Check in from Director

Dear All

November is awards month for CHRC – whether it is university or faculty wide, or internal to CHRC – our team’s efforts and achievements has not gone unnoticed. We are all so proud of our accomplishments. Nominations across a variety of categories of awards is a wonderful endorsement of CHRC’s strength and collaborative nature, and really highlights our performance all around. Click on links below to find out more about our achievements and nomination details:

• 2024 UQ Awards for Excellence – Diversity and Inclusion nominee – A/Prof. Jasneek Chawla “Families in Focus”
• 2024 Faculty of Medicine Excellence Awards
• 2024 CHRC Excellence Awards

CHRC will also be holding our annual Research Symposium – celebrating the continuous and varied achievements our members have made this year. Follow our LinkedIn and X for the latest happenings at the Child Health Research Centre.

CHRC continues keep the dialogue open with Faculty and Central executive teams to ensure that CHRC received the support we need to excel, especially as the University works through its process in establishing the Faculty of Health Medicine and Behavioural Sciences. If you have any questions or concerns please reach out to Annie and I.

Thank you again for all you do.

Kind regards

Professor Craig Munns

Director Child Health Research Centre

Want to be included in the newsletter?
Email your updates, event, awards to uqchrc@uq.edu.au for inclusion.

Pencil this in your diaries  
**Working group/supporters wanted!! Reach out if you are able to spare some time to help organising these events – email uqchrc@uq.edu.au**

• Thursday 28 November: CHRC End of Year celebration & symposium

Felicitations!

• Dr Athena Stein – 2024 Faculty of Medicine PhD Graduate of the Year Award – runners up
• Karen Mistry – 2024 winner of the Gayle G. Arnold Award, American Academy for Cerebral Palsy and Developmental Science
• Rebecca Greenslade – Royal Rehabilitation Nursing Research Prize (best research paper), 2024 Australasian Rehabilitation Nurses Association Conference

View archived announcements from CHRC

World-First Steroid Checking Trial
Professor Jason Ferris is involved in a new international collaborative effort lead by Dr Tim Piatkowski, testing anabolic steroids submitted by the Queensland community. ROIDCheck provides findings in near-real time, which are shared with community alongside evidence-based harm reduction strategies. Read more in ABC News or check out Wave 2 Results. Watch this space in 2025! 

From the Director's Desk
Wishing all the CHSR team involved in the Health Services Research Association of Australia & New Zealand Conference a great four days of workshops, presentations, posters, exhibits and social events starting tomorrow!  We’re excited to be joined at this event by our incoming Executive Dean of Health, Medicine and Behavioural Sciences, and I encourage you to introduce yourselves to Professor Liew across your various times onsite at the Royal International Convention Centre.
Best wishes, Monika

Research Support Team updates
Please notify the CHSR Research Support Team via the online survey or email med.research.chsr@uq.edu.au if you are applying for grants (either as CIA or collaborator). For post-award support, please contact med.rpms.chsr@uq.edu.au or med.rpms.aktn@uq.edu.au, and cc med.research.chsr@uq.edu.au.

Funding opportunities

NHMRC Centres of Research Excellence 2025 – close 4 December
MRFF International Clinical Trials (R2) – close 4 December
MRFF Frontier Health and Medical Research – EOIs close 31 March 2025
NHMRC TCR Call into Health Service Improvement – Forecasted opening early 2025
MRFF Current Funding Opportunities

Training opportunities
UQ Library online and in-person training available here
QCIF online biostatistics and bioinformatics training available here

Publications

Crosland, P., Marshall, D. A., Hosseini, S. H., Ho, N., Vacher, C., Skinner, A., Nguyen, K. H., Iorfino, F., Rosenberg, S., Song, Y. J. C., Tsiachristas, A., Tran, K., Occhipinti, J. A., & Hickie, I. B. (2024). Incorporating Complexity and System Dynamics into Economic Modelling for Mental Health Policy and Planning. PharmacoEconomics, 42(12), 1301–1315. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40273-024-01434-3

Ellick, J., McCoy, S., Olufson, H., Adams, A., Banks, M., & Young, A. (2024). Harnessing delegation and technology to identify and manage malnutrition in a digital hospital: An implementation study. Nutrition & dietetics: the journal of the Dietitians Association of Australia, 10.1111/1747-0080.12913. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1111/1747-0080.12913

Elphick, E. H., Manera, K. E., Viecelli, A. K., Craig, J. C., Cho, Y., Ju, A., Shen, J. I., Wilkie, M., Anumudu, S., Boudville, N., Chow, J. S., Davies, S. J., Gooden, P., Harris, T., Jain, A. K., Liew, A., Matus-Gonzalez, A., Amir, N., Nadeau-Fredette, A. C., Nguyen, T., Wang AY, Ponce D, Quinn R, Jaure A, Johnson DW, Lambie M; SONG-PD Technique Survival Workshop Investigators (2024). Establishing a peritoneal dialysis technique survival core outcome measure: A standardised outcomes in nephrology-peritoneal dialysis consensus workshop report. Peritoneal dialysis international : journal of the International Society for Peritoneal Dialysis, 8968608241287684. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1177/08968608241287684

Negrine JJ, Puljević C, Ferris J, Liknaitzky P, Perlman C, Piatkowski T. (2024). Australian psychologists' attitudes towards psychedelic-assisted therapy and training following a world-first drug down-scheduling. Drug and alcohol review, 10.1111/dar.13973. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1111/dar.13973

Olufson, H. T., Ottrey, E., Green, T. L., & Young, A. M. (2024). Enhancing or impeding? The influence of digital systems on interprofessional practice and person-centred care in nutrition care systems across rehabilitation units. Nutrition & dietetics : the journal of the Dietitians Association of Australia, 81(5), 552–562. https://doi.org/10.1111/1747-0080.12846

View archived announcements from CHSR

Medical School community achievements

Student Research Showcase

The Academy for Medical Education hosted the annual MD Program Student Research Conference and Showcase in collaboration with student leaders from UQMS and OMSA on 3 October. The event was a testament to the enthusiasm and dedication of our medical student researchers, who presented work of a high quality across a diverse range of topics. The presentations were in a 3-Minute Thesis format and poster presentations. All presentations demonstrated well developed skills in research and engaging presentation skills. The presenters’ interactive discussions demonstrated detailed insights into the research areas.  

Congratulations to Nikita Rosendahl who was awarded both the Judges' and People's Choice awards for her oral presentation 'Targeting “Pac-Man” cells to treat Ovarian Cancer'. Jemima Po was awarded Best Poster for her presentation on ‘The influence of ankle exoskeleton assistance on the neuromotor control of balance in older adults’ and Hasti Fadakar was voted the People's Choice poster award for ‘Exploring the Relationship Between Participant Characteristics and Mental Adjustment to Pancreatic Cancer’.

People and culture

Staff appointments

We are pleased to introduce new staff within the Medical School and advise of the following staff movements. Please join us in extending a warm welcome to:

Rural Clinical School

Mr Rangana Dissanayake Mudiyanselage, ITS Officer, Toowoomba

Academy for Medical Education

Dr Emma Somogyi, Manager, MD Curriculum Development, Herston Campus

Miss Amber Hitchins, Executive Assistant and Administration Officer, Herston Campus

Ms Heather Nicholson, Lecturer, Medical Education

Research  

Medical School Annual Research Showcase

The Medical School Annual Research Showcase will be held on Monday 11 November from 9:00am-12:45pm at the TRI Auditorium. Professor Geoff McColl, Executive Dean, Faculty of Medicine, will reflect on his remarkable achievements and shares insights on leveraging partnerships for success. This event will showcase the outstanding research in the School, and feature presentations from early-to-mid-career and established researchers. We will also announce the inaugural winners of the Research Partnership and Impact Award as well as the Higher Degree Research Student Excellence Awards. Lunch will be provided following the presentations and awards ceremony. Please RSVP advising of any dietary requirements.

Ethics and Governance training

Research Ethics and Integrity Training sessions are available for UQ Staff and HDR candidates. Please see the schedule below:

Drop-in session for questions on human ethics applications:

Tuesday 5 November 10:00-11:00am

Register for the drop-in session for questions on ethics applications.

Conducting Ethical Research with Humans at UQ:

Thursday 7 November 11:00am-1:00pm

Register in Workday for this session.

Ethical research & teaching with animals at UQ:

Wednesday 6 November 1:00-2:00pm

Register in Workday for this session.

Research ethics: Human (HDR Students):

Tuesday 19 November 10:00-11:30am

HDR candidates can attend any of the Human Ethics training sessions organised by the Graduate School.

Research ethics: Animal (HDR students):

Wednesday 20 November 12:00-1:00pm

Register for this session on the Graduate School website. Please direct enquiries to: training.rei@research.uq.edu.au.

Education

Academy for Medical Education Annual Conference

The Academy for Medical Education held its annual two-day conference on 3-4 October 2024.  The first day of the conference focussed on the future of education and impact of technology.  Professor Clair Sullivan (QHDeC), A/Professor Thelma Parker and Professor Adam Bridgeman (Pro Vice Chancellor Education Innovation, University of Sydney) delivered the three keynote lectures that provocatively stimulated discussion on impact of technology including AI, and cultural humility of the education of future doctors.  A highlight was a presentation from Year 4 students, Dineli Kalansuriya and Sophia Nicolades on LGBTQIASB+ Health Education, Student Safety and Curricula reform. The second day focussed on aspects of the new UQMD, particularly Year 3.

MD Design update

The Bundaberg and Rockhampton teams are actively preparing to welcome students from Year 1 of the MD program the first time in 2025, and similarly, Toowoomba for Year 2 (Year 1 in 2026).

The AME teams are working towards finalising the draft Course Profiles for 2025, with feedback from across the Medical School welcomed during November. Current Year 2 students are actively engaged in selecting Year 3 Scholarly Project, with the actual work to commence on these in January. Training for Year 3 supervisors is taking place on 1 November 2024 at the AME.

Engagement

UQ Ventures iLab Accelerator

Take your venture to the next level with UQ Ventures ilab Accelerator: Chapter 1 2025 program. During the three-month program, each startup receives a $15,000 investment to help get your startup ready for the market. You will work closely with our Entrepreneurs in Residence and have access to our extensive mentor and investor networks, as well as workshops, industry events, and co-working spaces. Founders from all disciplines are encouraged to apply. Open to all UQ students, alumni, and staff.

 Join our upcoming information sessions to meet the team and get application tips:

• 7 November
• 12 November

Application deadline: 18 November 2025
Find out more: ventures.uq.edu.au/ilab-accelerator

Ventures LeadHers Rise

Celebrate Women's Entrepreneurship Day at LeadHers Rise! Join us for a morning of inspiration, connections, and celebration with Hannah Spilva, award-winning entrepreneur, and co-founder of LVLY, a $35M success story. Hear her journey from startup challenges to a major exit, and gain insights to boost your own entrepreneurial path. Network with founders, supporters, and peers in a vibrant, supportive space! This event will take place on 15 November at 8:30-11:30am at The Grove Rooftop. Sponsored by Momentum Accelerator, Asia Pay, and Lift Women.

New Records Management Procedure

Data Strategy and Governance has drafted the Records Management Procedure which will replace the Keeping Records at UQ Procedure and Destruction of Records Procedure.  

 This procedure defines UQ’s records management requirements and aims to provide clearer information about: 

• using TRIM (UQ’s records management system) and other tools 
• records disposal 
• managing physical and digital records 
• access to records. 

The final draft of the Records Management Procedure is available online for your feedback. If you manage, generate or receive records as part of your role, please review and provide any feedback to Data Strategy and Governance by Friday 8 November.

Student-Staff Partnerships (SSP) Program 2025

The Student-Staff Partnerships (SSP) program offers opportunities for students and staff to work together on projects designed to enhance student experience, improve teaching and learning, and transform governance systems. Connecting with the diversity of voices and talents across UQ, participants form meaningful partnerships while strengthening their professional capabilities.

Submissions for 2025 Round 1 Projects close 15 November.

APD Open Season is Here

The Annual Performance and Development (APD) process is live for 2024/2025. The APD is a valuable feedback and development tool and is a required activity for all continuing and fixed-term academic and professional staff on contracts exceeding 1 year. You can find out more information about how to make the most of the APD process, and get your questions answered here.

2024 End of Year Closure Confirmed

The Vice Chancellor confirmed via email to all staff on 18 September that the University will be closed between 5:00pm on 24 December, through to 2 January. All staff are asked to take leave on 27, 30 and 31 December for the closure period. More information will be shared shortly regarding essential activities required over the closure, and arrangements for staff who do not have sufficient leave during the closure.

General Practice Clinical Unit newsletter
The General Practice Clinical Unit distributes a quarterly newsletter. Click on the Newsletters tab for the latest information regarding the Mayne Academy of General Practice and General Practice Clinical Unit, teaching tips, articles and more.

View archived announcements from the Medical School

View archived announcements from MRI-UQ 

November Highlight 

Congratulations to the RCS Year 4 class of 2024 and big thank you to all the team who have contributed to a successful 2024!!

Staff Updates

• Academic Guidance Leads for Wide Bay and Central Queensland Learning Communities have been recruited. Congratulations to Dr Fionna Hadden (Wide Bay) and Dr Monica Gantus (Central Queensland) who have both started in November.
• Farewell to Ann-Maree Lucht (Acting RRM Team Leader) finished up on Friday 15 November.  Thank you Ann-Maree for all your hard work.

Recruitment

The following opportunities are lists on the UQ Careers page:

• Principal Marketing Professional

November recap

• Toowoomba RCU - Early to Mid-Career Researcher (EMCR) GP Information Evening held on Tuesday 12 November bringing the local GPs in town together for Dr Iqbal to talk about Adult ADHD: Assessment and Management in General Practice and also to give them an update on the new MD Curriculum from 2025.
• Intern Celebration Dinner held on Thursday 7 November which brought together the staff and 4^th year students who will be interning at the Toowoomba Hospital next year.
• Toowoomba and Rockhampton RCUs hosted a celebrations events for returning Year 4 students and those going on to intern in the region.
• Bundaberg RCU hosted an End of Year social mixer in collaboration with RTH, RCS, WBMS + JMAB.
• 18/11 – End of year break for all cohorts.

Team Successes and achievements

• A big thank you to everyone involved in the OSCEs! It is a huge undertaking and a lot of  hard work and dedication was required to make the assessments run smoothly.  All RCS MD students commenced they end of year break on 18 November.
• TROHPIQ elected their committee for 2025. Elected representatives are listed here.
• Congratulations to staff who have been nominated for the UQ Medical School Excellence Awards. Winners will be announced on Wednesday 11 December.

• Collaborators of the Year - Millee Barr, Rocky RCS – Beek Week, RCS Research Centre
• Leader of the Year (Academic) - Riitta Partanen, Rachael Hopper
• Service Excellence Award - Dr Ann Arlott, Renay Marshall, Dr Robyn Cooke
• Spirit of Reconciliation Award - RCS Research Centre

Visit our Facebook page for more news from November.

Upcoming events for December

Add the Rural Clinical School Events (uqrcs.events@uq.edu.au) calendar to outlook to see more events  

• Friday 6 December – 2025 MD program graduation ceremony (Brisbane)
• Thank you celebration events will take place across all RCUs this December

Finance

A reminder that all credit card payments and purchases should have been completed by 22/11/24 and reconciled by 6/12/24. All student expense claims need to have been submitted to us by 22/11/24. Please reach out to the uqrcs.finance@uq.edu.au if any assistance is required for end of year processing. Thank you.

Marketing

Social media update for November  (as at 25 November)

Reach – 2.1K (45% decrease)
Content interactions 181 (59% increase)
10 net followers (17% decrease)
Most engaged post for November –Jenna Krivit – poster success

Nil media to report for November

View archived RCS announcements

Date Savers
11 Dec     SBMS All Staff Meeting, Professional Staff Awards (from Awards night) 1-2pm, on Zoom
11 Dec     Tim Forrest’s farewell, 2-3:30pm, QBI Terrace, level 7, bldg 69

 SBMS Awards Night
On Friday 22 November, the annual SBMS Awards Night was held at Customs House. Thank you to everyone who attended and helped make the event so memorable! A list of winners and the Professional Staff awards will be presented at the All Staff meeting.

Here is a LINK to the photobooth images. Full album from the evening coming soon!

2024 Ending contracts – urgent action required
All staff supervisors (both academic and professional) are reminded to action fixed-term contract renewals or non-renewals in Workday for their direct reports. (Please refer to the email sent from Lizzie (SBMS.HOS) on 24/11/2024.)

Key Deadline: All transactions in Workday for the pay fortnights ending Friday 27 December 2024, and Friday 10 January 2025, must be submitted and fully approved by Friday 13 December 2024. Failure to meet this deadline will result in staff members not being paid after their current contract end date, with no possibility of rectification. This means affected staff will not receive pay over the Christmas break. Staff will also lose access to UQ systems which will impact their ability to recommence work after the Christmas closure period.

Support: For assistance with Workday, contact the AskHR Team via phone at 3365 2623 (9AM to 5PM), email, or through the online enquiry form. 

2024 End of Year Finance Deadlines

Guaranteed payment of matched/due Invoices 22 Nov

Form-based Student & Non-Staff Payments 22 Nov

Asset Adjustments 6 Dec

UniFi Supplier Creation/Amendments 29 Nov

EMS Submission of Staff Claims & Allowances 6 Dec

EMS Submission/Reconciliation of MasterCard/Claims 13 Dec

Final International Payrun 17 Dec

Final Customer Bills 13 Dec

Internal Transfers (JNL/ISC) 17 Dec

Final Domestic Payrun 16 Dec

Importing Biological Material
Please ensure you follow SBMS Biological Import Guideline.  HOS approval for each shipment/import is required and this is done via the SBMS Biological Import Permit Use Request, see attached.  The Safety Team will then send you all the relevant information to assist with a seamless entry into Australia.  You must also be a Fit & Proper Person, see SBMS HSW for further details. 

Incident/Hazard Reporting
All health and safety hazards and incidents (injuries, illnesses and near misses) should be reported in UQSafe. This includes health and safety concerns that may also impact psychological wellbeing. The Health and Safety Incident and Hazard Reporting Procedure outlines the requirements for notifying and reporting health and safety incidents and hazards at UQ, including information and privacy management.  Incidents on the go can also be reported via the Pocket Safety incident reporting app, available for both iPhone and Android devices.

HSW Inductions
The last two HSW Inductions for 2024 will be held at 9am on 4 & 18 December in 65-307.  Please register online at https://survey.app.uq.edu.au/sbms-ohs-building-induction

Empty Chemical Containers
The UQ Science Store no longer recycles or reuses plastic or glass containers. Please do not return empty containers to the Chemwaste cabinets.  Instead,  please ensure labels are defaced or removed, and rinse thoroughly to remove any chemical residue, venting the containers in a fume hood. Plastic bottles can be disposed of in general waste or glass recycling bins (glass Winchesters only).

Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)
Please be reminded that for all of our PC2 labs, the following PPE is mandatory: fully enclosed shoes, gown or lab coat and safety glasses when working in the lab.  Please also remember to remove PPE and wash hands prior to leaving the lab.

New SBMS Publications
If you are preparing a manuscript and you would like SBMS readership before submission, members of the Research Committee are willing and able to assist. Please contact the chair, Jana Vukovic.

If you have recently had a new publication accepted or published, please let us know. 

Library Update – Sage Campus
Sage Campus supports the teaching and learning of skills and research methods through 280+ hours of structured online learning. Their online courses are self-paced and instructor-led, comprising an engaging mix of content, video, interactives, and formative assessments.  

The courses cover critical skills and research methods across all stages of academic study, including the below course areas: 

• Getting started with data 
• Research planning 
• Collecting and managing data 
• Analyzing data 
• Reporting findings 
• Getting published 

You can browse all courses on the Sage Campus platform.
You can access Sage Campus via Library Search.  Once authenticated you will need to create an account.  From there, you can enrol in as many courses as you wish. 

View archived announcements from SBMS

Head of School Update
Dear Colleagues

Congratulations to all our staff and teams who have been nominated for a Faculty of Medicine Excellence award: the CAPHIA team, who were critical in organising the recent T&L forum; our EDI committee; Dung Phung; Coral Gartner; Gail Garvey; Simon Reid; Cheneal Puljevic; Karen Striegl; and the SPH Professional staff team. Best of luck for success at the awards ceremony on December 11.

Congratulations also go to Lisa Hall, who has been elected to the board of CAPHIA.

Congratulations to everyone for the completion of marking and grades for semester 2. Thank you in particular to Laurelle and Caroline for all your incredible support to make this process as easy as possible. Summer semester courses have now commenced.

The School retreat was held on the 21 and 22 November led by Sue Sampson. Thank you to everyone who attended for your openness, creativity and courage in discussing many topics. Feedback from those that attended has been very positive and people enjoyed the opportunity to be off campus, to connect and get to know colleagues. Sue is writing up the outcomes of the retreat and these will be shared with the whole school in January. I am excited by the goals that were discussed and how we can achieve these in 2025. One very quick actionable item was the mutual decision that the SPH Touch bases can be cancelled. A quick poll found that no one found this particularly useful, and that they were often dropped from calendars. Instead, we will implement a lunch once a month after a seminar and trial it for the first 3 months of 2025.

Over the past two years UQ has implemented a number of initiatives and working groups aimed at mitigating and preventing the risk of psychological harm. A working group co-chaired by the Directors of HSW and HR has overseen the development of a Psychological Health and Safety Master Action Plan, with input from Student services, HR, and HSW. The actions in this plan are targeted at both continued improvements to our management of psychosocial risks and to ensure compliance with recent legislative changes regarding sexual harassment and sex or gender-based harassment. The action plan can be found at Psychosocial risk management - Current staff - University of Queensland.

Finally this week we also share a great article from Professor Merlin Crossley (Deputy Vice-Chancellor Academic Quality at UNSW) about the nature of leadership and power in light of the recent US election results.

All the best 
Sheleigh & Sarah 
 
Sheleigh Lawler                                                               IIan Mears 
Head of School                                                               Acting SPH School Manager  

SPH End of year Celebration
A reminder to please RVSP for the SPH End of Year Celebration to celebrate and acknowledge everyone’s hard work this year. The End of Year Celebration Invitation was sent via email. Please read the attached Word document carefully as there are links to follow, and information required.
Date: Thursday 5 December
Place: UQ Viewpoint, Building 33 at UQ St Lucia
Time: 12pm – 4pm

Dates for diaries
3 December - Vinyasa flow and stretch class - Mayne Level 3 boardroom (315), 1pm - 2pm. Please check with Jeb Brady to ensure that the class is going ahead prior to attending.
13 December - Any staff expense claims, travel allowances and cash advances which are fully approved in ExpenseMe Pro before 5pm on Friday 13 December 2024 will be paid in 2024. This excludes any with approval start dates in 2025.
17 December - Slow deep stretch class - Mayne Level 3 boardroom (315), 1pm - 2pm. Please check with Jeb Brady to ensure that the class is going ahead prior to attending.
20 December - Ensure all your corporate card transactions are reconciled by Friday 20 December 2024.
17 January - In Workday you can substitute the Australia Day public holiday on Monday 27 January 2025 for an alternative day in 2025. Further information is available on the substitute Australia Day public holiday webpage and a guide on how to request the substitute day is also available online.

Days of Note
3 December - International Day of Persons with Disabilities. International Day of Persons with Disabilities and https://www.idpwd.com.au/ The theme for IDPwD 2024 is Amplifying the leadership of persons with disabilities for an inclusive and sustainable future. This theme is about people with disability as leaders. To mark this important day, UQ’s Disability Inclusion Advocacy Network (UQ DIAN) will be hosting an event called ‘You, UQ, and Disability in 2025’ at St Lucia and online. Staff are invited to join the event to share their views on disability inclusion and hear about leadership opportunities within the UQ disability community in 2025.
10 December - Human Rights Day. The theme for 2024 is Our Rights, Our Future, Right Now. Human rights can empower individuals and communities to forge a better tomorrow. By embracing and trusting the full power of human rights as the path to the world we want, we can become more peaceful, equal and sustainable.
18 December - International Migrants Day. This day reaffirms the commitment to safe and dignified migration for all.
23 December - Festivus. Festivus (/ˈfɛstɪvəs/) is a secular holiday celebrated on December 23 as an alternative to the perceived pressures and commercialism of the Christmas season. Originally created by author Daniel O'Keefe, Festivus entered popular culture after it was made the focus of the 1997 Seinfeld episode "The Strike",[1][2] which O'Keefe's son, Dan O'Keefe, co-wrote.

In The News
SPH Adjunct Professor Sandra Creamer presenting at the UNFCCC CoP29 at a Health Pavilion event entitled ‘Improving diversity and inclusion in scientific advice for climate policy making’ (Nov 16 in Baku, Azerbaijan). She spoke to some of the work she co-authored with SPH team members on strengthening Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Knowledges and voices in climate change policies (for more details, see: https://public-health.uq.edu.au/ipcc-voices).
Congratulations to Associate Professor Nick Osborne whose application was successful in the Universities Australia – DAAD Joint Research Co-operation Scheme and has also had success in the COPE proposal working with CICERO (Center for International Climate Research).
We’ve also had some success in the recent Metro South grant round, with Simon Reid and Heena Akbar both included on successful projects, and Dung Phung receiving a Global Partnerships grant from UQ.
The Australian Government is investing $2.5 million in a Pacific Climate and Health Resilience Package that will support Pacific countries to build more resilient and equitable public health systems, by strengthening regional coordination and enhancing Pacific leadership on climate change issues. Australia is also providing $4.5 million to the World Mosquito Program to improve control of mosquito-borne illnesses in Timor-Leste, Indonesia and Kiribati. These activities are funded through the Government’s $620 million Partnerships for a Healthy Region initiative which is working with governments and communities across the Pacific and Southeast Asia to build resilient and inclusive health systems. Visit here to learn more about this investment.

HDR Update
SPH HDR Subcommittee
The Subcommittee is responsible for coordinating the HDR experience and is comprised of and co-led by students and faculty members. For example, the team manages the annual HDR retreat/conference and social activities. The team is recruiting members to join the Subcommittee. If you are interested or would like more information, please contact Frankie Berardi  or Germaine Lai. An EOI form to join the 2025 SPH, Poche and CHSR Conference working group will also be distributed in the coming weeks.

A massive shoutout also goes to Frankie Berardi, Germaine Lai and the whole HDR Subcommittee for organising the HDR Week Celebration Beach Party on Tuesday 26 November. The event had great attendance, and it was lovely to see so many people getting involved.

SPH Volleyball
We are recruiting participants for an SPH volleyball team. The next game will be on Saturday 14 December. No prior volleyball experience is required; everyone is welcome. If you are interested, please contact Frankie for more information.

Frankie Berardi (Co-Chair), Germaine Lai (Secretariat), Lisa McHugh (Deputy DHDR) and Megan Ferguson (DHDR & Co-Chair).

Upcoming Events
Faculty of Medicine Excellence Awards
Wednesday 11 December. Please click on the purple link to register your attendance by Thursday 5 December.

16^th World Congress on Endometriosis
Join us at the 16th World Congress on Endometriosis in Sydney, Australia from Wednesday 21-Saturday 24 May 2025.

SPH Space update
The masterplan for the Public Health building has now been costed by the quantity surveyor and the completed business case has been submitted to the Capital Management Group (CMG) for their November meeting. We hope to hear back later this year about whether the University will fund this project.
In the meantime, the SPH Space working group is focused on opening an interim student common room on Level 1 for Semester 1, 2025. More information will be shared as plans are finalised.

SPH Review update
We continue to make progress on the School Review Recommendations with movement forward on school infrastructure, establishing the staff intranet site (details above) and importantly the staff retreat planned for this week to consolidate the work we have been doing this year on priority recommendations. Thank you to Susan and Andrew for their work in reviewing mentoring in the school, with a new plan to propose for 2025.

SPH LinkedIn Page
Please see Head of School’s report above for brief summary of retreat, with more to follow in the new year.

SPH LinkedIn Page
Continue to help build our SPH LinkedIn community by following and inviting others to follow our School of Public Health LinkedIn page. Please send Ailsa Bolton any content you would like uploaded to LinkedIn. She will need:

• An introductory paragraph to be posted that summarises the content
• Any link or document to go with the post
• Any person or organisation who needs to be tagged in the post (eg: coauthors, people in photos, partner organisations).

Alternatively, you can post on your own personal LinkedIn page and tag the School of Public Health by simply typing @UQ School of Public Health and clicking the SPH page that appears as a tag option. 

All the info  

• 2024 Academic Calendar - Academic Calendar
• 2025 Academic Calendar - Academic Calendar
• CAHP - CAHP Information & Services 
• Research News - UQ Research Main Page 
• Current Funding Opportunities - Current Funding Opportunities 
• MRFF 2024 Early to Mid-Career Researchers Initiative - MRFF 2024 Early to Mid-Career Researchers grant opportunity

SPH Research Dissemination Toolkit
Keen to disseminate your research publicly? The SPH Research Dissemination Toolkit can help you do this. 

View archived SPH announcements

From the Director’s desk

It was wonderful to see so many people at the UQCCR Director’s awards. Congratulations to the award recipients for this year. Congratulations to:

Researcher of the Year: Andreas Obermair
Clinician-Researcher of the Year: Karen Davies
Clinical Trial Researcher of the Year: Hafiz Abdul-Aziz
Professional Staff Award: Haarika Chittoory
Early-Career Researcher of the Year: Patty Mitre & Jess Schults
Mid-Career Researcher of the Year: Eva Baxter
Early-Career Researcher supervisor of the Year: Harriet Lawford
Mid-Career Researcher Supervisor of the Year: Fekade Sime
Outstanding PhD Student of the Year: Beatris Martin
PhD Supervisor of the Year: Colleen Lau
Rising Star Award: Deborah Brooks
Contribution to the life of UQCCR: Lisa Dingwall
Collaborative Team Award: QCGC

Please do not forget the Faculty excellence awards event on Wednesday 11 December. Good luck to our nominees:

Collaborators of the year award: Carlos Salomon Gallo
Diversity and inclusion award: Steve Wallis, UQCCR Dementia-Friendly Initiative
Excellence in mental and physical health, safety and wellness: UQCCR Wellness committee
Innovators of the year award: UQCCR Research Support Team
Leader of the year award (academic): Judith Greer, Kirat Chand
Rising star of the year award: Kevin Koo
Service excellence award: Lisa Dingwall

Finally, I had said I would read an email from Steve Wallis re the Wellbeing Committee at the UQCCR awards and then ran out of time. Steve wanted to acknowledge:

Sara Bell: Established the Support Pantry. Designed most of the Telly messaging
Tracey Harvey: Arranged the Plant Swap. Social Club Treasurer
Lisa Dingwall: Contributed greatly with crochet to the Plant Swap. Support panty team. Executive support
Prasidhee Vijayakumar: Established the Book Club
Jennifer Ebbott: Enacted the Telly messaging
Aakanksha Dixit: Arranged the Delta Dogs visit. Support panty team
Saiyuri Naicker: Arranged Yoga / stretching sessions at the start of the year
Bhuvana Hari: Helped arrange Yoga / stretching sessions at the start of the year
Judith Greer: Keen participant in morning teas for Vegemite, Lamington, and Plate of Origin
Behzad Kiani: Arranged the current walking competition. Support panty team
Selina Ward: Lead the formation of UQCCR Student Club and affiliating it with UQ union
Haarika Chittoory: Secretary and Support panty team
Steven Wallis: Chair, lead Welly’s Album Club
Chris Shannon: Helped arrange the Delta Dogs visit. Executive support
Diane Maresco-Pennisi: Arranged speed meeting, plan for RAP. Support panty team
Luminita Vlad: participated in meetings and events
Patty Mitre: participated in meetings and events. Dressed as meat patty
Kaijie Tang : participated in meetings and events
Tiffany Au: participated in meetings and events
Daner Ball: participated in meetings and events
David Whiley: participated in meetings and events

Finally, I want to wish everyone the best of luck with upcoming grant results which must be coming soon! I already know of one major grant success which is under embargo, but hopefully a nice sign of things to come for many people in the building.

For those about to head on Christmas leave, have a fantastic festive season and I look forward to seeing you back in 2025!

I have some leave planned from just before Christmas until mid-January. Times where I am unavailable, A/Prof Judith Greer will be UQCCR Acting Director.

Want to be included in the newsletter?
Email your updates, event, awards to news@uqccr.uq.edu.au for inclusion.

Are you a wellbeing? Check out UQCCR’s Wellbeing committee Initiatives and other Centre news on the Staff hub.

Publication of the Month – September 2024

Harriet Lawford – ECR Category

Title: Anti-filarial antibodies are sensitive indicators of lymphatic filariasis transmission and enable identification of high-risk populations and hotspots.
Journal: International Journal of Infectious Diseases.

If you've recently published as a first or last author in a Q1 journal, don't miss the chance to submit your work for Publication of the Month. Apply now: https://uniofqueensland.syd1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_dbZJmOGJ85zgXsi.

Applications close 7^th of each month.

UQCCR Infectious Diseases Theme Showcase
This is a reminder of the Infectious Diseases Theme showcase on Thursday 5 December in the UQCCR auditorium. The showcase is on from 9am to 5pm.
UQCCR HDR/ECR Symposium
Tues 10 Dec 2-4 pm Auditorium
Join us for the second HDR/ECR symposium! 

These will be held quarterly, and offer an opportunity to practice presenting. This Research Quarter’s Symposium will showcase 15 minute presentations and 3 min poster pitches to help prepare for an upcoming conference. Feedback will be available if requested. Please come and support our HDRs and ECRs and hone your own presentation skills.

All are welcome and encouraged to attend.

Hosted by the Research Training Committee - contact Amy for more information amy.reed@uq.edu.au.

Seminar Series
The seminar series has completed for 2024. We look forward to seeing you in 2025.

UQCCR updates continued
See standing items such as social club chocolates, after-hours building access and research support services on UQCCR's tab in the Staff Hub.

Faculty’s Research and Statistical Support Services (RASSS)
Need help with study design, data analysis, manuscript, grant application or PhD supervision? To discuss bespoke statistical support at UQCCR, please complete a request form. See more information under the Research Support banner.

UQ clinical trials procedure
If you are establishing a clinical trial, please check the UQ Ethics page to ensure that you are familiar with UQ requirements, such as submitting additional notifications, obtaining any additional insurance for international sites, completing the UQ template Risk Assessment and Management Plan (RAMP) and ensuring your GCP training is current. Sabine is happy to assist with any enquires. Alternatively, please visit the Research Support team in Room 735 for any questions.
 
Budgets
Many research contracts submitted for signature are not using the UQ costing and pricing tool and do not factor in overheads or provide a relevant independent exemption reference, such as the funding body’s rules on their website. Failure to confirm these aspects early can mean delays in getting your contract signed or GRL issued. If you have any questions about the CPT or overheads, please contact Roheen.
 
COIs
FACs and research contracts require confirmation that your online COI disclosures, if applicable, have been approved by UQ, before a GRL can be issued or a research contract signed. Online approval happens via Workday in consultation with your line manager. As the COI process can take a few weeks, please ensure that you attend to your annual COI and updates, and factor in the timing required to avoid delays.
 
Research infrastructure
If there is a piece of equipment or infrastructure that may benefit several research groups within UQCCR please let us know by filling in this form ( UQCCR Equipment & Infrastructure Request Form March2024.docx) and submitting it to the CCR Facilities Desk (FacilitiesDesk@uqccr.uq.edu.au). Information provided will be discussed within the Infrastructure Committee and can be used for developing external grant and/or philanthropic opportunities, or be used for developing access through the Faculty capital replacement scheme or via access at alternative locations. Please also discuss any infrastructure/equipment issues with the Facilities Team.

Research funding support
Visit the Faculty website for current research funding opportunities. Please contact Roheen Gill well ahead of any deadline if you are planning to apply for upcoming opportunities and Sara Gollschewski to discuss strategic funding alignment. You can find a summary of funding support and assistance available to researchers for administration, reporting and closing out of existing funding in this document under 'Research Resources'.

View archived announcements from UQCCR

 View archived announcements from The Frazer Institute