Dean's Newsletter - November 2008
Sydney Medical School Grant success for 2009 – congratulations to all those awarded grants!
ARC and NHMRC grant outcomes were announced on 16 October and Sydney Medical School has once again been extremely successful. Researchers from the Medical School were involved in awarded grants to the value of $58,807,452. This is a $9.4m increase on results in 2008.
The NHMRC competitive grants scheme continues to be the most significant source of funding for the Medical School. The steady increase in the value of income from this scheme continues with the announcement of the outcomes of the 2008 round of project grants. The Medical School was awarded 75 new grants to commence in 2009 (up from 69 commencing in 2008) and enjoyed an above average success rate of 27%.
85 NHMRC Project grants worth $49,511,487 were awarded to teams which included members of Sydney Medical School including a number of collaborative grants with researchers from elsewhere in the University such as Mathematics, Chemistry, Health Sciences and Pharmacy. There were also grants awarded in collaboration with other institutions such as the University of Melbourne, University of WA, University of Alberta, University of Arizona and the University of Auckland.
Other NHMRC awards such as Career Development and Training Awards are yet to be announced.
Congratulations also to….
Associate Professor Tailoi Chan-Ling
Tailoi has been awarded an International Science Linkages Competitive Grant by the Department of Innovation, Industry, Science and Research (one of only two grants from this scheme to the University this year) for "Insulin-like growth factor binding protein-3 as a potential therapy in maximising repair functions of hematopoietic stem cells in stemming vision loss." With matching funding from the School, Medical School and DVC (Research) as well as matching support (in kind) from the University of Florida, this grant of $333,929 over a three-year period will be highly leveraged.
Simon Chapman
On being admitted as a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences in Australia (FASSA).
Forensics
In progressing to a formal University of Sydney Institute of Forensic Medicine and Forensic Science, key university staff with an interest in this area have formed a network – the NSW Forensic Medicine & Science Network. A part-time project manager, Dr Bronwen Ross MB BS MBA FACMA, has been appointed. An advisory committee chaired by Professor Ron Trent will focus on a number of new initiatives including short courses in forensic medicine, research opportunities and a conference in 2009. Members of the university who wish to join the network should send their contact details and expertise in forensic medicine or forensic science to Ms Carol Yeung at . The Network’s website is presently under construction. I am grateful to Ron for his leadership in this area.
Master of Medical Education
The Office of Postgraduate Medical Education (OPME) is pleased to welcome new registrations for the Master of Medical Education for 2009.
This program has now been running for over five years. It is aimed at all those who have an interest in medical teaching and learning or have an interest in educational research. It has been designed to meet the needs of working doctors and healthcare professionals. It will particularly interest those planning a future leadership role in medical education.
Details are available on the OPME website at:
www.opme.med.usyd.edu.au/medicaleducation/index.php
The OPME welcomes any questions about the program. Please contact the OPME Postgraduate Programs Co-coordinator, Jacqueline Wells, by email or phone 9351 4551.
Kim Oates Australian Paediatric Simulation Centre
The Centre is now up and running at the Children’s Hospital at Westmead and will be officially launched before the end of the year.
The Centre is a joint initiative between the Children’s Hospital at Westmead and the University of Sydney Medical School. The Centre is the new location for skills training and examinations in Paediatrics and Child Health within the Medical Program, as well as surgical training, paediatric resuscitation training and other in-house training programs for residents and registrars and allied health professionals.
The IT and audiovisual infrastructure that has been incorporated into the fit-out of the Centre will support computerised simulation models in the near future – these models will allow team based scenarios to be performed in a more realistic clinical setting.
The Centre has been named in honour of Kim as he had the vision to initiate the concept of a Paediatric Clinical Skills centre when CEO of the Children’s Hospital and was instrumental in its establishment.
Bruce Robinson
Dean