Dean's newsletter - Special edition

Centre for Indigenous Health
The Faculty of Medicine, through the support of a generous donation of $10 million, wishes to establish a Centre for Indigenous Health and will shortly be advertising to appoint its Director.

This is an exciting development for the Faculty and the University, enhancing its potential to make a significant contribution to the health care of Indigenous Australians, to the training of future doctors in the care of Indigenous people and to government policy.

The following is an extract from the proposal developed by the Faculty:

Project Goal: To combine clinical and academic expertise available through the University of Sydney Faculties of Health, to bring practical, effective and sustainable health improvements to Indigenous Australians.

Project Aim: The University of Sydney Centre for Indigenous Health will be a unique enterprise in Australia.

Through its "outreach" clinics, it will mobilise the medical workforce in order to provide specialist services and general practitioner health support to Indigenous people, initially in populations in urban and remote regions in New South Wales, expanding to the Northern Territory and South Australia in future.
The Centre will develop a training program for young doctors, dentists, nurses, pharmacists and health sciences students, with the target that all graduates have a minimum level of knowledge and experience in the provision of healthcare to Indigenous people.
Under the leadership of the Director, the Centre will take a leading role in Indigenous medical and social health research programs. Further, we envisage the Centre will play a significant role at a national level, in the development of policies dedicated to improving Indigenous health.

I will be convening a meeting in late January to discuss the next steps in the development of the Centre. Please contact Tom Rubin if you wish to attend. The Faculty is keen to have wide-ranging input.

Congratulations to ….
Professor Ian Hickie of the Brain and Mind Research Institute on winning a 2007 Australia Fellowship valued at $4 million over five years for his population-based research and development of mental health strategies. The money will go towards health services research and clinical research work, in particular focusing on the role of drug use during critical developmental periods such as adolescent and early teenage years.

Associate Professor Chris Ward of the Northern Clinical School on his election as President of the Australasian Society of Thrombosis and Haemostasis until 2009.

Dr Rebecca Ivers, Director of the Injury and Musculoskeletal Division of the George Institute for International Health. Rebecca has received an NHMRC Achievement Award for Population Health acknowledging her significant contribution towards young drivers and road safety. The award was presented by the new Federal Minister for Health and Ageing, Nicola Roxon in Canberra on 12 December.

Dr Glenn Hunt, Senior Research Fellow in the Discipline of Psychological Medicine, who together with Professor Iain McGregor of the School of Psychology also received an NHMRC Achievement Award from the Minister to recognise, we understand, that their project grant application was the highest rated NHMRC project grant of the year.

Thank you also to Professor Ron Trent and his organising committee for running a very successful symposium on 11 December: A Forensic Foray – Forensic Expertise@USyd.

During 2007 I convened several meetings to propose a multi-Faculties multi-disciplinary symposium that would allow the University’s expertise in forensic medicine and forensic science to be identified. The symposium, held on 11 December, attracted over 50 registrants and from this 21 presentations were made covering wide areas of expertise including medical, paramedical, science, engineering, toxicology and jurisprudence. At the meeting there was unanimous support for the Faculty to convene a more formal conference in 2008 that would allow much larger participation by those outside of the University as well as members of the community. The second outcome from this conference was for the Faculty to propose to the University that a cross-Faculty Institute of Forensic Medicine and Science be formed specifically to develop a number of initiatives including: identification of experts and resources within the University and its related organisations and the development of educational resources perceived to be deficient in NSW and even other states. Possible partners in the proposed Institute include Justice Health as well as the Australian College of Legal Medicine. Ultimately, the proposed Institute would allow the University to take a leadership role in forensic services within NSW. A draft proposal will be developed in the New Year.

My best wishes to all. From where I sit 2007 has been an exciting and challenging year for the Faculty and I suspect 2008 will be similar!

Bruce Robinson
Dean
19 December 2007