SoMS Newsletter - February 2006
Staff
Welcome to new members of the academic staff in Pharmacology - Angela Finch who joins us from the Victor Chang Institute as a full time Lecturer, and Ross Grant and Lu Liu who have been appointed to .6 Lecturer positions.
Security
Security for the Wallace Wurth Building is being upgraded and by the beginning of session the building will be secure with access by swipe card only. All members of staff should ensure that their swipe cards are up to date. Further details will be distributed before the system is activated.
Research
The Research Committee is pleased to advise that our awards for Paper of the Month, Citation Classics and Century Club will continue in 2006. There is a modification to the criteria for PoM to clarify that eligible papers must indicate the 'School of Medical Sciences' as an affiliation for the first or senior author. This is to ensure that these SOMS awards promote and reward research by staff or students in our School. Full guidelines and criteria for all these awards can be obtained from Pam Parker or on the SoMS website.
The Research Committee is planning to take a more proactive role in encouraging grant applications this year. I will shortly be sending out timelines for all Category 1 grants and will write to heads of research units and ‘non-aligned’ researchers to encourage all those considering putting in applications to discuss their proposals with colleagues and obtain feedback well before the deadline. The new NHMRC timeline this year has given us all a chance to consider our proposals. Presenting our ideas to peers and getting feedback is invaluable for identifying potential problems and fine-tuning our research plans. I encourage everyone considering applying for external funding to get involved in this initiative so that we can improve our grant success.
Phil Waite
Grants and Awards
Vice Chancellor’s Teaching Excellence Awards
Professor Denis Wakefield has received a 2005 Vice-Chancellor's Award for Teaching Excellence for his outstanding contribution to teaching in Postgraduate Research Supervision. He is the only member of staff to receive an award in this category for 2005. The award medal will be presented at a graduation ceremony later in the year. The full news story is available on the SoMS website.
UNSW Goldstar Awards and Faculty Research Grants
SoMS has something to celebrate with the announcement of the 2006 UNSW Goldstar Awards and Faculty Research Grants. SoMS staff received eight Goldstar awards for 2006, compared with just five awards in 2005. The School was also well represented by its staff in the Faculty Research Grants Program (FRGP), winning a total of 13 awards. The full news story is available on the SoMS website.
National Heart Foundation Awards
Congratulations to Dr Shane Thomas, Dr Pascal Carrive, Professor Levon Khachigian, Associate Professor Wendy Jessup and Dr Guishi Zhang on their recent success in the National Heart Foundation Awards for 2006. The full news story is available on the SoMS website.
National Health and Medical Research Council Project and Program Grants
Project Grants - project grants are the NHMRC's main avenue of support for biomedical, public health and health services research in universities, medical schools, hospitals and other research institutions within Australia. A researcher may apply for a project grant for duration of up to five years, but will need to provide justification for support for periods in excess of three years.
Program Grants - the Program Funding scheme aims to provide support for teams of researchers to pursue broadly based collaborative research activity. The team will be expected to contribute new knowledge at a leading international level in important areas of health and medical research, develop novel ideas and approaches, tackle problems for which longer term stable funding is essential, provide training and career development opportunities within the team, and facilitate collaborative use of specialised facilities or expertise.
Website: http://www.nhmrc.gov.au/funding/apply/index.htm
Research Office Deadline: 24 February 2006
OHS
OHS Committee Members
In 2006 we will be getting some new faces onto the OHS Committee to better reflect the departments and areas within SoMS. We also need a student rep for the Post Graduates. If you want to know more about what would be required, please contact Michelle Price ( x58288)
Training
Staff and students are reminded to attend relevant OHS training programs identified by their supervisor or through their induction. 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 m.price@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.
Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)
Lab managers and supervisors should ensure their area/s are suitably equipped and all required PPE worn. Staff should take advantage of School-purchased eyewear, respirators, spill kits and other items. This will aid in meeting requirements covered in the checklists to be used in up and coming inspections throughout all labs, teaching areas and offices.
Museum
Sadly, after nearly 10 years at UNSW as Museum Manager, Jenny Horder is leaving to take up the position of Manager - Learning Services at the Australian Museum. In her time here, she has lifted the profile of the Museum greatly within and outside UNSW. The student recruitment impact of attracting Museum campus-visiting students to science and other courses at UNSW is reported to have played a significant role in improving enrolments. After a successful launch back in December, the Museum is open and visitor groups will soon be visiting again! Staff and medical students are encouraged to pay a visit to the Museum and check out the new layout as well as view the Gutsy Stuff exhibition currently on display. The Museum is open 9am – 5pm, Monday - Friday all year round, excluding public and certain holiday periods. Medical students enrolled in the New Medicine Program, and MDSG4001 will be allocated swipe card access during these hours.
Francesca Cato, Education Officer at the Museum, will be holding the fort in the meantime. Jenny’s best wishes and appreciation go to all who have contributed to making her job at the Museum a most wonderful, fulfilling and exciting period with many successful outcomes for the Museum and SOMS.
WebCT Vista
As you may be aware, UNSW has implemented a new version of WebCT software. The new Vista version will replace Campus Edition (CE) before the end of this year. New Vista modules are now available for all SoMS undergraduate courses beginning in Session 1, 2006. Teaching staff can use these modules as a simple way to give enrolled students secure access to course materials, grades and more via the WebCT gateway at http://vista.elearning.unsw.edu.au.
You can make use of the new modules to deliver your course materials in one of two ways:
1. Send your course materials to soms.lectures@med.unsw.edu.au. Phil Crawford and Miriam DeLacy will add your resources to the appropriate Vista module for your course. Please ensure that you include the course code in your email.
2. Contact EdTec to arrange training in WebCT Vista. Training and certification in Vista is mandatory for all Vista users. Training courses are being conducted by Edtec throughout February and March. Regular users of WebCT CE can undertake an intensive 4 hour course to obtain certification. For further details about types of training available, please visit the EdTec website.
Once you have received certification from Edtec, please send an email to soms.lectures@med.unsw.edu.au to arrange for access to the Vista modules for your courses.
The new modules are based on a customised School of Medical Sciences template. The templates are very simple and flexible and use a consistent layout and design, making navigation through the online environment easier for students. If you have any questions about using WebCT Vista to deliver online content for your course, please email soms.lectures@med.unsw.edu.au or contact Miriam DeLacy (x51624) or Phil Crawford (x52564).