Design students have brought a splash of colour to Queensland’s largest business park, creating an eye-catching mural as part of Griffith’s new partnership with BTP Workspaces, the largest single property owner at Brisbane Technology Park.
The project involved graphic design students undertaking placements at Liveworm, the Queensland College of Art‘s unique in-house design studio. They created a stunning large-scale mural for an end-of-trip facility, drawing inspiration from local flora and fauna and electrical circuitry.
Brisbane Technology Park is the largest business park in Queensland, located 15 minutes from Brisbane’s CBD in Eight Mile Plains. The precinct is home to a range of businesses that export medical, technology and engineering innovations to the world.
Griffith University Deputy Vice Chancellor (Engagement), Professor Martin Betts, said the three-year partnership with BTP Workspaces would provide a range of work integrated learning placements and pathways to employment.
“Our partnership with Brisbane Technology Park will providegreat practical outcomes for students across a range of disciplines, including science, engineering and the arts.”
Bachelor of Design student Jenny Fox created the winning design. The graphic design major said it was her largest and most ambitious project to date.
“It’s definitely the biggest thing I’ve ever done and it was so much fun working on this scale,” she said.
“Liveworm has given me the opportunity to collaborate on amazing projects, and I’ve had the chance to explore and expand my practice.”
The project was supervised by Liveworm Creative Director David Sargent and Fine Art lecturer Dr Simon Degroot, who managed the project from design through to installation.
Dr Degroot said the design students embraced the challenge of creating a large-scale public artwork.
“The students come from a graphic design background, but they all embraced this project and rose to the challenge of working on a large-scale work with brushes and paint,” he said.
“This project allowed them to expand their knowledge and skills.
“It’s definitely the largest project they have been part of, and they all jumped on board and worked well as a team.”
Dr Degroot said the artwork provided a unique identity for the precinct.
“This artwork helps individualise the building and creates character and a sense of destination,” he said.
“There are more than 10,000 people who work at BTP and it’s a hive of activity, so this a great showcase for our student work.”
Despite increasing numbers of Indian women becoming entrepreneurs, knowing how and when to ‘go global’ can prevent them from achieving greater business success.
A group of 10 women entrepreneurs from across India completed an intensive week-long bootcamp as part of Griffith University’s program titled ‘Going Global — Enhancing the Intercultural Business Capabilities of Queensland and Indian Women Entrepreneurs’, led by Dr Dhara Shah and Professor Michelle Barker. The project was co-funded with the support of the Queensland Government’s International Education and Training Partnership Fund, managed by Study Queensland within Trade and Investment Queensland.
The bootcamp aimed to build the cross-cultural employability and entrepreneurial skills of 10 selected Indian women innovators, to showcase Queensland as a hub for entrepreneurs, and to link them with Queensland innovators.
Dr Dhara Shah said the opportunity for women to gain the skills to work in culturally, linguistically and socially different environments to overcome personal and professional challenges is what sets the program apart in a dense market of entrepreneurship courses.
“Our aim for female entrepreneurs from India and Queensland is to develop a global entrepreneurial mindset and realise that the international market is open to them,” Dr Shah said.
Showcasing entrepreneurship opportunities between Indian and Queensland entrepreneurs was a key focus of the course. Networking opportunities in Brisbane, the Gold Coast and Cairns enabled them to learn from each other, find similarities in their businesses, and identify opportunities to work together.
The bootcamp included a trip to Cairns where the women met with members of CQUniversity’s First People’s Think Tank and other indigenous business women from the local community. Local and state politicians, and community leaders attended the welcome function and mingled with the women.
Cairns Mayor Bob Manning (centre), surrounded by female entrepreneurs from India and Associate Professor Henrietta Marrie (CQU) and leading Indigenous business women from the Cairns region. (Photo credit: CQUniversity)
Following the event, the Indian entrepreneurs travelled to the Yarrabah Arts and Cultural Precinct to meet with the Manager, Mr Darrell Harris and local indigenous artists. The women were also welcomed by the Mayor of Yarrabah Aboriginal Shire Council, Mr Ross Andrews and Councillor Nadine Cannon. They toured the Aboriginal community to better understand the potential for business links in rural areas.
Indian entrepreneurs meet with indigenous women, and Yarrabah Aboriginal Shire Councillor and Mayor at the Yarrabah Arts and Cultural Precinct.
Going Global participant and Founder of Dasha Food Products, Vaishnavi Rajan, said the course was a wonderful platform to learn. “We’re trying to bring out products from our part of the country to see if they can be accepted worldwide,” Ms Rajan said.
Dasha Food Products is an all-natural manufacturer of artisan flours made from Sprouted Pulses, grains and millets. “It’s also been beneficial to understand the palette and the nature of food accepted in this country. Trading of products is the essential idea.”
When speaking about the entrepreneurs she had connected with over the course of the bootcamp, Ms Rajan said, “though we come from different backgrounds with varied reasons to start up a business, we’ve found that there’s been a uniting factor that all of us have something to prove and something to give back to society.”
Another participant, the President of Shri Krishna Educational Society, Dr Shaloo Chopra, said “now we’re realising that we’re not the only ones who are going through these hurdles and struggles. It is happening everywhere in the world.”
Course participant Shakti Kaur in discussion with Yarrabah Aboriginal Shire Councillor Nadine Cannon.
“These networking sessions have been amazing. They are very important for our businesses and our two nations,” Dr Chopra continued.
Equipped with new insights into Queensland and Australia as international markets, participants commented that the bootcamp empowered them to realise their full potential in business and ultimately enhance Queensland-India relationships, economic growth and job creation.
The inability to repair our modern tech gadgets has not gone unnoticed. Consumers are frustrated at their inability to repair their goods as well as the high cost of repair, if it is available. Many repairers have also highlighted that they are often unable to repair these tech products as they cannot access the relevant technological information. There is an increasing push from consumers that they should not be forced to upgrade to the newest model every time a part of their product or device breaks.
The issue of access to repairs was highlighted in an action before the Australian Federal Court in 2018, when the ACCC brought an action against Apple for telling consumers that their warranty would not be honoured if they took their iPhone to a third-party repairer. This was found to be a breach of the Australian Consumer Guarantees in the Australian Consumer Law. Apple Inc was fined $9m for this breach. This case sent a strong message to the community that manufacturers should not be controlling the aftermarket to the exclusions of others.
The car repair industry is one industry where the issue of the inaccessibility and high costs of access repair software has drawn the attention of the regulators. Rod Sims, the chairman of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has observed, that ‘today’s new cars contain in excess of 10 million lines of computer code, more code than is used to operate the avionics and on-board support systems of modern airliners….[making them] effectively “computers on wheels’. But this comes at a high price for those who repair the vehicles. As one car repairer observed, ‘we could spend up to $300 a month on data just to be able to fix a certain model of car. It’s not cheap and there’s a lot you still can’t get from the dealers’. Some repairers have complained that they were working 12-hour days mostly researching how to fix technical equipment in cars, noting ‘twenty years ago, I could probably charge out four or five hours a day… with another mechanic working with me. Today, I’m lucky to charge out two because I’m forever either quoting or trying to get information.’
In 2018, the ACCC recommended that there be a Mandatory scheme for the Sharing of car repair and service information. Our analysis of this scheme suggests that this could potentially be used as a basis for a broader discussion about how Australia should respond to the International Right to Repair movement.
The International Right to Repair movement
It has been suggested by leading US Professor Aaron Perzanowski, that by denying consumers the ability to repair their goods, manufacturers of ‘smart’ goods are challenging, and even undermining, the very notion of physical ownership. Globally, there has been a groundswell of support from many different groups of consumers: motorists, farmers, consumers and environmentalists for a Right to Repair. What this really means is that the owners of good should be able to open their goods, repair those good or access repair services or repair information for themselves, or through a third party of their choosing.
The initial Right to Repair legislation passed in Massachusetts in 2012, that gave motorists access to car spare parts and repair services from parties other than the original equipment manufacturer has spurred on a broader Right to Repair movement in the US. In 2019, there are now 20 US States with proposed Right to Repair legislation: some focussing on broad consumable, others on farm equipment and cars etc. Interestingly, in the EU, the Right to Repair regime is being implemented through an environmental push for longevity and repairability of consumables through the EU EcoDesign Directive coming into force in 2021 where manufactures will be required to provide spare part for the goods for up to 10 years.
In Australia, we are yet to consider the role that a Right to Repair could play in the Australian economy and in its environmental future. However, the Australian Government is aware and concerned about Australian consumers’ inability to have faulty smart or digital goods and cars repaired at a competitive price by a manufacturer, a third party or in some instances, self-repair. A recent meeting of Australian Ministers for Consumer Affairs and their New Zealand counterparts inAugust 2019 reached the conclusion that laws should be considered to boost people’s ability to repair their phones and other electronic goods. Following this lead, in lateAugust 2019, the Federal Minister and Assistant Treasurer, Michael Sukkar requested the Australian Treasurer add the ‘Right to Repair’ to the Productivity Commission’s future agenda.
The Bower Reuse and Repair Centre in Sydney have been a long-time supporter of a Right to Repair. In October 2019, they began an online petition for a Right to Repair for Australia, which has been given support by both sides of politics: by the Federal Labor Member for Parramatta, Julie Owens: ‘We have all found times when we have thrown something out because it was too costly to repair it or could not get it repaired and it has gone into landfill when it probably had years of life yet. The right-to-repair campaign asks that manufacturers produce goods that are fixable, ensuring manuals and spare parts are easily available and allowingeveryday Australians to make reasonable attempts to repair items without risk of voiding the warranty.’Sheconcluded by stating: ‘this is a debate we have to have’(Owens, 2019). The Minister for the Environment, Sussan Ley, has also confirmed the Australian Government’s interest in the Right to Repair when she also commended The Bower’s campaign, noting the environmental benefits of a Right to Repair.
We need to learn from the different approaches being taking internationally to the Right to Repair, with a view to developing a policy and regulatory response in Australia. This is a focus of our ongoing research on the legal and regulatory responses to the Right to Repair movement. The concern is that Australian consumers may be disadvantaged if our regulators do not start to consider ways to regulate to facilitate reuse and repair. The bigger problem may well be that Australia will lag behind the rest of the world in ensuring the environmental longevity of some goods.
Professor Leanne Wiseman
Dr Kanchana Kariyawasam
Griffith University is a foundation partner of a new and free Queensland centric digital news service due to launch in February 2020.
The partnership with InQueensland will help support new independent journalism endeavours and also provide valuable work-integrated learning opportunities for Griffith’s journalism students.
“InQueensland promises to deliver a free, independent, daily digital news website and email newsletter focusing on politics, business, community, arts and culture,” Professor Martin Betts, Deputy Vice Chancellor (Engagement) said.
“It is pleasing to see a fresh news service launch in this state and it is an initiative which demonstrates confidence in local audiences and a real commitment to the issues that matter to Queenslanders.
“This partnership will build upon Griffith’s strong brand with the business, government and arts communities as well as provide our final-year journalism students with industry experiences including internship opportunities.
“I encourage students, staff and anyone interested in accessing a fresh perspective on local issues to consider subscribing to the free service.”
InQueensland’s editorial team includes some of the country’s most well-known names in journalism, including Sean Parnell, former Australian and Courier-Mail journalist, Queensland political expert Dennis Atkins, Clarion award winner John McCarthy and passionate arts and entertainment writer and editor Brett Debritz.
The foundation partnership will run for twelve months.
Indigenous artist and Griffith alumnus Delvene Cockatoo-Collins believes it is never too late to fulfil your dreams, after reconnecting with her arts practice later in life to great success.
She recently opened a new gallery and studio space at Minjerribah, also known as Stradbroke Island, where her arts practice is inspired from.
Cockatoo-Collins designed the Commonwealth Games medals. Image: Brisbane Times
The respected artist has built an impressive body of work, with many people coming to know her talents during the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games, where her designs of the rare white whale Migaloo were featured on the commemorative medals, and in the opening ceremony.
“I look back, it wasn’t that long ago, and I just think what an amazing experience,” she said.
“You know, I couldn’t have planned anything better, for me to be invited in to present some designs and then for it to grow into other areas, from the costumes that the medal presenters wore to both medals, the prize winners and the commemorative, and then the Migaloo whale.
“That was really special to watch, and to also see the reaction of my family around me. I’d been to all the rehearsals and I’d seen him being inflated prior to the ceremony. So to see my 80-year-old Auntie be there for the actual opening and hear her, it was probably one of my highlights of the whole experience.”
Cockatoo-Collins holding her Griffith Business School award.
She says that grounding was crucial in helping her learn how to communicate her cultural stories through her art today.
“I was doing things a long time ago and then kids come along and then things change and you just stop doing things,” she said.
“And as they got a bit bigger, I’d come back home and then I was able to reignite that.
“All this material, all this going on around me. I need to make sense of it all.”
She says she is again making Migaloo whales in her Minjerribah studio, as the whale’s story continues to weave through her life and culture, celebrating the revival of whales in the region.
“That’s where that story about Migaloo in that opening ceremony kind of originated from. Sharing the joy of waiting and seeing hismigration from down south to up north,” she said.
“Stradbroke is one of the best land-based whale watching in the world…whales are now back to pre-whaling numbers in their tens of thousands and they were down to about 600 when the whaling station was open on Moreton (Island).
“So, that joy is aboutthereturn of those numbers. So there’s a bit of hope in that as well.”
Stradbroke Island Image: unsplash
Today her new studio space overlooks the beautiful Moreton Bay which surrounds the island, and which is part of her traditional ancestral home.Delvene is a proud Nunukul, Ngugi and Goenpul woman, and her family are from Minjerribah (North Stradbroke Island and Moorgumpin) and Moreton Island — which are part of Quandamooka Country.
“I feel like I can look out there and just continue to smile because it’s just such a reminder of how beautiful this place is, and the reason why I live here and the reason why it’s been protected for so long, and that we continue to enjoy this place, because it’s right there in front of us,” she said.
She says her family and Quandamooka ties are vitally important to her continuing development as an artist.
Delvene’s art also serves to preserve and continue to tell the stories of her culture and country.
“This is one of those things of me making sense of stories that I’ve heard,” she explained.
“Through different people from my mother who heard it from her mother, and two of the Aunties talking about a mermaid in the Bay, and then me wanting to explore that.
“There are several records of a mermaid in the Bay. One’s Warrajamba, one’s Tangalooma, and how her blood was spilt on one of the beaches and that she’s a riddle and a conundrum.
“So, for us, that’s our way of telling stories. She created the redness in the sand on one of the beaches.
“My sister and I walked 10 kilometres and found that tinge of red. And this is where the story originates from. So you know, this kind of historical perspective as well as my Mum’s grandmother’s story makes sense of that.”
Hear more of Delvene’s story in the latest episode of Remarkable Tales.
Almost one in four cancers detected in men were overdiagnosed in 2012, according to our new research, published today in theMedical Journal of Australia.
In the same year, we found that approximately one in five cancers in women were overdiagnosed.
Overdiagnosis is when a person is diagnosed with a “harmless” cancer that either never grows or grows very slowly. These cancers are sometimes called low or ultra-low-risk cancers and wouldn’t have spread or caused any problems even if left untreated.
This level of overdiagnosis means Australian men are 17% more likely to be diagnosed with cancer in their lifetime than they were 30 years ago, while women are 10% more likely.
Cancer overdiagnosis can result in people having unnecessary treatments, such as surgery, radiotherapy and hormone therapy. Being diagnosed with cancer and having cancer treatments can cause physical, psychological and financial harms.
How many cancers were overdiagnosed?
In 2012, 77,000 cancers were diagnosed among Australian men. We estimated that 24% of these (or 18,000 in total) were overdiagnosed, including:
8,600 prostate cancers
8,300 melanomas
860 kidney cancers
500 thyroid cancers.
Some 55,000 cancers were diagnosed in women; 18% of them (11,000) were overdiagnosed. This includes:
4,000 breast cancers
5,600 melanomas
850 thyroid cancers
660 kidney cancers.
These calculations are based on changes since 1982 in the lifetime risk of cancers, after adjusting for other causes of death and changing risk factors.
Because they are more common, prostate and breast cancer and melanoma accounted for the greatest number of overdiagnosed cancers, even though larger percentages of thyroid cancers were overdiagnosed.
In women, for example, 73% of thyroid cancers were overdiagnosed, while 22% of breast cancers were overdiagnosed.
The harms to patients come from the unnecessary surgery, and other treatments, as well as the anxiety and expenses.
In addition, there are substantial costs to the health system, and delays in necessary surgery.
Some “good news” is that overdiagnosis appears to be largely confined to the five main cancers mentioned above.
What causes cancer overdiagnosis?
The cause of overdiagnosis differs for each cancer.
For prostate cancer, the cause is the quest for early detection of prostate cancer using the prostate specific antigen (PSA) blood test. A downside of PSA testing is the risk of detecting large numbers of low-risk prostate cancers which may be overtreated.
For breast cancer, the cause is also early detection, through mammography screening which can detect low-risk cancers.
Likewise, detection of low-risk melanoma accounted for most of the melanoma overdiagnosis we observed. Early detection activities again are the likely cause, with many times more skin biopsies being done today than 30 years ago.
Overdiagnosis of kidney and thyroid cancer is due largely to “incidentalomas” — abnormalities found incidentally on imaging done for other reasons — or through over-investigation of mild thyroid problems.
What can we do about it?
Some level of overdiagnosis is unavoidable in a modern health-care system committed to screening to reduce the disease and death burden from cancer.
We want to maximise the timely detection of high-risk cancers that allows the best chance of cure through early surgery and other treatments.
But this is still possible while taking measures to prevent overdiagnosis and overtreatment of low-risk cancers that are better left undetected.
Take South Korea, for example. Following the introduction of a screening program for thyroid cancer, the country saw a15-fold increase in small, low-risk thyroid cancers. Then it cut back on early detection. This led to a major drop in thyroid cancer rates without any change in death rates.
Rates of PSA testing in Australia areamong the highest in the world. Countries where there is less PSA testing, such as theUnited Kingdom, detect less low-risk prostate cancer, and therefore have less overtreatment.
Adecision aidis also available for Australian women to consider whether to go ahead with mammogram screening or not.
Trials to wind back treatment of low-risk prostate cancer have resulted in clinical practice guidelineswhich recommend men with low-risk prostate cancer be offered active surveillance as an alternative to immediate surgery or radiation therapy.
Trials to evaluate less treatment for low-risk breast cancer are now under way and should help wind back breast cancer overtreatment one day.
New screening tests that identify clinically important cancers, while leaving slow- and never-growing cancers undetected, are the holy grail. But they could be some time coming.
In the meantime, health services need to be vigilant inmonitoring new areas of overdiagnosis, particularly when investing in new technologies with potential to further increase overdiagnosis.
Authors
Alexandra Barratt Professor of Public Health, University of Sydney; Katy Bell, Associate in Clinical Epidemiology in the School of Public Health, University of Sydney; Mark Jones, Associate Professor, Biostatistician, Institute for Evidence-Based Healthcare, Bond University; Paul Glasziou, Professor of Medicine, Bond University; Thanya Pathirana, Senior Lecturer, School of Medicine, Griffith University.
Disclosure statement
Alexandra Barratt receives funding from NHMRC. She is a lead investigator on Wiser Healthcare, an NHMRC funded research collaboration to reduce overdiagnosis and overtreatment.
Katy Bell receives funding from NHMRC. She is Chief Investigator on an Investigator Grant “Using early detection tests to benefit health without causing harm” and a member of the Wiser Healthcare research collaboration that aims to reduce overdiagnosis and overtreatment.
Paul Glasziou receives funding from an NHMRC program grant on overdiagnosis and overtreatment.
Mark Jones and Thanya Pathirana do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
Incoming Pro-Vice Chancellor (Indigenous) Professor Cindy Shannon was one of many Griffith University staff, alumni and associates recognised with Australia Day Honours.
Professor Cindy Shannon, Pro Vice Chancellor (Indigenous).
“We are very proud of all those members of the Griffith University community who have been named in the Australia Day Honours List for 2020,” Professor Evans said.
“Griffith University has always focused on creating real and lasting benefit through its teaching and research.
“These honours are a wonderful acknowledgement of the benefit of the work undertaken by Griffith staff and alumni for the Australian people.”
Griffith University’s newly appointed Pro-Vice Chancellor (Indigenous) Professor Cindy Shannon earned the title of Member (AM) in the General Division of the Order of Australia, for “significant service to Indigenous health and to medical education.”
Professor von Itzstein AO with his award for Gold Coast Citizen of the Year.
Professor Shannon said the award was a great honour.
“I’m grateful for the recognition it gives to First People’s health. It also recognises the importance of education and training a workforce that is adequately equipped to work in this area,” she said.
“This highlights what can be achieved through university and Aboriginal community partnerships working together.”
Staff member Dr Donald Campbell was bestowed the Order of Australia Medal (OAM) for his service to trauma medicine.
Queensland Police Service’s 19th Commissioner Ian Stewart APM (DUniv) was named Officer (AO) for “distinguished service to law enforcement as Commissioner of Police in Queensland and to the community”.
The Honourable Chief Justice Catherine Holmes (DUniv) was given the highest honour of the Companion (AC) in the General Division of the Order of Australia for “eminent service to the judiciary, notably to criminal, administrative and mental health law and to the community of Queensland”.
Professor Margaret Gardner (DUniv) was also named Companion (AC) for her service to tertiary education, Dr Robert MacPherson (DUniv) was made Member (AM) for significant service to the visual arts and Dr Paul Eliadis (DUniv) was awarded Member (AM).
Former staff
Former Deputy Vice Chancellor (Academic) Professor John Dewar has been awarded Officer (AO) for “distinguished service to education through leadership roles in the universities sector and to professional organisations”. Professor Dewar was Deputy Vice Chancellor (Academic) from 2005-2009 and he worked at Griffith for 14 years. He is also an alumnus of the university.
Former Griffith Enterprise Board Chair Dr Peter Riddles was named Member (AM) for “significant service to science, to biotechnology, and to innovation,” while former staff member Professor Mohamad Abdalla was appointed Member (AM) for significant service to education in the field of Islamic Studies. Former Adjunct Professor Sarah Bradley was also named Officer (AO).
Professor Diana Egerton-Warburton was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) for service to emergency medicine. She was an Adjunct Professor in the Menzies Health Institute Queensland from 2017-2019.
Alumni and associates
Alumnus Annabelle Chaplain was awarded Member (AM).
Emily Cox, who has a longstanding association with the Queensland Conservatorium of Music and is also an alumnus, has been awarded Member (AM) for her service to the performing arts through choral music.
Centre for Interfaith and Cultural Dialogue Advisory Council Member David Paratz was appointed Member (AM) for significant service to the Jewish community of Queensland and to the law.
Alumni Annabelle Chaplain, Trina Hockley, Steven Raine and Dr Graeme Worboys were named Member (AM). Dr Peter Boyes received an Order of Australia Medal, while Colin Cassidy was given a Public Service Medal for outstanding public service to economic development, corporate services and town planning in Queensland.
Inspector Corey Allen, Michelle Clark and Nyree Whelan were each awarded an Australian Police Medal (APM), while Rebecca Edwards, Robyn Ernst and Jenny Lynas were each given an Australian Corrections Medal.
While many health professionals typically advise against wearing flip-flops, they may not be as bad for children’s feet as previously thought.
New research from Griffith University in collaboration with the University of Queensland has found walking with flip-flops does not increase the work performed by the calf muscles.
“Instead our results suggest they act as a compliant surface and absorb energy during contact reducing the strain experienced by the Achilles tendon,’’ explained Dr Jayishni Maharaj, a podiatrist and postdoctoral research fellow at the Griffith Centre of Biomedical and Rehabilitation Engineering.
The researchers measured the length changes of the medial gastrocnemius (MG) fibres and muscle tendon unit in children during walking with and without flip-flops.
Eight healthy children walked barefoot and with flip-flops while 3D gait analysis and ultrasounds images of the MG fascicles were collected.
“We found the muscles and tendons across the ankle absorbed and generated greater amounts of power during barefoot walking compared to flip-flop walking,’’ Dr Maharaj said.
She said while the minimalist design of flip-flops provides limited support to the foot and ankle joints during movement compared to close-toed shoes, children who wear minimal footwear have been shown to have lower incidences of flat feet.
“This suggests that barefoot walking could be positive for foot and ankle health. As the ideal footwear for a child’s developing feet is believed to allow natural motion of the foot, our results indicate that wearing flip-flops may not hinder the development of muscles at the ankle joint during childhood and could actually promote development.”
Dr Maharaj said while it was possible that walking with flip-flops may alter the function of the plantar intrinsic foot muscles, not explored in this study, the benefits of slipping flip-flops on and off quickly makes them a great option for parents to protect the skin of the sole of the foot of their child from prickles, hot road and sand.
The study, published in the journal Gait & Posture, was supported by thePhysiotherapy Research Fellowship, Health and Medical Research, Preventive Health Unit, Department of Health, Queensland, Australia, and the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia.
President and Vice Chancellor of Griffith University Professor Carolyn Evans has paid tribute to Aunty Pamela Mam, who recently passed away.
“She was an inspiration to all people, a remarkable humanitarian, a First Peoples’ Elder, role model, patron and matriarch,” Professor Evans said.
A descendant of the KuKu Yalanji Peoples, Aunty Pamela spent her formative years on Palm Island, where she first realised her passion for nursing.
She worked as a Nurse Aid at Palm Island Hospital before training at Townsville Hospital and becoming one of the first Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander nurses in Queensland.
She helped establish the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Community Health Service (ATSICHS) Brisbane in 1973.
“In 2015, Griffith University, in conjunction with the Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Community Health Service (ATSICHS) Brisbane established the Aunty Pamela Mam Indigenous Nursing and Midwifery Scholarship,” said Professor Evans.
“Three years later, in 2018, she was honoured with a Doctor of Griffith University, in recognition of her lifelong commitment to Indigenous health.
“The significant contributions she made to her people in health services and to the community were inspiring.”
Aunty Pamela once said, “When working in direct service with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, it is important to offer humility and leadership, knowledge and learning, respect and culturally responsive care for people. We also must never neglect the everyday support and guidance required by all health care professionals to provide proper health care.”
Griffith University’s Director and Head of Research for the Institute for GlycomicsProfessor Mark von Itzstein AO has been honoured with the Gold Coast Citizen of the Year award at the city’s 2020 Australia Day awards.
The institute celebrates its 20-year anniversary this year, a fact which humbles Professor von Itzstein AO as much as news of the award.
“I am honoured to accept the award on behalf of all members of the Institute, as it is the team that has driven the success of our translational research in fighting diseases of global impact,” he said.
“The Gold Coast community is our partner and we have the responsibility of making a difference to health outcomes for them.
“I have been overwhelmed by the extent of the community’s support and it makes a real difference to our capacity to undertake world-leading research.
“I would also like to gratefully acknowledge Griffith University for the amazing investment and support that has been provided to the Institute.
“The vision that we started it with 20 years ago has not changed, and as a unique leading medical research institute in the country, we strive to discover solutions to difficult diseases.”
Professor von Itzstein AO lead the research team that discovered the world’s first drug for Influenza, Relenza. He was made an Officer of the Order of Australia last year.
Professor Mark von Itzstein AO, Professor Carolyn Evans with Dr Linda Shi (Grand Medical Ltd) and Dr Michael Wang (China Grand Pharma)
Last December he also announced a multi-million dollar partnership with Hong Kong listed China Grand Pharma’s newly established Australian company Grand Medical Ltd to develop a new drug for Human Parainfluenza Virus (hPIv).
Respiratory tract infections remain the deadliest communicable diseases worldwide, causing more than 3.2 million deaths in 2015 alone.
Antiviral drugs that target these viruses are drastically underrepresented in the pharmaceutical market and there is currently no therapeutic available to specifically treat hPIV infection.
The exclusive licence and co-development agreement with China Grand Pharma will enable the development and commercialisation of a human parainfluenza drug candidate globally.
Professor von Itzstein AO said the institute’s achievements over the last 20 years were also made possible by generous financial contributionsfrom the Queensland State government and City of Gold Coast.
She helped establish the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Community Health Service (ATSICHS) Brisbane in 1973.