Public lectures share expert insights in health

The newly launched School of Medicine at Charles Darwin University (CDU) is set to bring a series of public lectures to share expert knowledge in health topics across the year.

The series will kick off with a lecture on March 17 with the Professor of Global Health at Menzies School of Health Research (Menzies), Professor Ric Price, who will talk about the history of Malaria and its global elimination.

Professor Price is also a Professor of Tropical Medicine at the Centre of Tropical Medicine at the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom.

Internationally recognised for his translational research focusing on improving the diagnosis and management of Malaria, Professor Price will present some of the key discoveries of the last 100 years at the seminar and the global impact that the Menzies malaria team has had on this deadly disease in the last 25 years.

The inaugural Dean of the CDU-Menzies School of Medicine Professor Dianne Stephens will shed light on health emergency preparedness and response at a lecture on May 12. The lecture ‘Don’t panic – it’s a disaster’ will coincide with the National Emergency Response Competition run by the Minerals Council.

“The CDU-Menzies School of Medicine is the Northern Territory's first locally based medical school and the school is committed to sharing and celebrating NT based global medical success stories with the Northern Territory community,” Professor Stephens said.

Professor Stephens was the first Intensive Care Unit (ICU) Specialist in the Northern Territory and the inaugural Director of Royal Darwin Hospital ICU for 19 years, during which she developed it into a nationally respected tertiary level ICU.

She also established the first organ donation agency in the NT in 2001 and is now the Medical Director of the National Critical Care and Trauma Response Centre (NCCTRC) based in Darwin.

In this talk, Professor Stephens will explore the history of the NCCTRC, its role in health emergency response and share stories from the field.

“The National Critical Care and Trauma Response Centre is based right here in Darwin and is a national and global leader in health emergency preparedness and response and it all started with our Royal Darwin Hospital response to the victims of the bombing in Bali in October 2002,” Professor Stephens said.

“It is an important story for me to share with the NT community in the year that marks the 20^th Anniversary of an event that touched the lives of many in our community.”

During the Darwin Festival in August, CDU Senior Lecturer in Biomedical Sciences Dr Sufyan Akram will deliver a public lecture on the influence of technology on medical education and practice.

Exploring contemporary examples, Dr Akram will document how virtual reality, augmented reality and mixed reality can make a difference to medical education.

On November 10, the Dean of the College of Health and Human Sciences, Professor Dominic Upton, will present his expert insights on how increasing psychology in the medical curricula and increasing the input into medical and health services can result in better health outcomes.

From population health and primary care to critical and intensive care via our response to COVID-19, psychology could and should have a significant part to play in 21st-century medicine.

“This series of talks demonstrate the depth and breadth of medical knowledge, research experience and communication skills at the CDU-Menzies School of Medicine,” Professor Upton said.

“Each presentation, from experts in their field, will demonstrate, in an accessible form, the research strengths in the Territory’s university.”

CDU Vice-Chancellor Professor Scott Bowman said the lectures would showcase the University’s expert knowledge in medicine.

“The lecture series will highlight the CDU and Menzies talent and world-class medical expertise that will underpin a Territory medical school,” Professor Bowman said.

All public lectures are open to the community. Contact CDUevents@cdu.edu.au or call 8946 6554 to register for free. More information on the series can be found at www.cdu.edu.au/events.