Farewell and thank you to Professor John Sullivan
We would specially like to acknowledge Professor John Sullivan who retires at the end of this year after 23 years.
John was the Dean of our School from 1996 – 2005.
Thank you John for your significant contribution to the School and all the very best in your retirement.
John has had a successful research career. He has been involved in researching aspects of traumatic brain injury (severe and mild TBI) for approximately 25 years, with a focus on sports concussion over the last 10 years. His research has covered topics including: the understanding of the importance of the correct management of a concussion in 1st XV players; the development of concussion assessment tools; return-to-play protocols; parent's recognition of a concussion and the evolving role of social media in promoting concussion awareness. Much of this research has been published in high quality international peer-reviewed journals.
Furthermore John has worked hard at providing key foundations for the development of research pathways for many of the School's staff. He is well respected by his graduate research students and has always shown a commitment to the career development of his students by encouraging opportunities to publish and present research, and mentoring many of his past students to transition into their own academic roles.
CHARR research week 2019
We were very pleased to host two events showcasing the School and the Centre's research:
- Our post-graduate candidates held a symposium centered on the theme of Health, Activity and Rehabilitation Research on Tuesday, December 3rd 2019.
- This was an opportunity for PhD and Masters students to practice the art of public speaking and present their research to a diverse PhD and supportive academic audience.
See details of the event and speakers
- Our second event, celebrated successful clinical partnerships for research. A key goal of CHARR research is that partnerships between researchers and clinicians are a key to successful health delivery research.
- If you are interested in these projects we invite you to take a look at the programme and contact physio.research@otago.ac.nz for any further information.
Thanks to Dr Gareth Terry, from the Centre for Person Centred Research at AUT who ran a great Introduction to Qualitative Research for us.
Academic Promotions
Debra Waters (Chair of Gerontology, joint appointment between the School and the Dunedin School of Medicine) received promotion to Professor. Hilda Mulligan was promoted to Associate Professor.
Find out more about these promotions and those of other colleagues around the University
Alumni receives HRC Clinical Research Training Fellowship to pursue PhD
Dunstan Hospital physiotherapist Sarah Walker has received a Clinical Research Training Fellowship from the Health Research Council to undertake research into rural allied health professionals' skills as part of her PhD studies at Otago.
She will investigate the scope of practice, challenges and complexities experienced by rural allied health professionals to determine whether they require fundamentally different skills to their urban counterparts.
Sarah will work on her PhD with Primary Supervisor, Dr Ewan Kennedy (CHARR, School of Physiotherapy) and Dr Garry Nixon (Department of GP and Rural Health).
Read more about Sara's research plans
Grant success!
Congratulations to Health Sciences Postdoctoral Fellow, Dr Sarah Ward, and her mentor Associate Professor Gisela Sole on the award of a Jack Thomson Grant for the project entitled: "Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction Outcomes in New Zealand".
Graduate research news
We have three new PhD graduates! Dr Ally Calder, Dr Abdullah Alqarni, and Dr Donald Manlapaz all graduated in December. Congratulations also to Claire Hargest who graduated with her research masters.
Congratulations to our Masters of Physiotherapy graduates: We had 9 Master of Physiotherapy students graduate in total. These students are Charlene Silcock, Sarah Betteridge, Amon Johnson, and Claire Hargest.
The other students who graduated in absentia were Felicity Burns, Hannah Fox, Declan Hardy, Wil Son Lim, Johnny Tawhara and Benjamin Venn.
Upcoming events
Shoulder 360: navigating between clinical practice and research
This symposium will allow clinicians and researchers to consider assessment and management of shoulder pain from various perspectives. The symposium will be designed to encourage active participation and sharing of experience, knowledge and insights.
Friday, 24th January 2020, 2:00-8:00pm
Rm 102 and available via zoom