnostic tests that will inform clinical decision-making and reduce the prevalence of the heartbreaking experience of stillbirth.
South Australian National Science Week Co-chair
Congratulations to Dr Hayden Tronnolone, Senior Lecturer in Mathematical Sciences, College of Science and Engineering, who has been appointed as Co-chair of the South Australian National Science Week coordinating committee.
In 2025, Hayden won STEMM Educator of the Year (University or RTO) at the SA Science & Innovation Awards, recognising his work to increase the number of university mathematics graduates through innovating education pathways and course design.
Nano and microplastics experts present to Senate Committee
Associate Professor Melanie MacGregor and Professor Ingo Koeper presented at a special Senate Committee hearing in Adelaide this month. Representing the Flinders College of Science and Engineering Nano and Microplastics Consortium, they presented to Senator Anne Ruston at the Senate Community Affairs References Committee highlighting the growing concern over nanoplastics’ impact on human health.