Message from the Executive Dean

The first half of 2022 has been challenging. Not only are we still coping with the highly infectious Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2, but we have also been managing the impact of record rainfall and floods in many parts of Queensland and New South Wales, and have been challenged by the events in Ukraine. All of this results in a sense of existential angst which may trigger or exacerbate mental health disorders, particularly depression and anxiety. Therefore, it is appropriate that this edition of UQmedicine features two senior academics working to solve the big problems in mental health – Professor Harvey Whiteford and Professor Maree Toombs.

The work of Professor Harvey Whiteford has had substantial impact in Australia and globally. Harvey is the Director of the Queensland Centre for Mental Health Research. In his eminent career as a psychiatrist and researcher, he has focused his attention on the epidemiology of psychiatric illness and its burden, and has had great impact in mental health policy and systems reform. Professor Maree Toombs, who has cultural lineage to the Kooma people of Western Queensland and the Euahlayi people of northwestern New South Wales, is the Associate Dean (Indigenous Engagement) for the Faculty of Medicine. As part of her research, Maree focuses on the complex and distressing area of Aboriginal suicide. She has developed, with others, the I-ASIST program which aims to reduce the rate of suicide across Australia in Indigenous populations. The Faculty of Medicine is very proud of these two academics working to improve the outcomes of people living with mental health disorders.

In associated areas of research, we also feature the work of our Head of the School of Biomedical Sciences, Professor Elizabeth Coulson in dementia research, and Associate Professor Nadeeka Dissanayaka in the area of anxiety treatment.

This edition of UQmedicine also celebrates the 20th anniversary of The University of Queensland Rural Clinical School (UQRCS). Although medical student teaching and rurally based research has been a feature of The University of Queensland Medical School for many decades, the formation of UQRCS in 2002 was an important milestone in our work in regional, rural and remote Queensland. Through the stories of our graduates and staff, it is clear UQRCS has made a substantial impact on health outcomes in rural areas through the provision of appropriately trained doctors, and the generation and implementation of new knowledge in a rural setting. This anniversary is appropriately timed to coincide with the next stage of our commitment to the provision of a medical workforce for rural Queensland with the commencement of the Rural Medical Pathway (RMP) in Central Queensland, Wide Bay, Darling Downs and South West, in partnership with CQUniversity and the University of Southern Queensland. In this pathway, students can enrol in undergraduate programs at a local university with a guaranteed position in the UQ MD program and connection to prevocational and vocational training in the same regions. We and our partners envisage the RMP will improve the medical workforce provision in these regions.

We also acknowledge a generous donation from the estate of Elizabeth Roberts, which is connected to a wonderful story going back more than 100 years. Finally, we highlight the lovely work of one of our professional staff members, Lisa Dingwall, as a volunteer and contributor to our community.

I commend this edition of UQmedicine to you and suggest that its content serves as a partial break from some of the current existential angst.

Professor Geoff McColl
Executive Dean, Faculty of Medicine

This is featured in the Winter 2022 edition of UQmedicine Magazine. View the latest edition here. Or to listen, watch, or read more stories from UQ’s Faculty of Medicine, visit our blog, MayneStream.