SoMS Newsletter - April 2005
Staff
New Staff
Tim Greenwood has been appointed as the new SOMS Teaching Adviser and will be temporarily located in G17. Tim has previous experience in student administration at UNSW and overseas and we welcome him to the SOMS team.
Physiology and Pharmacology Administrator
Salome has moved temporarily into the departmental office of Physiology & Pharmacology to provide administrative support now that Annette is leaving to pursue a full time university course. Salome will continue to sort the mail and provide photocopying assistance, from the office on the third floor (Room 319). We send our best wishes to Annette in her “new” university career and hope she will keep in touch.
Research
UNSW Publications Collection
The deadline for submissions to the 2004 UNSW Publication Collection is approaching. All publications to be submitted for the collection should be forwarded to Pam Parker no later than Friday 29 April.
UNSW Policy on Minimum Facilities and Resources for Postgraduate Research Study
The new UNSW Policy on Minimum Facilities and Resources for Postgraduate Research Study has been approved by the Academic Board. The new policy will require modifications to current budget and space allocation procedures for research students at UNSW and this implementation process will be managed by the newly appointed Deputy Vice Chancellor for Research, Professor Les Field. The Vice-Chancellor’s Advisory Committee has approved a schedule that will see full implementation of the new policy completed in 2006. In the meantime, students should continue to consult the Guidelines for Postgraduate Research (available on the UNSW web site) for information about resources.
Postdoctoral Travel Grants
The Research Committee is pleased to advise that the Postdoctoral travel grants will be continuing in 2005. There are 2 grants available per research group (IDRU, CVR, NS, and nonaligned), one for attendance at an international conference and the second for a national meeting. Eligibility guidelines are available from Pam Parker or on the SOMS website. Applicants must be nominated by the research group so interested Postdocs should apply to the head of their group in the first instance.
SOMS Special Seminar
The next seminar in this series is entitled "Spinal cord repair: looking back, moving forward" with Professor Phil Waite and will be held on Thursday 7 April at 4 pm in Biomed B, Biomedical Theatres, followed by drinks and nibbles. After this seminar the Paper of the Month will be awarded.
Paper of the Month
The Research Committee is very pleased to announce two Paper of the Month awards for February and March. February's award goes to a study by Heidi Fedorow, Russell Pickford, James M Hook, Kay L Double, Glenda M Halliday, Manfred Gerlach, Peter Riederer & Brett Garner, "Dolichol is the major lipid component of human substantia nigra neuromelanin" published in Journal of Neurochemistry, 92, 990-995. This is the first paper of Heidi’s PhD candidature, so well done to Heidi and her collaborators.
The award for March goes to a study in gross anatomy by Bruce Reading & Brian Freeman, "Simple formula for the surface area of the body and a simple model for anthropometry", published in Clinical Anatomy 8:126-130. Well done to both the authors.
Grants and Awards
Prize Evening
SOMS Prizes for 2004 will be awarded at a special event on Monday 16 May, venue to be announced. The ceremony will begin at 5.15 pm and will be followed by refreshments. All staff are welcome to attend.
New Funding from the Cancer Council NSW
Professor Philip Hogg and his team have received a further $209,000 from the Cancer Council NSW to continue their research into preventing the growth of microscopic tumours. The new funding will enable clinical trials of the new compound GSAO to begin early next year. Professor Hogg is one of 5 UNSW researchers to receive new funding in 2005 from the Cancer Council. Professor Levon Khachigian has also received new funding for his research into new gene therapy treatments for certain types of skin cancer.
2005 Eureka Prize
Competitive internal applications are being called for 2005 NHMRC Equipment Grants. UNSW has been allocated a block grant of $563,945, calculated by allocating funds pro rata to the NHMRC health and medical research grants held by UNSW in 2004. Applications will be considered by a University committee, which will include current holders of NHMRC grants.
Deadline: 31 March 2005
Website: http://www.amonline.net.au/eureka/
Museum
The relocation of the Donald Wilhelm Museum of Human Disease from the 5th floor of the Wallace Wurth Building to the ground floor of the Samuels building is about to take place. Scheduled to begin around the 20th April, the transfer of all artifacts should take about two weeks. A major launch and exhibition premiere is planned to celebrate the event and re-opening later in 2005. The Museum will continue to be an outstanding asset for the Medical Faculty and UNSW in its new home.
Museum outreach activities continued in March with a visit by Museum staff to Coogee Public School. 60 year 4 students challenged the team with over 30 health and science questions such as “Why are bones white and how do they grow and then stop growing?” and “Why is blood going back to the heart ‘blue’ and why don’t we bleed blue blood?” Museum charts and models were taken to the event to help explain and assist students to visualize concepts that are quite abstract for this age group.
Students from the Tokyo Bunka Medical Technology College visited the campus last month to benefit from a busy educational and social program of events. Their itinerary included a visit to the Prince of Wales Hospital’s SEALS Pathology units, lunch at AGSM and tours of the UNSW campus and Pathology museum. The day concluded with dinner at the Four Points Sheraton at Darling Harbour with 10 invited students from the 3rd year UNSW Medical course.
OHS
New RMU Forms
A reminder to please use the NEW Risk Management Unit (RMU) forms when reporting hazards and accidents to ensure effective attention & follow-up. These are available on the RMU web site.
Training
Staff and students are reminded to attend relevant OHS training programs. For program details and schedules visit the RMU web site. The Emergency Management Unit (EMU) is conducting "Fire Fighting and Workplace Evacuation" training courses for UNSW staff and students. For course details visit the EMU web site. Please email training requests to c.cuello@unsw.edu.au with the registrant's full name, staff/student number, contact number and course preference. RMU courses are free of charge, EMU course costs are covered by the School.
Email Alerts
Please ensure that you read all School-wide OHS email alerts as they contain relevant information for either you or those who work in your area. You can forward any OHS related issues to OHS committee members or directly to Carolyn Cuello. For all maintenance problems call Zone 1 on ext 51156.