PhD passion achieving more with less

27 October 2016

Students from the Research School of Population Health (RSPH) presented their annual conference showcasing a passion for research at a hugely successful event on Wednesday 19th October. The theme of the conference was Achieving More with Less.

Guest speakers included Professor Kiaran Kirk, Dean of the College of Medicine, Biology & Environment (CMBE), Emeritus Professor Dorothy Broom, and Professor Archie Clements, Director RSPH. Judges included academic staff from the Centre for Mental Health Research (CMHR), Centre for Research on Ageing, Health & Wellbeing (CRAHW), Department of Global Health (DGH), and the National Centre for Epidemiology & Population Health (NCEPH).

Sixteen students presented research on a variety of themes in both 15-minute and 3-minute sessions and provided thoughtful insight into some of the most pressing challenges facing population health today.

  • Tom Shaw (CRAHW) (supervised by Associate Professor Nic Cherbuin & Dr Marnie Shaw) won the 15-minute presentation for his talk, Healthy heart, healthy brain? The associations between white matter integrity and cardiovascular health.
  • Kathina Ali (CMHR)  (supervised by Dr Lou Farrer, Professor Kathy Griffiths, Dr Elizabeth Rieger, and Dr Steffi Bauer) won the 3-minute presentation for her talk, Online help for eating disorders – revolutionary or risky?
  • Cameron Moffatt (NCEPH) (supervised by Associate Professor Martyn Kirk and Professor Cate D’Este) won the People’s Choice Award for his talk, Examining the incidence of Campylobacter infection in Australia.

Winners received a $500 dollar prize to further their research.

“I would like to congratulate and thank all students for organising such a professional, interesting and enjoyable event,” said Associate Professor Nic Cherbuin Chair of the RSPH Research Committee.

Few realise the many months of hard work and attention to detail that goes in to organising a high quality conference, and Professor Cherbuin and his colleagues told organisers and presenters that they should be proud of their achievements.

The conference was also an excellent opportunity for new students to meet their contemporaries and to share their experiences, as well as attracting several potential students keen to explore population health research and opportunities.

“I’m really pleased with the positive feedback from staff and students,” said Tehzeeb Zulfiqar, who is one of the conference organisers.

“It took a lot of teamwork, encouragement and guidance from the RSPH research committee, and support from PARSA,” she said. “We couldn’t have done it without them, or my fellow students.”

Further information and abstracts for all talks (pdf).