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MUARC goes global

17 October 2007

PhD student Virginia Routley takes part in a MUARC research project in China.

The Monash University Accident Research Centre has long been renowned as Australia's leading injury-prevention research centre. Now MUARC's expertise is going international as the Centre undertakes research activities across the globe.

MUARC is currently involved in about 30 projects in Cambodia, Canada, China, Japan, Laos, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Philippines, South Africa, Thailand, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, the United States of America, Vietnam, and throughout the European Union, including France and Sweden.

In Canada, Senior Research Fellow Dr Lesley Day, a specialist in farm and rural safety, is an investigator on a large study of farm families funded by the Canadian Institute of Health Research. The study is set to follow the injury experience of 13,000 farmers over a two-year period.

In Europe, MUARC's Chair of Road Safety, Professor Brian Fildes, is set to be involved in a major upgrade of the Euro New Car Assessment Program, which assesses new vehicles for crashworthiness.

In New Zealand, Postgraduate student Carlyn Muir is investigating how vision impairment affects driving ability, and Dr Stuart Newstead recently completed a major project tracking crash involvement in the New Zealand transport fleet.

The French National Institute of Transport and Safety Research (INRETS) has called on Dr Max Cameron's expertise to evaluate speed-camera use and effectiveness in reducing crashes.

A Chinese Government delegate takes the wheel in the MUARC simulator during a recent visit.

In the Western Pacific region, MUARC has been designated a World Health Organisation Collaborating Centre for Violence, Injuries and Disabilities. Working closely with the Ministries of Health in all member countries, MUARC's role is to help reduce the burden of injury, particularly from drowning, across the region.

China is especially interested in MUARC's expertise, with Professor Joan-Ozanne Smith working closely with the Chinese Ministry of Health, China Centres for Disease Control, and paediatric hospitals in Nanjing and Beijing. She has also been appointed international consultant to the Zhejiang Province.

MUARC continues to host an increasing number of international delegations as the world community visits the Centre to gain first-hand knowledge of its research activities and findings. Already this year, leading government health and injury prevention representatives from Japan, Malaysia, China and Poland have visited the Monash campus.

"Injury is an ever increasing proportion of the global burden of disease and it affects all ages and gender groups in all countries of the world," MUARC director Professor Rod McClure said.