Two Griffith University law graduates passionate about social justice are reshaping the profession.
Minnie Hannaford and Maddy Harrington were recently elected to the Queensland Law Society‘s (QLS) Future Leaders Committee.
The new committee will put issues like mental health and diversity at the top of the agenda, providing a platform to help young lawyers change the culture of their profession.
Griffith Law School graduate Maddy Harrington
One of Australia’s first openly transgender lawyers, Maddy is hoping to make the legal profession more inclusive.
“You can’t be what you don’t see, and so I use my visibility as an openly transgender woman to show that being in the law is not off limits to people of transgender experience,” she said.
“I’m comfortable, open and out, but I’ve had friends who’ve had very different experience in the legal profession.
“Times are changing, but there is still a lot of work to be done – these kinds of cultural changes don’t happen overnight.”
Griffith graduate Minnie Hannaford
Fellow Griffith Law School graduate Minnie Hannaford graduated in 2014, and has spent the past five years juggling a high-flying career as a litigator with pro bono work at community legal centres, helping refugees and asylum seekers navigate the legal process.
She is now an associate at a large national commercial law firm, Holding Redlich, and is keen to advocate for young lawyers across Queensland.
“Almost half of the members of the Queensland Law Society are 35 years and younger – this committee provides an opportunity for their voices and concerns to be heard,” she said.
“We have a great chance to make an impact on the profession at large.”
Minnie said her experience as a young woman of colour had made her determined to make the profession more open and inclusive of people from all backgrounds.
“The most obvious gains have been in gender diversity and I’ve noticed real change taking place, but the conversation can’t stop at gender,” she said.
“It can seem overwhelming, but that is no reason to stop having these discussions.
“This profession can be slow to change, but we’ve made giant leaps already and I’m excited to see how we can improve the experience of being a lawyer in Queensland.”
Born in Ethiopia and adopted by Australian parents at the age of three, Minnie said she was driven by a passion for social justice and equal opportunity.
“I’ve always been an advocate – I grew up knowing the value that comes from including people with different experiences and stories,” she said.
“The opportunity to study at Griffith shaped me in more ways than I realised. It fired my passion for social justice and a focus on ensuring that quality education is accessible to people from all backgrounds.
“I got into the legal profession to make the biggest impact I could – the law is something that affects all of us, it binds us together and touches every human.
“The experience I had at Griffith made me unafraid to be myself and make my presence known.”
Children are involved in technology-facilitated abuse in 27 per cent of domestic violence cases, a new eSafety report co-authored by Griffith University researchers reveals.
The report, commissioned by eSafety and funded by the Department of Social Services under theNational Plan to Reduce Violence Against Women and Their Children 2010-2022, reveals that where domestic violence practitioners have knowledge of technology-facilitated abuse involving children, monitoring and stalking is the most prevalent type of abuse reported.
Lead researcher Associate Professor Molly Dragiewicz from Griffith Criminology Institute said the research provided clear evidence of the harmful effects of technology-facilitated abuse on children, including impacts on their mental health, education, and relationships with the non-abusive parent, as well as their everyday lives.
“This study provides evidence that children are highly involved in men’s domestic violence against mothers. Rather than being exposed to or witnessing abuse, children play a central role in coercive control,’’ she said.
“Abuse does not end at separation. With most families pushed into co-parenting post-separation despite histories of domestic violence, technology facilitated abuse often escalates at separation.
“The physical exchange of children provides opportunities for continued abuse and transfer of devices that can be used in technology-facilitated stalking.”
The report found common reasons for involving the child include wanting to threaten or manipulate, disparage or harass adult victims, or get information about the activities or location of child or adult victims.
It also found technology-facilitated abuse is typically perpetrated using common, commercially available devices and platforms — mobile phones, texting and social media — that do not require sophisticated technical expertise. It can even involve gaming devices such as Xbox or PlayStation. Many perpetrators don’t see their misuse of these technologies as abusive or part of domestic violence.
Associate Professor Dragiewicz said the research had become even urgent during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“There has been greater reliance on technology. This has increased the opportunity for abuse, as reflected by the dramatic increase in image-based abuse and adult cyber abuse reports to eSafety this year.
“What is needed is a clear understanding of children’s experiences of technology-facilitated abuse to ensure that technology companies and intervention services are identifying it and developing appropriate responses to help victims and prevent future violence.
“Cybersecurity policy has a blind spot when it comes to intimate threats. The focus on corporate cybersecurity and threats from foreign hostile actors leaves out some of the most common cybersecurity threats, those from intimate partners.”
The combined use of probiotic and prebiotic supplementation may reduce the mortality rate of preterm infants if given in their first few months of life, a new Griffith University study has found.
Using advanced big data analysis to identify specific probiotic supplements, researchers from the School of Medicine analysed 45 randomised controlled trials with 12,320 participants from 19 different locations including the US, Asia, Europe, Africa and Australia.
They found Bifidobacterium plus prebiotic supplementation is the optimal intervention in reducing infant mortality, while Lactobacillus plus prebiotic supplementation is the optimal intervention in reducing necrotising enterocolitis (NEC).
The duration of treatment varied from two to nine weeks or covered the infant’s hospitalisation. Baseline parameters including gestational age, birth weight, sex and sample size were similar across the study.
“Despite improvements in gestation management and healthcare, pre-term birth remains a common and serious pregnancy problem,” says lead researcher Associate Professor Jing Sun from the School of Medicine.
“The prevalence of pre-term birth ranges from 5% to 18% across 184 countries and 15 million infants are born pre-term globally.
“As intestinal muscosa is a natural barrier for migration of bacteria, immature immune system and gastrointestinal tracts are at risk of complications and are a leading cause of neonatal death.”
Associate Professor Sun said recent studies suggest the composition of infants’ gut microbiota is affected by birth weight and gestational age.
“Altered gut microbiota has been proven to put infants at high risk of developing NEC and sepsis and they often present at a late stage.
“It is evident that early probiotic supplementation may benefit premature infants by improving their gastrointestinal tolerance again potential pathogens and regulating the altered gut microbiota to that of a healthy infant.
“We hope this study will contribute to a better understanding of combined probiotics and its effectiveness in reducing future disease burden caused by preterm birth.”
Key Griffith University research projects have received $4.5 million in funding from the National Health and Medical Research Council.
Announced on December 15 by the Federal Minister for Health, The Honorable Greg Hunt MP, the seven Ideas Grants projects will contribute to vital health and medical research.
Deputy Vice Chancellor (Research) Professor Mario Pinto said the funding highlights the extraordinary work conducted by the University’s researchers in addressing major societal health challenges.
“These projects have the potential to make a significant difference to people’s health and wellbeing. I extend my congratulations and appreciation to all staff who have contributed to these efforts.”
More than half the funding for Griffith University was awarded to projects within theInstitute for Glycomics, withfour research projects securing $2.56 million to explore a super vaccine that tackles bothinfluenza virus andGroup A Streptococcus bacteria and other vaccine development projects that tackle other clinically important bacterial infections.
Institute Director Professor Mark von Itzstein AO said the awards cemented the Institute’s reputation as a leading biomedical research institute.
“Our institute is focussed on translational research outcomes that diagnose, prevent and treat diseases of global impact. These grants will significantly assist our researchers to deliver on our mission to achieve a disease-free world.”
NHMRC Ideas
Dr Mehfuz Zaman, Professor Mark von Itzstein and Professor Michael Good (Institute for Glycomics) awarded $707, 717 for the project ‘Vaccine to prevent Influenza Virus and Bacterial superinfection’ (Associate Professor Victor Huber, University of South Dakota).
Associate Professor Kate Seib, Professor Michael Jennings and Dr Arun Everest-Dass (Institute for Glycomics) awarded $826,490 for the project ‘Gonococcal vaccine development guided by a cross-protective meningococcal vaccine’ (Dr Caroline Thng, Gold Coast Health).
Dr Freda Jen, Associate Professor Kate Seib, Professor Michael Jennings and Dr Milton Kiefel (Institute for Glycomics) awarded $526,949.6 for the project ‘Targeting a bacterial glycol-Achilles heel to make new vaccines for Haemophilus influenzae and Neisseria gonorrhoeae’.
Professor Michael Jennings, Associate Professor Thomas Haselhorst, Dr Lucy Shewell, Dr Christopher Day (Institute for Glycomics) awarded $608,425 for the project ‘Structure and biophysical analysis aided design of novel toxoid vaccines for a major class of bacterial toxins’ (Prof James Paton, The University of Adelaide, Prof Mark Walker, The University of Queensland and Prof Victor Torres, New York University).
Dr David Lloyd, Dr Claudio Pizzolato, Dr David Saxby and Dr Laura Diamond (Menzies Health Institute Queensland) awarded $860, 231 for the project Osteoarthritis compass: ‘Predicting personalized disease onset and progression with future capacity for clinical use’ (Dr Michelle Hall, Assoc Prof Adam Bryant University of Melbourne, Prof David Hunter, University of Sydney; Prof Juha Toyras, Dr Shekhar Chandra, Assoc Prof Craig Engstrom The University of Queensland; Dr Jurgen Fripp, CSIRO Australian e-Health Research Centre; Prof Rami Korhonen, University of Eastern Finland).
Professor Heidi Zeeman, Dr David Painter and Professor Elizabeth Kendall (Menzies Health Institute Queensland) awarded $513, 483 for the project ‘Dimensional Attention Modelling for Neglect Detection (DIAMOND): A novel application for brain injury’ (Prof Julie Bernhardt, Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health).
Associate Professor Hang Ta (Queensland Micro and Nanotechnology Centre/GRIDD) awarded $523, 342 for the project ‘Developing smart nanomedicine to enable advanced diagnosis and stimuli-responsive treatment for atherosclerosis and thrombosis’ (Dr Nghia Truong Phuoc, Monash University; Dr Gary Cowin, Dr Nyoman Kurniawan, Prof Zhiping Xu, The University of Queensland and Prof Karlheinz Peter, Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute).
Griffith researchers involved in research led by other institutions
NHMRC Ideas
Prof Randipsingh Bindra, Dr Mo Chen, Assoc Prof James St John, Assoc Prof Jenny Ekberg, Dr Brent McMonagle (Griffith Health) are part of a team led by Assoc Prof Jeremy Crook (University of Wollongong) awarded $805,064.45 for the project titled ‘A wireless electric nerve-guide for peripheral nerve repair’ (Dr Eva Tomaskovic-Crook, University of Wollongong).
Assoc Prof Joshua Byrnes (MHIQ, Health) is part of a team led by Assoc Prof Maree Toombs (The University of Queensland) awarded $1,279,602.45 for the project titled ‘Advancing equitable and non-discriminatory access to health services for First Nations peoples: A multidisciplinary Queensland Human Rights Act case study’ (Dr Shivashankar Hiriyur Nagaraj, Queensland University of Technology; Jodie Luck, Mr DanielWilliamson, Queensland Health; Mr Jed Fraser, Queensland Aboriginal and Islander Health Council; Prof Anthony Smith, Dr Claire Brolan Dr Caitlin Curtis, Dr Sandra Creamer, Prof Wendy Hoy, Dr Amelia Radke (The University of Queensland), Dr Kelly Dingli (Queensland Aboriginal and Islander Health Council); Mr Gregory Pratt (The Council of the Queensland Institute of Medical Research)
ARC Linkage 2020 Round 1
Dr Pooja Sawrikar (School of Human Services and Social Work) is part of a Western Sydney University project led by Assoc Prof Rebekah Grace awarded $387,107 for the project ‘Upholding the right to cultural connection for children in care‘.
Griffith University’s Institute for Glycomics has been awarded $2.66 million in Ideas Grant funding from the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) to aid four vital research projects.
Director Professor Mark von Itzstein AO was delighted with the grant awards and said they cemented the Institute’s reputation as a leading biomedical research institute.
“Our institute is focussed on translational research outcomes that diagnose, prevent and treat diseases of global impact. These grants will significantly assist our researchers to deliver on our mission to achieve a disease-free world.”
Professor Michael Jennings and Dr Christopher Day were awarded$608,424.50for the project titled ‘Structure and biophysical analysis aided design of novel toxoid vaccines for a major class of bacterial toxins’with Dr Victor Torres, New York University.
“Cholesterol dependent cytolysins (CDCs) are bacterial toxins produced by many important human pathogens including Group A Streptococcus (Strep A) and Pneumococcus,” Professor Jennings said.
Strep A infections cause a range of diseases including pharyngitis, Scarlet fever and necrotising fasciitis. If left untreated, they can also lead to rheumatic fever, reactive arthritis and rheumatic heart disease.
“We have developed an innovative way of inactivating CDCs based on new knowledge of how they target human cells and will use this knowledge, andthisvital funding, to facilitate the development of novel vaccines.”
Associate Professor Kate Seibwas awarded $826,490for the project titled ‘Gonococcal vaccine development guided by a cross-protective meningococcal vaccine’ with Dr Caroline Thng, Gold Coast Health.
“Neisseria gonorrhoeae, the bacteria responsible for the sexually transmitted infection gonorrhoea, causes more than 100 million new infections each year and is an urgent public health threat,” Associate Professor Seib said.
“Control of gonorrhoea depends on the development of a vaccine due to the continuing increase of antibiotic resistance and the staggering outcomes of infection, including infertility and increased transmission of HIV.
“We know the bacteria causing gonorrhoea and meningococcal B disease are very similar, and our preliminary studies indicate that a widely licensed meningococcal vaccine, 4CMenB,induced antibodies that cross react withgonorrhoea.
“This grant will allow us to​furtherinvestigateif themeningococcal vaccine can protect against gonorrhoeaand determine the gonococcal antigens and type of immune response needed to mediate protection against gonorrhoea, thus guiding the development of a gonococcal vaccine.”
Dr Mehfuz Zaman was awarded $707,717 for the project titled ‘Vaccine to prevent Influenza Virus and Bacterial super-infection’ with Associate Professor Victor Huber, University of South Dakota.
“Patients with viral infections of the upper respiratory tract involving the influenza virus can sometimes develop further bacterial infections such as those caused by Streptococcus pyogenes (Group A streptococcus), as well as other types of bacterial pathogen,” Dr Zaman said.
“Known as ‘super-infections’, the severity of such bacterial infections is significantly increased despite the availability of influenza vaccines, antiviral treatments, and antibiotics.
“This grant will help facilitate the development of a novel multi-pathogen vaccine candidate against major upper respiratory tract pathogens – Influenza A andbacterialpathogens responsible forsuper-infections.”
Dr Freda Jen and Dr Milton Kiefel were awarded $526,949.60 for the project titled ‘Targeting a bacterial glyco-Achilles heel to make new vaccines for Haemophilus influenzae and Neisseria gonorrhoeae’.
“Neisseria gonorrhoeaecauses the sexually transmitted infection gonorrhoea.Haemophilus influenzaeis responsible for diseases such as middle ear infections in children, sinusitis in adults, and acute bronchitis in individuals, and is the major cause of exacerbations of chronic obstructive lung disease.Unfortunately, these two pathogens are becoming increasingly multi-drug resistant,”Dr Jen said.
“These diseases are a major health and economic burden, and in the absence of new drugs, a vaccine to prevent these diseases has emerged as a major unmet need in human health.
“This grant will enable us to develop a new vaccine that targets a bacterial-specific sugar that we have discovered is the Achilles heel of these bacteria.”
Soccer star Clare Polkinghorne has won a scholarship from the Australian Institute of Sport to help her juggle an elite sporting career and criminology studies at Griffith.
The pilot AIS Education Scholarship program is designed to ease the financial burden on athletes who are preparing for life beyond sport.
Clare has represented Australia at four FIFA Women’s World Cups, four AFC Women’s Asian Cups and the Olympic Games. She is a two-time Premiership and Championship winner with the Roar, and the longest serving player on the Queensland side.
She said juggling the demands of sport and study wasn’t always easy, but is looking ahead to when her football days come to an end.
“This gives me many options post-football to continue with another career.” she said.
“Having something other than football to focus on actually helps me as a footballer.
“Study provides a different outlet for me, something else to focus on and recharges the batteries.
“I’ve always enjoyed learning and Griffith is a good fit.”
Clare receiving the award for Most Outstanding Sporting Achievement at the Griffith Sports Blues Awards.
Clare earlier completed a Bachelor of Psychological Science (Honours) before embarking on postgraduate studies. She said the Griffith Sports College had been instrumental in her journey through university.
“Without the support of the Griffith Sports College, I wouldn’t have been able to complete the study I have,” she said.
“It’s awesome to see how many athletes the College supports and it’s crucial for athletes to have that support to make sure they are able to reach their goals academically and in the sporting arena.”
Clare said juggling elite sport and tertiary study required “discipline, motivation and persistence”.
“There’s a lot of self-responsibility, especially when you’re travelling a lot and not having the contact hours at university,” she said.
“You need to have that drive in you to make sure you are doing everything you need to be doing in both study and sport arenas.”
Clare is determined to play at the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup, hosted by Australia and New Zealand. But after football, she is keen to explore a very different career path.
“I always thought I would join the police force. But at the moment, my Masters thesis research is looking at police mental health, which is a perfect blend of my psychology and criminology degrees,” she said.
“Police mental health is such an important yet under-researched area that demands more attention, not only in Australia but internationally – it’s definitely something I would be interested in pursuing.”
Clare will kick off her latest season with Brisbane Roar against the Newcastle Jets on 28 December.
Griffith University will host the eastern Australia node of a new environmental research hub providing leadership in the study of threatened species and the preparation/adaptation to extreme events such as bushfires.
Associate Professor Mark Kennard, Deputy Dean (Research), Griffith Sciences, Australian Rivers Institute
Federal Minister for the Environment, The Hon Sussan Ley, announced the Hub will receive $47 million over seven years as part of the second phase of the Commonwealth Government’s National Environmental Science Program.
“The Resilient Landscapes Hub will focus on issues such as bushfire recovery, feral animals, invasive species and provide national leadership in threatened species research,” said Associate Professor Mark Kennard, Deputy Dean (Research), Griffith Sciences.
“The aim is to equip Australia’s land and water managers with the knowledge and tools they need to address the country’s most pressing environmental concerns and promote resilience, sustainability and productivity.”
The Resilient Landscapes Hub will utilise Griffith’s interdisciplinary research strengths in water, biodiversity, threatened species, environmental sustainability, socioeconomics, Indigenous knowledge and climate adaptation.
“We’ve seen the devastation of bushfires, floods and droughts in Australia over recent years,” Associate Professor Kennard said.
Fire-affected wetland in northern NSW
“Now more than ever we need collaborations between leading experts in environmental science, indigenous communities, landholders and other stakeholders.
“This partnership builds on Griffith’s longstanding collaboration with Professor Douglas through national environmental research programs in northern Australia.
“Ongoing federal Government support through the National Environmental Science Program is essential in helping design and deliver practical solutions to critical environmental challenges and equip land managers with the knowledge and tools needed to meet these challenges.”
The Hub will deliver national coverage through partnerships with the CSIRO and a host of other Australian research institutions.
A graduation song written by Griffith music students has struck a chord with the Class of 2020, who missed out on traditional ceremonies and celebrations due to COVID.
Second-year student Joshua said the upbeat pop song was designed to be “a warm hug”.
“It’s always been my dream to make music that really connects,” he said.
“Songs are stories, and this was about seeing the positive and embracing the future, even despite the rough year everyone has had.
“It was amazing to be able to create a soundtrack for the Class of 2020.”
Music student Alex Sologon
Fellow second-year student Alex said the song was written during a marathon jam session, with the track recorded and engineered in just three days.
“To create something so special in such a short timeframe was really inspiring,” she said.
“I think we’ve really been yearning to make music together again and this has shown all of us what’s possible.
“Everyone just pulled together and we came up with something really uplifting — this project has changed my whole outlook on the creative process.”
Queensland Conservatorium popular music lecturer Caleb James oversaw the project, mentoring the songwriters and acting as executive producer on the track.
“It was a huge team — we had about twenty students from South Bank and the Gold Coast working on writing, producing, performing,” he said.
Popular music lecturer Caleb James (left)
“They were working to pretty tight deadlines, but they had a safety net — we were there to mentor and guide them through the process.
“They learned a lot about collaboration and creativity, and it was great to be involved in a project that was fun and positive.
“It was an amazing opportunity for all of the students involved and they were super excited to be back in the studios.”
Fellow popular music lecturer Dr Brendan Anthony co-produced the song, also mentoring the students who played, recorded and produced the track.
The industry veteran, who has worked with everyone from INXS and Hans Zimmer to Midnight Oil, is also part of the Class of 2020 — receiving his doctorate this year.
“I think this project was really a celebration for all the students who’ve made it through this year,” he said.
“For me, the truly rewarding thing was seeing how our students stepped up and rose to the challenge – projects like this are the best way to prepare them for life in the industry.”
From stress, burnout, career disruption and social isolation, the COVID-19 pandemic has posed similar challenges for many people including one special subgroup–that of elite athletes.
“Elite athletes are an at-risk population for mental health problems compared to the general population. And 2020 has posed significant challenges with worldwide disruptions to athletes’ training and competition,’’ he said.
“We found that digital mental health platforms including the use of smartphones and online behaviour analysis could help improve the mental health of athletes especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.”
Dr Balcombe and colleague, Emeritus Professor Diego De Leo, report that accumulative stress can manifest into more intense and severe symptoms compounded by ongoing stigma and non-recognition of issues.
“Hence, tailored screening and tracking of psychological protective and risk factors are needed to better understand the association with psychological symptoms, disorders and abnormal behaviour,’’ Dr Balcombe said.
“While sporting bodies and athletes have largely embraced mental health awareness and made efforts to address the barriers to help-seeking, promotion of a holistic approach is needed including a prevention and early intervention framework. There should be more specific awareness of the range of mental ill-health through to positive functioning.
The researchers recognise collaboration between humans and machines will be critical to the innovation of mental health care in the future.
“Our vision is a hybrid model of care, combining traditional face-to-face approaches as well as innovative digital technologies that may be used in promotion, prevention and early intervention strategies.”
Indigenous Australians have higher prevalence rates for both incarceration and mental disorder diagnoses when compared to non-Indigenous Australians a new large-scale Griffith University study has found.
The researchers aimed to examine the overlap between mental illness and incarceration using a unique dataset consisting of information from multiple government administrative systems for a population-based birth cohort for close to 45,000 individuals born in 1990 — 6.3 per cent of whom were Indigenous Australians.
“We identified mental illness based on diagnoses received during hospital admissions and incarceration from court sentencing records,’’ said author Dr James Ogilvie from the Griffith Criminology Institute.
The study found Indigenous and non-Indigenous people experienced different types of mental illness, with Indigenous peoples more likely to experience substance use and schizophrenia disorders, while non-Indigenous people were more likely to experience anxiety and mood disorders.
Results showed about one third of prisoners had a diagnosed mental disorder, but most individuals who had been diagnosed with a mental disorder did not experience incarceration.
“Although the majority of people diagnosed with a mental illness did not experience incarceration, some mentally ill individuals are more likely to experience incarceration, including those with a substance use disorder or a serious mental illness,’’ Dr Ogilvie said.
“Incarcerated Indigenous females were the most likely to experience a diagnosed mental illness.”
The longitudinal data enabled the researchers to examine the timing of onset for mental illness and imprisonment.
“Typically, mental illness was diagnosed before individuals experience incarceration, suggesting that offending behaviour is only one elementof a larger cluster of behavioural difficulties forindividuals experiencing mental illness.
“This suggests that mental health services could play a role in preventing the onset or progression of behaviour that may lead to incarceration. In particular, effective substance use interventions delivered at critical timepoints may be an important tool to divert a proportion of mentally unwell individuals from prison.”
He said their findings reinforced that prisoners are a vulnerable group and highlight mental illness as one of the core vulnerabilities that characterise the prison population.
“In an Australian context, this may also explain why Indigenous people are overrepresented among mentally ill prisoners, given the concentration of disadvantage and vulnerability.
“The overrepresentation highlights systemic failures and the concentration of vulnerability in the Australian criminal justice system. Given Indigenous overrepresentation, significant effort should be directed toward the development of culturally appropriate mental health interventions, and particularly substance use interventions.”
Professor Heidi Zeeman, Dr David Painter and Professor Elizabeth Kendall (Menzies Health Institute Queensland) awarded $513, 483 for the project ‘Dimensional Attention Modelling for Neglect Detection (DIAMOND): A novel application for brain injury’ (Prof Julie Bernhardt, Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health).
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