In brief
Prof McMillen a great mind in health
Recently
back from the Australia 2020 Summit, UniSA’s Deputy Vice Chancellor
and Vice President, Research and Innovation, Professor Caroline
McMillen (pictured left) has been featured in the April edition of
the National Health and Medical Research Council’s podcast series,
Great Minds in Health.
Director of UniSA’s Research Laboratory for the Early Origins of Adult Health, Prof McMillen talks about her research into the area of pregnancy and foetal development, in particular looking at the mechanisms underlying the early programming of adult disease.
Based on research covering a large range of populations in different countries across the globe, it is clear that the nutritional environment before birth has everything to do with one’s health after birth, according to Prof McMillen. She said that being born small has been linked to an increased risk of high blood pressure, heart disease and obesity in adult life.
By gaining a better understanding of how people’s appetite levels and food preferences may be set at an early stage in development, Prof McMillen believes we may be able to use more appropriate methods of intervention.
Listen to the podcast or download the transcript of the interview.
Lecturer of the year
Congratulations to Associate Professor Kazem Abhary, who was
chosen by fellow staff and students as the winner at UniSA in the
2007 Lecturer of the Year competition run by university job website,
UniJobs.com.au
The Lecturer of the Year competition gives students and fellow
staff members the
chance to show their appreciation for the hard work and dedication
that goes into educating others.
Nominations for the 2008 Lecturer of the Year are now open and students are encouraged to vote for their favourite, most innovative and engaging lecturer to represent UniSA as 2008 Lecturer of the Year by logging on to the website
Architecture welcomes award-winning Professor
The chief architect for UniSA’s award-winning Kaurna building, John Wardle, has joined the University as an Adjunct Professor. Considered one of Australia’s leading and most innovative architects, Prof Wardle acknowledges his UniSA commission to complete a suite of new buildings at City West has been seminal in the development of his practice. Completed in 2005, the Kaurna building is UniSA’s key arts and architecture facility and was designed to encourage interplay within the arts/education community. In 2005 Prof Wardle’s Kaurna building won the Royal Australian Institute of Architecture (RAIA) SA Branch prize for Interior Design and then National RAIA Sir Zelman Cowan award for public buildings. It went on to feature in the Australian pavilion at the Venice Architecture Biennale that same year. Prof Wardle will run design workshops and master classes for architecture students at UniSA. He gave his first public lecture for the University this month.
Enduring partners
Way back in September 1992, UniSA and the Department of Further
Education, Employment and Science and Technology signed their first
Memorandum of Understanding, underpinning collaboration and
cooperation that would improve educational outcomes for thousands of
South Australians.
At the end of April 2008, the two institutions reaffirmed this enduring partnership when Vice Chancellor Professor Peter Høj and Department CEO Brian Cunningham (pictured) signed a new agreement extending to 2012.
The agreement continues to encourage students to move between TAFE and the University, building on skills training to develop professional careers and augmenting theoretical studies with industry-based skills training.
Our rep in Olympia
Congratulations to UniSA’s David Badenoch who has been selected as the only Australian researcher to represent the Australian Olympic Committee at the 8th International Olympic Academy (IOA) Session for Educators and Officials of Higher Education Institutes of Physical Education in Olympia, Greece, this July.
The IOA is a multicultural interdisciplinary centre that supports study and promotion of the social and sports science principles that underpin Olympic Ideal first expressed in ancient Greece and then through the contemporary Olympic Movement founded by Baron de Coubertin. Senior Lecturer in Physical Education, Sport and Play Studies, Badenoch will present a paper looking at how key partnerships can underpin the success of the Youth Olympics, and at the same time support an increase in children’s participation in sport worldwide.
Health economist on Taskforce
UniSA’s Foundation Chair in Health Economics, Professor Leonie
Segal has been appointed to the Federal Government’s
newly established National Preventative Health Taskforce.
Made up of health experts across Australia, the role of the Taskforce will be to develop a National Preventative Health Strategy to focus on the burden of chronic disease currently caused by tobacco, alcohol and obesity. This follows the findings of a new report, which shows that the social costs of tobacco, alcohol and illicit drugs have risen to $56.1 billion annually.
Chaired by internationally recognised leader in health promotion and preventative health, Dr Rob Moodie, the Taskforce will seek input from medicines, food and alcohol industries, consumers and experts from other areas such as transport and town planning, in developing a preventative health strategy by June 2009.
The Taskforce reports directly to the Minister for Health and Ageing, with support from the Department of Health and Ageing.