17 September 2008
17 September 2008
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| Professor Richard Boyd |
Monash University will host a public forum and information day this month to raise awareness about stem cells and their therapeutic uses.
Stem Cell Awareness Day aims to foster a greater understanding of stem cells by a range of groups in the community - including patients and their support groups, clinicians, ethicists, researchers, students, and commercial interests.
Director of the Monash Immunology and Stem Cell Laboratory (MISCL) Professor Richard Boyd said stem cells were the inspiration for a whole new generation of research scientists, astonishing technical breakthroughs and thriving commercial opportunities.
"However, the enthusiasm for stem cell research has been tempered by unrealistic promises and expectations, and significant confusion and controversy in the community, often due to inadequate public education, ethical concerns associated with the use of embryonic stem cells, and the perceived threat of human cloning," Professor Boyd said.
Professor Boyd said interest in stem cells had escalated dramatically over the past couple of years and the public forum would enable people to access information about the stem cell issues that confused them or that they simply wanted to know more about.
"The forum will address questions such as what stem cells are, what their clinical uses are and what ability they have to help patients immediately," he said.
"The forum will also address questions surrounding the banking of babies’ stem cells and safety, regulatory and ethical issues."
Stem cells serve as a repair system for the body because they can develop into many different cell types with specialised functions, such as a red blood, muscle or brain cells, which the body may be in need of.
Professor Boyd said stem cells were already being used extensively in various treatments and had the potential to treat a wide range of the most devastating degenerative and induced diseases including those of the cardiac and nervous systems, vascular and respiratory systems, autoimmune diseases (such as multiple sclerosis, type 1 diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, and lupus), immunodeficiency states, and cancer.
"Stem cell therapies may also become useful for treating a wide range of sporting and other physical injuries, and may assist in recovery from surgery," he said.
Stem Cell Awareness Day will be held on 25 September from 10 am to 5.30 pm at the Robert Blackwood Hall, Clayton campus.
To register your interest in attending or for more information, visit the Stem Cell Awareness Day website.
17 September 2008
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| Associate Professor Mark Baker |
Monash academic, Associate Professor Mark Baker has warned that murderous tendencies may be present in all of us.
In his controversial Research Month lecture, Am I a murderer? An insight into genocide, Associate Professor Baker told of the genocide experienced in the Holocaust, Rwanda, Bosnia and the killing fields of Cambodia, asking whether the capacity to commit genocide lies within all of us.
Associate Professor Baker, whose father is a Holocaust survivor, gave a chilling account of the many similarities between the events of politically motivated mass murder throughout history.
"Even to this day on the killing fields you can still feel clothes and bones crunching under your feet like leaves," he said, recounting his own experience of visiting Cambodia.
The lecture also covered the theories that try to make sense of the unnecessary loss of life.
"The 20th century could be known as the "age of genocide"," he said. "War has claimed at least 40 million lives. Genocide has taken almost 200 million."
"Based on the historical research presented this evening, we all have the potential in certain circumstances to be transformed into mass killers," he said.
"We must never forget the past and be vigilant against the signs to avoid this horror from happening in the future."
For more information on Monash Research Month visit the Research Matters website.
17 September 2008
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| Dr Amy Cutter-Mackenzie |
A commitment to environmental education and sustainability has earned Monash lecturer Dr Amy Cutter-Mackenzie a prestigious award.
Dr Cutter-Mackenzie, from the Faculty of Education at the Peninsula campus, was one of seven Monash academics recently awarded an Australian Learning and Teaching Council Citation for Outstanding Contributions to Student Learning.
She received her citation for implementing programs at primary schools in the Mornington Peninsula area that involve Monash student teachers conducting environmental education and sustainability workshops and lessons with school students.
Dr Cutter-Mackenzie, who has implemented the programs since joining Monash in 2005, said student teachers learned more effectively about environmental education in school classrooms than lecture theatres.
"Environmental education is ideally taught in a real-life context such as a school, dealing with real community environment issues," she said.
"Teaching in a lecture format on campus for a subject such as environmental education has far less impact."
Dr Cutter-Mackenzie and Monash student teachers have worked with primary school students on a range of projects that contribute to local environment.
The projects have included Frankston Primary School students monitoring their local water catchments and developing strategies to improve water quality, and Carrum Primary School students planting trees.
Other projects have included building and maintaining school vegetable gardens, investigating alternatives to plastic shopping bags and staging environmental-community fairs.
"My approach to environmental education goes beyond mainstream environmental issues such as climate change, having a significant focus on the way in which human beings interact with the environment and nature," Dr Cutter-Mackenzie said.
As a result of Dr Cutter-Mackenzie's work, all Monash early childhood and primary teaching students will undertake core subjects in environmental education from next year.
Find out more about the Bachelor of Early Childhood Education and Bachelor of Primary Education at Monash.
17 September 2008
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| Raise your hand. Australian University Games, 28 September to 3 October. |
Monash will field the single largest team at the Australian University Games (AUG) with more than 550 students competing during the week-long competition.
Monash is proud to be Principal Partner University for the Australian University Games, which are Australia's largest annual multi-sports event.
This year more than 6500 student athletes from 42 universities will compete across 30 sports at a number of the city's best sporting complexes.
The University's Clayton campus will host six sports -- touch football, Australian Rules football, badminton, squash, hockey and handball.
It is ten years since Monash last took number one honours at the AUG, after the narrowest of defeats for the overall title last year.
Director Monash Sport Martin Doulton called on the Monash community to show their support for TeamMONASH™ during the games.
"I encourage everyone -- students, staff, family and friends -- to come and support TeamMONASH™ as we take on the might of our closest rivals, the University of Melbourne and the University of Sydney," Mr Doulton said.
"To give everyone that extra lift Monash is providing every supporter with their very own supporter pack that includes a big TeamMONASH™ hand."
In other games news, TeamMONASH™ has announced the Oaktree Foundation's Schools 4 Schools program as its official charity.
Schools 4 Schools aims to educate young leaders incapacitated by poverty by creating cross-cultural partnerships between schools in Australia and schools in the developing world.
In 2008, the program is being rolled out in 13 schools in Melbourne and 12 schools in the KwaZulu-Natal province in South Africa.
Schools 4 Schools Director Phil Barker said the not-for-profit organisation had found a "perfect match" in Monash with its dedication to research and education.
"The University's support has allowed us to expand Schools 4 Schools to more schools and provinces in South Africa, allowing us to enable even more young people to reach their potential," Mr Barker said.
The Australian University Games will be held from 28 September to 3 October.
Further information is available from the AUG website.
17 September 2008
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| Marian Hosking |
Monash University's Faculty of Art & Design is celebrating the achievements of two of its academics who have been awarded prestigious Australia Council Fellowships.
Coordinator of the Metals and Jewellery Studio Marian Hosking and lecturer in sculpture Dr Kathy Temin received the fellowships, awarded to artists to enable them to realise ambitious projects and develop their research practice.
Dean Professor John Redmond said the fellowships were the pinnacle of Australia Council acknowledgment.
"Only four are awarded each year," Professor Redmond said. "To have two of the recipients in Victoria is unusual. To have two at universities in Victoria is extraordinary. But to get two of the four at one university is quite exceptional. It is an outstanding achievement."
Dr Temin has exhibited extensively over the past 20 years and the fellowship is the latest achievement in a long line of awards.
She was the recipient of an Australia Council residency at PS1 in New York in 1997 and, in 1999, won the prestigious Moët and Chandon Art Fellowship. In 1996 Dr Temin was a recipient of the Anne and Gordon Samstag International Visual Arts Scholarship.
Marian Hosking is one of Australia's foremost contemporary jewellers with almost 40 years' professional experience working almost exclusively with silver.
Her work is represented in numerous collections in Australia and overseas, including the National Gallery of Australia and the Powerhouse Museum in Sydney. She has exhibited in prestigious galleries in Japan, Germany, Austria, United Kingdom and South Korea.
"The faculty is delighted with Marian and Kathy's success and extends best wishes for the research they will undertake on the fellowships," Professor Redmond said.
Professor Redmond also acknowledged the success of lecturers Dr Tom Nicholson and Lilly Hibberd who were awarded Australia Council development grants for new works.
For more information visit the Faculty of Art and Design website.
17 September 2008
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| Dr Penia Kresnowati |
Indonesian researcher Dr Penia Kresnowati will spend two years conducting stem-cell related research in Monash University's Department of Chemical Engineering after winning a prestigious UNESCO-L'oreal Fellowship for Women in Science.
Dr Kresnowati was one of 15 young women from around the world awarded a fellowship, which are worth up to $40,000 and permit the winners to conduct research at a host organisation of their choice outside their home country.
During her time at Monash, Dr Kresnowati, 31, will conduct research into the design of bioreactors for creating health products from stem cells. She will be under the supervision of Monash researchers Dr Gareth Forde and Professor Dong Chen, in cooperation with the Australian Stem Cell Centre.
Dr Kresnowati has been lecturing at the Department of Chemical Engineering, Institut Teknologi Bandung, Indonesia, and has recently finished research into optimising the production of bio-based products.
"In Monash I found a research group that conducts research in biotechnology from the engineering aspect, which matches my interests very well," Dr Kresnowati said.
"Monash University also provides an atmosphere that welcomes international researchers."
To learn more about Chemical Engineering at Monash visit the Department website.
17 September 2008
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| PhD student Ronli Sifris |
Monash Law faculty PhD student Ronli Sifris has won a prestigious fellowship to deliver a conference paper arguing that countries that place legal restrictions on early-term abortion violate international laws protecting women's right to optimum health.
Ms Sifris has been awarded the inaugural Professor John Harber Phillips Fellowship and will travel to the Greek island of Samos next year to speak at the 12th Greek/Australian International Legal and Medical Conference.
A panel of legal and medical experts selected Ms Sifris for the fellowship on the basis of her Curriculum Vitae and a 1500 word abstract of her paper, Laws Prohibiting Abortion: A violation of the right to health?
The paper presents research showing that women living in countries with legal restrictions on abortion experience significantly increased incidence of serious health problems resulting from unsafe abortion practices.
"An estimated 5.3 million women each year suffer temporary or permanent disability resulting from unsafe abortion procedures," the paper states.
"The empirical evidence demonstrates that there is a direct correlation between laws relating to abortion and the safety of abortion procedures - the more restrictive the laws, the higher the incidence of unsafe abortion practices."
Ms Sifris' paper highlights that Article 12 of the United Nation's International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights provides for "the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health".
Ms Sifris argues that given the negative health consequences of legally restricting access to abortion, such restrictions constitute a violation of international law.
"Approximately 26 per cent of the world's population reside in countries where abortion is generally prohibited," her paper states.
"It is argued that the time has come for the international community to take a stance and to assert that restrictions on abortion violate the international legal right to health."
17 September 2008
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| Peter Dombrovskis, Morning mist, Rock Island Bend, Franklin River 1979 |
Chairman of the Monash Sustainability Institute and former Minister for Environment, Water and Climate Change Professor John Thwaites will officially open The Ecologies Project at the Monash University Museum of Art on Saturday 20 September.
The Museum's curators Geraldine Barlow and Dr Kyla McFarlane chose the title of the exhibition to highlight the need to find a balance with the ecological systems that sustain us.
"This timely exhibition will include work by 40 artists who are exploring issues of sustainability, climate change and the idea of ecology as both form and metaphor," Ms Barlow said.
"Artists have long drawn inspiration from nature, as well as being advocates for a sustainable relationship between humanity and the environment."
Dr McFarlane said The Ecologies Project also reflected the important sustainability research being undertaken across Monash.
"We have asked researchers from the Monash Institute of Sustainability and from other faculties to contribute text responses to the exhibition catalogue to highlight their important work," Dr McFarlane said.
Vice-Chancellor Professor Richard Larkins said The Ecologies Project provided an exemplary survey of the complex ways in which we shape and are shaped by our environment.
"The artworks and writing it showcases are indicative of the depth and diversity of critical reflection on sustainability issues taking place at Monash, and by artists more widely," Professor Larkins said.
"In developing this exhibition the Monash University Museum of Art makes an important contribution to our common project of building a more sustainable future for this and future generations."
The launch of The Ecologies Project will be held on Saturday 20 September from 2 pm to 4 pm with opening remarks by Professor Thwaites at 2.45 pm. For further information visit the Monash University Museum of Art website.
17 September 2008
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| Kristian Rodd and James Kett |
Monash students Kristian Rodd and James Kett have both received scholarships to study in China for their performance at the recent Chinese Bridge competition held by the Chinese Government in Changsha, Hunan Province. The prestigious competition is an annual event held to promote the study of Chinese language by non-native speakers.
The students were representing Melbourne, after receiving first and second place in the Victorian round of the competition earlier this year.
The final stage of the competition saw 110 competitors from 55 countries participate in a demanding final round, which required students to complete a range of tasks in Chinese language including written examinations, interviews, artistic performances, speeches, role-playing and debates.
As the recipient of second place in the competition, Kristian has been awarded an all-expenses paid scholarship to study in China for 12 months.
James, who received an award for Outstanding Originality, was also granted a six-month scholarship, covering all relevant study and living costs.
The achievements of both students, the best results of any Australian university students to date, follow strong performances by other Monash students in previous years.
For more information visit the Chinese Studies Program website.
3 September 2008
Worldwide, there is a growing shortage of high quality academic staff for the university sector. In Australia, the academic workforce is aging, with probably only farming having an older age profile. A recent University of Adelaide study concluded that there was an increase of more than 80 per cent in the academic workforce aged over 50 between 1991 and 2006. The huge expansion of universities in China, Korea, India and South East Asia means that we can no longer expect to attract large numbers of academic staff from these countries. And with a plateau in the number of Australian students undertaking research higher degrees over the last decade, the situation is likely to worsen.
So far, Monash University has continued to attract excellent academic staff and in most fields the shortage of candidates has not yet impacted negatively on recruitment. However, in some areas the problem is already apparent and it is inevitable that in the coming years it will spread to other areas.
To respond to these challenges, we must provide an exciting and rewarding work environment. Results from the staff attitude survey last year recorded a big improvement from two years before, and showed a level of staff satisfaction that compared well with other universities and with the commercial sector. But the survey results also indicated that there was plenty of room for improvement and all work areas are working hard in response.
Staff must be adequately rewarded for their work. The consistent underfunding of universities over the last dozen years has made this difficult to achieve. Unless the current reviews of higher education and innovation deliver substantially increased levels of university funding, it will be difficult to address this significantly in the current round of enterprise bargaining. Recent discussions I have had with senior members of Government and with Government departments reassure me that they are aware that university funding must be increased. So there is perhaps room for cautious optimism on this front. Given the global nature of the academic market, this will be essential to the viability of the university sector as a whole. Monash will certainly be seeking to deliver the best salary outcome that is compatible with the University's long-term financial sustainability, and also to provide our staff with the best possible work environment and conditions.
As well as responding to the needs of the present, Monash also wants to provide our staff with forward-looking opportunities for personal and professional development. In this context, I am pleased to announce the launch of the new performance development process for our academic staff.
This new process has been endorsed by the Council and the senior management group of the University. It is essential that it is followed by all academic supervisors when providing feedback and performance development opportunities to their staff.
The process emphasises the development aspect of performance and creates a focus on career development through personal and professional growth. It does this by applying three guiding principles: growth, feedback and accountability.
The first principle, growth, is about providing every academic staff member with personal and professional development opportunities.
The second principle is feedback. This means actively seeking constructive feedback -- through supervisor reviews, other evaluations (such as 360 degree feedback), output measures, and performance discussions, or more informally through day to day conversations.
The third principle, accountability, equates to transparent documentation of academic staff members' goals, workload and achievements.
The Human Resources Division will be delivering a series of information sessions for all academic staff members and appropriate training and education workshops for supervisors of academic staff members. I encourage all members of the academic staff to avail themselves of this opportunity to learn about the new process.
For further information on the new Performance Development Process: Academic Staff, visit the Performance Development Process website.
17 September 2008
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Name: Dr Zane Andrews
Org Unit: Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences, Clayton
Title: Senior Research Fellow
How long have you been with Monash University?
Just over a month.
Prior to working at Monash, where were you located and what was your role?
I was a post doctoral fellow at Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, US.
What challenges are ahead in your current role?
Getting lab space, grants, students, respect, scientific attention, ethics approval … and trying out the good food in the campus centre.
What is it about your job that holds your interest or is particularly satisfying?
Creativity, collaboration, travel, good publications, desire and ability to learn something new, meeting new people, academic and personal freedom and the banter with the ladies in the departmental business office.
What is your favourite place in the world and why?
The beaches around Coromandel, New Zealand, and the mountains around Wanaka, New Zealand. Stunning natural beauty, peace and adventure play ground for surf and snow enthusiasts….oh and they have great fush and chups.
What is the best piece of advice you have received?
Treat every breath like it's your last, don't drink more than 16 beers in one go and always tell your Mum that you love her.
What is something about yourself that most of your colleagues wouldn't know?
Um…..I played guitar in a postdoc band at Yale called The Proton Pumps. We did a mean cover of Guns n' Roses' Sweet Child of Mine but other than that we were politely average, kind of bad actually.
17 September 2008
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Monash is home to Victoria's best gridiron team. The Monash University Warriors, based at the Clayton campus, finished the 2008 season unbeaten with a 6-0 win over the Croydon Rangers in the Vic Bowl, Gridiron Victoria's Grand Final.
For more information visit the Warriors website.
For more information on other clubs at Monash visit the Monash Sport website.