Australia Awards Fellowship (Round 18) Faculty internal EOI now open

Applications for Round 18 of the Australia Awards Fellowship are now open.

FUNDER

Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT)

FUNDING OPPORTUNITY

Australia Awards Fellowship (Round 18)

BRIEF DETAILS

Australia Awards Fellowships offer eligible Australian organisations, from all sectors, the opportunity to deepen and broaden their links with leaders and professionals in developing countries by hosting  Fellows from overseas partner organisations. Australian organisations identify their relevant development expertise and submit a Fellowship proposal with an overall aim of:

• strengthening partnerships and links between Australian organisations and partner organisations in developing countries, in support of Australia’s strategic development objectives; and 
• increasing the capability and professional development of selected Fellows to advance priority development issues bilaterally, sub-regionally and/or regionally.

The program is designed to complement Australia’s individual bilateral and regional development programs and long-term scholarships by offering future leaders and mid-career professionals who will be in a position to advance priority development and foreign affairs issues on their return home. Fellowship activities aim to provide high-quality training, exchange of expertise, skills, and knowledge, and opportunities to enhance networks on issues of shared interest. Activities can include a combination of short-term study and/or training, research, professional attachments, and networking experiences.

AVAILABLE FUNDING

Funding of up to $30,000 per Fellow is offered on a competitive basis to Australian organisations to host Fellows from eligible countries for activities delivered both in Australia and offshore for between minimum 2 weeks and maximum 52 weeks, the majority (over 70%) of the Fellowship must be conducted in Australia. Australian organisations must demonstrate commitment to the program and ongoing collaboration by providing a co-contribution to the Fellowship costs.

UNIVERSITY LIMITS AND FACULTY EOI PROCESS

As per the scheme guidelines, Monash University may only submit a total of FIVE applications across the University and therefore an EOI process is in place.

The deadline for submission of EOI applications to the Faculty Research Office using the template is Monday 12 December at 10:00 AM (AEDT). There will be a Faculty review and shortlisting process to select the top 5 applications to proceed to the cross-Faculty review stage.

• Applicants will be notified of the outcome of the cross-Faculty review on or shortly after 10 January 2023. 
• The MRO deadline for compliance checks (via Pure) is 10:00 AM (AEDT) on 16 January 2023.  
• Final applications are due to the funder via the SmartyGrants online portal by 11:59 PM (AEDT) on Sunday 22 January 2023.  

NOTE: Please do not create a Pure record for your EOI. Only applications nominated by Monash for submission to the funder should be entered into Pure.

If you have any queries about the EOI process, please contact the Faculty Research Office (medicine.research@monash.edu).

Reporting COVID-19

Posted on behalf of Dr Christine De Nardo, Manager, School of Clinical Sciences at Monash Health

Dear Staff and Students, 

On Wednesday 29 November, there were 4,378 reported COVID cases in Victoria, with cases  predicted to peak next week before the rate of hospitalisations and infections begin to slow. This is a timely reminder to remain vigilant and not come to work if you are unwell or a household contact of someone who has tested positive for COVID. If you test positive, please follow the below steps:

• Notify your supervisor
• Isolate from work for at least 7 days (or until you are no longer symptomatic)
• Report your COVID case to the Department of Health and 
• Notify the University by completing the Contact Tracing form. This will ensure the University provides necessary support, including a deep clean of affected areas as required. 

Leave entitlements

Staff who have tested positive to COVID-19 and who are not well enough to work/cannot work from home are able to apply for leave as follows:

SICK LEAVE

• staff will be required to utilise their existing sick leave entitlements whilst they are absent from work. Staff who have exhausted their accrued sick leave, may apply to access existing special paid leave provisions subject to satisfactory medical evidence or a positive PCR Test.

ISOLATION LEAVE

• where required to isolate by a medical practitioner (due to their COVID infection or if they have come into contact with a person suffering from a notifiable disease), may apply for isolation leave for a defined period. See Application for Isolation Leave form.

Further COVID-19 Staff Guidelines can be accessed here.

If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Stay well and look after each other.

Evacuation drills - Tuesday 29 November (MMC only)

As part of our regular emergency training, we will be conducting evacuation drills at the MMC site on Tuesday 29 November. This includes practice evacuation of MIMR Building, MHRP Building, and SCS areas in the TRF Building, E Block, and MHTP AF (in E Block Level 1 and F Block Level 1). 

Please participate in these drills, or indicate to the warden if you have sensitive laboratory or clinical work that you can't leave. 

For any issues, please email scs.ohs@monash.edu

Year end 2022 - key information

The Monash University’s financial year end is approaching; please make yourself aware of the key deadlines and processes relating to Year End 2022 available on the staff intranet.

Changes to year end 2022

Please note that there have been changes to the timing of some year end deadlines. They key changes are summarised as follows:

• Some deadlines that were previously first week of January are now late December
• Some deadlines that were previously second week of January are now first week of January
• Uplift in Financial Accounting review threshold of accruals, pre-payment and income in advance from $50,000 to $500,000.

Please take note of the deadlines relevant to you. Reminders will not be sent for deadlines.

The key close off dates are:

• Accounts Receivable (AR) ledger will close 5:00pm Tuesday 3 January 2023
• Accounts Payable (AP) ledger l close 5:00pm on Thursday 5 January 2023
• Access to all other Finance systems will close at 5pm, Tuesday 10 January 2023 for all Finance staff except Financial Accounting.
• Access to all Finance staff including Financial Accounting will close at COB Thursday 12 January 2023

All deadlines and processes are available on the Finance staff intranet. Please carefully review the deadlines to ensure the appropriate steps are taken to meet all required deadlines.

• Finance operations staff
• R&R staff
• Planning & Budgeting staff

Communicating with Monash staff (customers/clients)

Deadlines applicable to Monash staff are available on the Finance intranet and (as Pdf here) these will be communicated to via Workplace and Monash Insider. If you feel it's necessary for your client or customer group to receive specific communication please contact Finance Communications who will be happy to assist.

If you have any questions regarding the year end processes please contact Tina Pham on tina.pham@monash.edu

Increase your visibility - Update your SCS researcher profile page

Sent on behalf of Dr Christine De Nardo, Manager, School of Clinical Sciences at Monash Health

Many SCS researchers have a profile page within the SCS researchers web page.  These pages are a great way to showcase your research, especially for grant application purposes, being a one-stop-shop for all information regarding your research areas, graduate research projects and a link to your Pure profile.  

SCS researcher pages invite a lot of traffic, as these pages are widely used in all publications at the school and faculty level. As seen in the Google Analytics image below, there were 30,193 views over the last 12 months (overall, SCS website had 186,328 views in the last 12 months).

Click on the image for an enlarged version

We are in the process of showcasing these pages from the SCS home page and would like to ensure all these pages are updated with contents. If you have a researcher profile page and it is not updated, please email your contents to vithya.premkumar@monash.edu.

Below are some examples of the type of content showcased on the SCS researcher pages:

• https://www.monash.edu/medicine/scs/researchers/eric-morand
• https://www.monash.edu/medicine/scs/researchers/katrina-williams
• https://www.monash.edu/medicine/scs/researchers/atul-malhotra

Please email vithya.premkumar@monash.edu if you'd like further information.

NEW Clinical Trials Initiative provides grants up to $1,000,000

The Cancer Research Institute (CRI) is excited to announce a new initiative to support novel immunotherapy clinical trials.

CRI is seeking protocol concepts for phase I/II or II studies from clinicians and academic researchers with the goal of advancing immunotherapies that will provide the greatest impact on patient outcomes.

Funding of up to $1M per study is available. CRI will prioritize selection of trials that address areas of high unmet need in cancer and seek mechanistic insights using deep correlative studies. To mazimize the impact of each clinical trial it funds, CRI will advise on selected studies to coordinate and optimize trial design and translational studies.

The deadline to submit an Initial Protocol Concept is December 1, 2022.

Please contact Ryan Godfrey at grants@cancerresearch.org for submission requirements and instructions on how to apply.

NHMRC 2023 Centres of Research Excellence (CRE) Grants – Now Open

The NHMRC CRE Grants scheme is now open for applications in Sapphire.

The objectives of the CRE grant scheme is:

• to improve health outcomes and promote or improve translation of research outcomes into policy and/or practice.
• The CRE scheme will also support researchers in capacity building activities, including in specific areas of need identified by NHMRC.

The expected outcomes are to:

• support the conduct and development of innovative, high quality, collaborative research
• promote effective translation of research into health policy and/or practice
• foster and build capacity in the health and medical research workforce
• provide opportunities to expand and improve collaborations between research teams.

Grant Guidelines and Grant Proposal Documents  - Available on GrantConnect  

Grant Guidelines and the Grant Proposal template are available on GrantConnect (GO5794). You will need to login to access the documents. Peer Review Guidelines will not be available before the scheme close.

MRO Submission Process Document - HERE

Minimum Data

NHMRC CRE Grants have a minimum data requirement.  Minimum data must be entered into Sapphire  by 17:00 AEST 16 November 2022.   Applications that fail to satisfy this requirement will not be accepted.   Minimum data for CRE Grants is comprised of:

• Application title
• Administering institution
• CRE Stream
• Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander Health Research Focus (yes/no)
• Project synopsis
• NHMRC Privacy agreement (yes/no)
• Research Classification:
• Broad research area
• Field(s) of research
• Peer Review Areas
• Research keywords
• Chief Investigator A (CIA) (completed CIA Role, Name and Email)

The MRO will automatically begin checking applications to ensure they meet minimum data requirements in Sapphire from Wednesday 09 November 2022 and will contact you once this check has been completed. You do not need to contact us to request we check your minimum data.

 MRO Compliance & Eligibility Checking

 As required for submission, the MRO will be conducting eligibility and compliance checks of CRE Grant applications. The due date for a full draft to be provided to MRO (including Sapphire sections being completed with the Grant Proposal document) is 17 November 2022.  Only applications that meet the 17 November 2022 deadline will have a full check of the application.

 Key Dates

•  Applications open in Sapphire: 19 October 2022
•  Minimum data close: 17:00 AEDT 16 November 2022
•  MRO Compliance Check close: 17 November 2022* (for a full eligibility and compliance check)  
•  CI Certification of Finalised application: 10AM 28 November 2022
•  NHMRC external deadline: 17:00 AEDT 30 November 2022

Research Development Support

The Research Development Team may be available to review key sections of CRE grants, to provide a generalist review of the Knowledge Gain section (prioritising the first page and aspects of scheme fit), and to consider impact sections for key personnel. 

If you'd like to participate, please contact mro.researchdevelopment@monash.edu for a discussion ahead of the minimum data deadline.

 Please contact the MRO Applications team if you have any questions.

PhD scholarship opportunity: Development of a Revolutionary Heart Assist Device

A PhD position is available at Monash University in collaboration with QHeart Medical to work on an intra-aortic balloon heart assist device project. A fully funded scholarship is available for the successful applicant for this project running under a Cooperative Research Centres Project (CRC-P) between Monash University and QHeart Medical and other prestigious research centres.

QHeart Medical is developing an interventionally implanted intra-aortic balloon (IAB) device for the treatment of hypertension and hypertensive heart failure. The goal is to develop a medical device therapy to address the unmet clinical need for the management of drug resistant hypertension and moderate heart failure (HF) which has high incidence, declining health, poor quality of life, and high mortality, and have huge treatment costs.

There is opportunity for the PhD candidate to be involved in different aspects of the research and development of the device, from mechanical & electronic design, fabrication (including FEA and CFD analysis), advanced nano-biomaterials, bench and animal testing, and clinical testing procedures.

The ideal candidate will have:

• A bachelor’s degree in a relevant field (i.e. medicine / science/ biomedical / mechanical / materials / mechatronics / chemical),
• A passion for biomedical devices and or new clinical therapy development,
• Completed research experience (through undergraduate thesis, placements, or research assistant position),
• Full English professional proficiency.

The project has excellent supervision and mentoring from Professor Julian Smith, Head of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Monash Health & Monash University, and Dr Peter Walsh, founder at QHeart Medical. Ideally the scholar will be based in Brisbane, Queensland, and enrolled through Monash University, however, alternative arrangements can be discussed.

• Check your eligibility for a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) at Monash University
• Find out more

Online symposium: Food Security in Australia - leave no-one behind

Join us during Anti-Poverty Week (Tuesday 18 October 2022 10-11.45am) for this online symposium   'Food Security in Australia - leave no-one behind', brought to you by Australia's S.H.A.R.E. Collaboration. A group of researchers from Universities around the country working towards Solutions supporting Household Food Security in Australia through Research and Evidence. 

You will hear from international (Joel Berg, Hunger Free America and MaryAnne MacLeod, Food Insecurity Team, Scottish Government)  and Australian leaders (including researchers for Monash's Dept of Nutrition, Dietetics and Food) as they reflect on key lessons learnt to move the food insecurity discourse towards new and effective solutions. You will then be part of a call to action to progress this agenda in Australia.

• Free registration here
• Flyer
• Event enquiries to Sue Kleve  suzanne.kleve@monash.edu 

Workshop on partnerships with philanthropic and impact investors

This workshop, convened in partnership with External Relations, Alumni and Development (ERDA), will be held 09:00-12:00 on 27th October. It will focus on what it takes to build deep and enduring partnerships with philanthropic foundations and impact investors as we seek to tackle the challenges of the age aligned with Impact 2030. Hearing from leading external voices in the philanthropy sector and key academics, we will consider:

• How do we go beyond transactional funding requests to building transformational partnerships with funders that drive impact at scale?

• How is the global philanthropic sector defining impact in partnerships and how do they perceive the role of universities? 

• What are the emerging trends in the philanthropic funding space and how can we as individuals, teams and the university position ourselves to meet them? 

• What lessons can we learn (good and bad) from previous Monash experiences to avoid repeating past mistakes and to improve program design that fosters growth and scaling of philanthropic partnerships?

When? - 09:00-12:00, 27 October 2022, followed by optional networking lunch

Where? -  The ‘Chancellery Room’, ground floor, Chancellery building, Clayton

Agenda? - The draft agenda is attached. 

• 09:00-10:15am - Session 1: Q&A ‘fireside chat’ with invited senior representatives of philanthropic and impact investing organisations.

• 10.15-10:45am - Morning tea and networking with invited panellists 

• 10.45-12:00pm - Session 2: Deep-dive session with key academics who have a track record of partnering with philanthropy for impact. This session provides an opportunity to hear first about the opportunities, challenges and lessons learned across four different case studies. 

Why participate? - Learn from invited sector leaders about trends and headwinds; Connect with colleagues beyond your faculty, institute and discipline; learn from others about their experience; understand the role that ERDA plays in supporting the development of partnerships and be part of this emerging community of practice.  

Who? - The workshop is open to all Monash staff. Both academic and professional staff are welcome, at all levels. Participant numbers are limited.

How? - Register on this link

Can’t make it on the day, but want to be kept informed? - register on the link and we will keep you updated (i.e. we will send you the workshop report).

What’s the ‘2022 Global Impact Workshop Series’? Our aim is to stocktake ‘who is doing what’ with the global impact sector and identify ways we can better collaborate with partners to scale our impact in line with Impact 2030’s ambitions. 

• Workshop 1, held on the 25th March, focused on our engagement with the United Nations (i.e. the World Health Organisation, UN-Women) and multilateral development banks (i.e World Bank, ADB) (see: Workshop 1 slides and Workshop 1 report here). 

• Workshop 2, held on 25th August, focused on partnerships with traditional government development/aid funders (e.g. DFAT, MFAT, USAID); international non-governmental organisations (i-NGOs) (e.g. Oxfam, Plan International); and for-profit private organisations (e.g. Cardno, GHD). (see Workshop 2 slides and Workshop 2 report here). 

• Workshop 3, planned for 27th October, is the final workshop in the series and will explore partnerships with philanthropic trusts and foundations.

Take a look at the agenda and if you’re interested, register today for the event here: on this link. Please also share this email with your Monash colleagues and networks.

 

For more information, don't hesitate to get in touch with Dr. Matthew French, Director Research Missions and Global Impact <matthew.french@monash.edu>. 

Welcome to Kelly Adlington, SCS Senior Clinical Trial Coordinator

Posted on behalf of Dr Vanalysa Ly, Research Manager, School of Clinical Sciences at Monash Health

I am pleased to welcome Kelly Adlington to the School Research Office to the newly created position of Senior Clinical Trial Coordinator

Kelly is currently finishing a PhD in Medical research and joins our team from the Murdoch Children's Research Institute. She has a research background where she focussed on determining the effect of α-actinin 3 deficiency on the regulation of skeletal muscle mass and response to androgens.

With Kelly joining the team there will be an important change in commercially sponsored clinical trial workflow in the School Research Office. Please direct all questions to the clinical trial role account (scs-research1@monash.edu) so that with Kelly or I can respond to you in a timely manner.

Please make Kelly welcome.

SCS staff receive Dean's Awards for Excellence

The Dean's Awards for Excellence were announced recently and SCS is delighted to report that five staff members have been recognised for their outstanding achievement within the Faculty.   

• Dr Tammie Choi, Department of Nutrition and Dietetics - Excellence in Education (Innovation in Learning and Teaching)
• Dr Filippe Oliveira, Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology - Excellence in Education (Outstanding Contribution to Student Learning)
• A/Prof Joshua Ooi, Centre for Inflammatory Diseases - Excellence in Research (Enterprise)
• Rebecca Preston, SCS Finance Manager - Excellence in Professional Staff
• Dr Roshan Selvaratnam, Hudson Institute of Medical Research - Excellence in Doctoral Thesis

Find out more about SCS staff Dean's Awards for Excellence from the videos below:

Dr Tammie Choi

Dr Tammie Choi, Department of Nutrition and Dietetics - Excellence in Education (Innovation in Learning and Teaching)

Dr Tammie Choi is leading research on teaching and supporting international and culturally diverse students in health profession training. 

"The challenges we faced during the COVID-19 pandemic created opportunities to change and trial new education activities.  I am grateful to work in a collaborative team and thrive to optimise the learning experience for our students," said Dr Choi.

Dr Filippe Oliveira

Dr Filippe Oliveira, Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology - Excellence in Education (Outstanding Contribution to Student Learning)

Dr Filippe Oliveira convenes a Biomedical Science and Science undergraduate unit (BME3082 - Fetal and Neonatal Development, which is consistently ranked 'Outstanding' and in the top 9% of units at Monash University. 

"I am honoured to receive this award and I would like to share this recognition of contribution to the quality of student learning with my colleagues and students in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology and The Ritchie Centre," said Dr Oliveira.

A/Prof Joshua Ooi

A/Prof Joshua Ooi, Centre for Inflammatory Diseases - Excellence in Research (Enterprise)

A/Prof Joshua Ooi's research has received international recognition on the discovery of the key cause of autoimmune diseases.

"This has been a team effort and I have many people to thank for our success. Prof Eric Morand has been instrumental as a mentor and close collaborator, Peter Eggenhuizen, Janet Chang and Rachel Cheong for being brave enough to embark on this from the beginning. It's been a rewarding experiece and I look forward to translating our cell based products into therapies for autoimmune diseases," said A/Prof Ooi.

Rebecca Preston

Rebecca Preston, SCS Finance Manager - Excellence in Professional Staff

Rebecca Preston's greatest achievement in her role as the Finance Manager has been managing the significant growth of SCS over the last 15 years and has has gone above and beyond this year, also taking on the role of Acting School Manager, which she has executed with the same diligence and collaborative approach to her finance role.

"Thank you to Peter Ebeling and Clare Westhorpe for this nomination, and of course my amazing colleagues for their endorsements. I have been with SCS for 15 years and have loved watching it change and grow substantially.  Coming to work is easy when I work with such fabulous people!", said Rebecca Preston.

Dr Roshan Selvaratnam, Hudson Institute of Medical Research - Excellence in Doctoral Thesis

Dr Roshan Selvaratnam

Dr Roshan Selvaratnam's PhD focused on improving the detection and management of fetal growth restriction in the drive to reduce stillbirth.

"I am incredibly honoured to receive this award.  It is a testament to my supervisors - Dr Mary-Ann Davey and Prof Euan Wallace, all my collaborators, the organisations that have supported me, and the Victorian mothers and babies who have allowed me to use their stories and data to make meaningful contributions to pregnancy care in Victoria," said Dr Selvaratnam.

Expression of Interest – Senior Lecturer (Graduate Research)

Applications closed as of 3:15pm 27 October 2022

Posted on behalf of Dr Christine De Nardo, Manager, School of Clinical Sciences at Monash Health

Location: Monash Medical Centre

Employment Type: 0.4 – 0.6 FTE

Duration: 6 months in the first instance with the aim to extend

Remuneration: Academic Levels B – D will be considered

The Opportunity

The School of Clinical Sciences at Monash Health is a vibrant clinical teaching and medical research school in the Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences. We are seeking a Senior Lecturer (Graduate Research) to work alongside the Head of Graduate Research to support and extend the School’s growing Graduate Research Program. The Senior Lecturer will be a key contributor to the student experience, involved in the management of Graduate Research Students during their first year of candidature and being engaged in enrolment and the scholarships application processes. The successful academic is expected to manage development and implementation of new Forums and training opportunities. This will also include involvement in serving as an alternate on the Faculty Graduate Research Committee meetings.

Selection Criteria

We are looking for applicants who:

• Possess a high level of interpersonal skills and demonstrated ability to work independently and as part of a team across both the education and service sectors
• Are committed and passionate about engaging in scholarly and research activities
• Can work positively and cooperatively with students, internal and external teams and external organisations
• Have experience in delivery of research training and/or teaching in a tertiary environment
• Enjoy working in a collaborative team environment
• Are keen to support students and supervisors in alignment with Monash University policies for best practice in graduate research training

If this sounds like a position that suits your current career focus, we look forward to hearing from you.

Enquiries

Prof Kate Loveland; Head, Graduate Research, School of Clinical Sciences +61 3 8572 2904 kate.loveland@monash.edu

Applications

As your expression of interest, please include the following in your application as a single PDF file to Jin Graham (jin.graham@monash.edu):

Resume

A brief summary of why you would like to apply for this role

Suitable individuals will be contacted for further discussion about this opportunity

Important Notice for Excess Annual Leave

 Sent on behalf of Dr Christine De Nardo, Manager, School of Clinical Scinces at Monash Health

All staff with excess annual leave balance will have received an email from the University outlining their annual leave balance as of 1 June 2022. 

The maximum permissible limit of annual leave at 31 December 2022 has been temporarily increased from 30 to 40 days (pro rata for part-time staff).

Annual leave accrued in excess of your maximum permissible limit of 40 days will be treated as excess annual leave (EAL) by the University for 2022 assuming no change in your full-time fraction. If your annual leave balance does exceed 40 days at 31 December 2022 and you have not applied by 7 January 2023 for annual leave to eliminate your EAL by no later than 30 June 2023, you will (by operation of the Enterprise Agreement) be rostered and deemed to be on annual leave from your first expected working day on or after 7 January 2023.  You will then be liable to remain on rostered and deemed annual leave until your annual leave balance has been reduced to 40 days.

What you need to do

• Regularly check your annual leave balance via ESS to confirm whether you will have more than 40 days accrued as at 31 December 2022.
• All annual leave to be accrued or taken up to 31 December 2022 needs to be taken into account.
• Please note that any change to your current full-time time fraction will affect your maximum permissible leave balance limit and any changes up to 31 December 2022 need to be taken into consideration.
• After checking your annual leave balance:
• If your annual leave balance will be 40 days or less at 31 December 2022, no further action is required to be taken by you at this time; or
• If your annual leave balance will be more than 40 days at 31 December 2022, please speak with your supervisor and agree to a leave plan to maintain your leave balance at or below 40 days to avoid accruing EAL.
• Leave Planning:
• Submit your leave plan via ESS (or if you encounter any issues with applying through ESS then submit an Application for Leave and Special Leave (online) form).
• Your leave plan may include taking your leave only a day or a few days at a time rather than for longer periods if you prefer.
• When preparing your leave plan, you should also take into account annual leave that will accrue up to 31 December 2022.
• If you have EAL as at 31 December 2022, you must submit a leave plan by 7 January 2023 to eliminate your EAL if you are to avoid being rostered and deemed on annual leave.  The elimination of that EAL under your leave plan must be taken by 30 June 2023.

National Day of Mourning Thursday 22 September

Monash University will observe National Day of Mourning (Thursday 22 September) as a one-off public holiday, in line with the Monash University Enterprise Agreement (Academic and Professional Staff) 2019. This will create a four-day weekend, which includes the Grand Final public holiday on Friday 23 September and standard weekend (Saturday 24 and Sunday 25 September). For further details around pay and teaching, please see The Insider. For information about overtime procedures, please consult the After Hours form on the SCS intranet and the University's Policy.

Science and Industry Endowment Fund – Australian Academy of Science Fellowships to the Lindau Nobel Laureate Meetings

A SIEA - AAS Fellowship is provided to ECR applicants that demonstrate a strong commitment to their principal field of studies, that is in physiology and medical sciences related disciplines, and to interdisciplinary work, for example by double degrees or interdisciplinary projects. 

The registration fee for the 2023 meeting is €2,500 (EUR) per attendee. The Academy’s grant-in-aid will contribute up to $4,000 (AUD) towards this fee for each attendee. The Academy will pay the registration fee at the conclusion of the meeting. If the final figure for the registration fee exceeds $4,000 (AUD) after conversion the attendee must pay the difference to the Academy before 31 July 2023.

As per the guidelines for this scheme, Monash University may only submit a total of one application per department, up to a maximum of two applications across the University.

Final applications are due to the funder via SmartyGrants by 5pm Wednesday 28th of September 2022. The following deadlines are advised to give applicants the maximum amount of time to draft a full application:

• Deadline for submission of EOI to Faculty: 10AM 19th of September 2022
• Reviewing by cross-Faculty panel and notification of outcomes: by the 26th of September 2022
• MRO deadline for compliance check (via Pure): 27th of September 2022
• Deadline for submission of final applications: 5pm 28th of September 2022

The two shortlisted Monash applicants will be advised to proceed with their full application submission and entry of their application into Pure

Monash EOI template.

Further information on this scheme can be found at the followinglink

Please feel free to contact MRO Applications Team in case of any further questions.

Dr Christine De Nardo appointed as SCS School Manager

Posted on behalf of Acting Head of School, Professor Julian Smith

I am pleased to announce that Dr Christine De Nardo has been appointed as SCS School Manager, effective 5 September 2022.  Christine brings with her more than 10 years of expertise in research and operations management at medical research institutions in Australia and Germany.

Christine obtained a PhD from the Department of Medicine at the University of Melbourne in 2009. Since then she has built a strong foundation in operations management, alliance management, the coordination and management of collaborative academic and commercially-driven research programs, multinational competitive funding applications, technology transfer agreements and research contracts with major industry partners.

She began as Scientific Coordinator of the Molecular Genetics of Cancer Division at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute (WEHI), before taking on Scientific Coordinator and General Manager roles at the University of Bonn in Germany. During this period, she played a key role in the establishment of the ImmunoSensation Cluster of Excellence, securing EUR 28 million from the German Research Foundation. Concurrent with this, Christine managed the PR and Communications strategy for the Life and Medical Sciences Institute in Bonn, Germany. Since returning to Australia, Christine has acted as Scientific Coordinator of the Chemical Biology Division at WEHI, Scientific Coordinator within the Biomedicine Discovery Institute at Monash University, and more recently as General Manager for immuno-oncology biotechnology company, oNKo-innate Pty Ltd.

Christine will be in touch and get to know everyone as she settles into her new role.  Please make her feel welcome.  

Catch up Fridays during September - seeking your support

On behalf of the Dean's Office

To welcome Spring, and give us some uninterrupted working and thinking time, the Faculty is proposing that we implement "Catch-up Fridays" for the month of September.  As we did in 2020 and 2021, we encourage you for this one day a week, to reduce your meetings, hold off sending emails, and carve out some space for concentration and getting to work on tasks on your To Do list.

The Faculty office will undertake not to initiate meetings or emails unless essential.

While there are no rules for "Catch up Fridays", Heads of Schools support staff to:

• Reduce meetings and emails where practical to do so
• Encourage supervisors to reduce meetings and emails where practical to do so
• Schedule non-urgent emails to be sent on Monday
• Recognise that we can't control meetings/calls from Central and external partners, so some meetings may need to proceed
• Update email signatures and/or out-of-office messages to "MNHS is implementing "catch up" Fridays for September 2022, where we reduce meetings and emails. I am available for meetings Monday to Thursday and I will respond to your Friday emails on Monday, unless urgent."
• Schedule an all-day meeting in calendars on Friday 2, 9, 16, 23 and 30 September
• Choose alternative times in the week, in consultation with supervisors, if Friday is not a work day in a part-time role, or if Friday has immovable work commitments.

Channeling Your Voice - IMPACT AND ENGAGEMENT FOR THOUGHT LEADERS

Monash University Marketing, Admissions and Communications invites you to join us for a wide-ranging training opportunity.

'Channeling Your Voice' is designed to further Monash experts' capabilities across traditional and emerging media platforms. It covers numerous topics, including:

• Media training
• Social media training
• Pitching and writing for Lens
• Storytelling
• Podcasting

You're welcome to join us for some, or all, of the modules.

Lunch is provided. A photographer will also be on hand to take professional headshots. 

• Date: Tuesday, 30 August, 9.30am – 4pm
• Venue: Lecture Theatre H126 (Building H), Caulfield campus

Please note there's a workshop fee of $150.

What's on

• 9.30: Inside storytelling
• Stories surround us at Monash. How do you find one, and how do you share it with the world?
• 10am: A look at Lens
• Monash’s home for thought leadership, Lens is your platform. Learn to make the most of it.
• 10.30am: Morning tea
• 10.45am: Media training
• Gain an understanding of the changing media landscape. Learn to hold your own in an interview, stick to your key messages, and find out how the media team can support you.
• 12.30pm: Lunch
• 1pm: Social media training
• Confidently use social media platforms to share your work, build your network and further your career.
• 2.45pm: Content development
• Learn best practices for creating digital content.
• 3pm: Workplace
• Learn best practices for creating digital content.
• 3.30pm: Podcast training
• Considering being a guest on a podcast, or even launching your own? Start here.

REGISTER NOW

Please note, you may need to log into myDevelopment for the registration link to work.

You'll receive a confirmation email when this process is complete. Please register no later than Monday, 22 August.

Please note: This session is contingent upon the Victorian government's COVIDsafe restrictions. We'll update registrants if the situation changes.

We look forward to seeing you there. Please email socialmedia@monash.edu if you have any questions, or if you'd like to attend a future session – we offer them quarterly.

Academic promotion 2022: MNHS internal processes & planning

From: Mairi Rose, Senior Administrative Officer, Academic Performance, Faculty Research Office

It is time to start thinking about the 2022 Academic Promotions round. If you are planning to apply for promotion to Level C, D or E this round, it is time to begin preparing your application.

Please note that the University has yet to finalise the promotion documents for the next round, however, the general structure of the application will remain mostly unchanged.  The 2022 Academic Promotions timeline has not yet been finalised, but applicants should start planning to work on their applications over the next 3 months. 

Further details about information sessions, and university processes will follow on when the round dates are confirmed.

In the meantime, please follow these instructions to get started, noting the specific tasks you must carry out based on your contract type:

Research Only and Teaching & Research Staff

1. Let the MNHS Faculty Research Office know that you intend to apply by emailing medicine.research@monash.edu. We will inform you of your promotion reference period, i.e. the period of activity that will be considered in your application and metrics report. This is usually 3-5 years, depending on your last promotion.  If you have an unusual or complex case, we will refer you to the HR Academic Promotions team. 
2. Request a meeting with Prof James Whisstock, Deputy Dean Research (Level D and E applicants) or Prof Ian Smyth, Associate Dean, Research and Research Infrastructure (Level C applicants) to discuss your case for promotion.  This is highly recommended for all RO and T&R applicants in MNHS. You can discuss your metrics, draft application, and any questions you have about the assessment process at the meeting.   James and Ian will begin meeting with candidates in September.   Please complete this form to request a meeting as soon as possible. 
3. Check your metrics and research activity data via the myPerformance Dashboard. Once your reference period is confirmed, use your myPerformance Dashboard to evaluate your metrics against the MNHS Academic Performance Standards.  You can also use the Dashboard to see if you need to update or correct any of your research activity data in Pure, including grant applications and awards, research income, outputs, and HDR supervision data.  It is your responsibility to ensure your data is correct and up to date. 
4. Make any necessary updates to your research activity data using the Research Activity Guide. This guide provides the contact details for the central teams that manage your data. You can get in touch with these teams directly to request any changes that need to be made.  It may take several weeks for changes to be made, so you should start this process as soon as possible.
5. Update your public profiles.  Make your Google Scholar profile public.  If you have multiple Scopus profiles, please merge them.

Education Focused and Teaching & Research Staff

1. Ensure you have a Summative Peer Review of Teaching report from 2022. You can find out more about how to request a review on the Monash Learning and Teaching Peer Review website.
2. Request your Student Evaluation Record from University Planning and Statistics via their online Google Form.
3. Request a meeting with Prof Wayne Hodgson, Deputy Dean Education, to discuss your education case for promotion. You should bring a draft of your education case to the meeting. Please email Karen Johnson, Prof. Hodgson’s EA, to request a meeting.

Additional resources are available for Education Focused and Teaching & Research staff to help them draft their application. This includes the Monash Education Academy’s Moodle site of resources to help applicants construct an evidence-based education case in their application. The Moodle site can be accessed any time.

Contact Information

The Faculty Research Office manages the academic promotion process in collaboration with the HR Academic Promotions team. We are available to answer your questions, as well as help you with your metrics, research data and myPerformance Dashboard. 

Please email questions about your metrics, research data and MyPerformance Dashboard to the Faculty Research Office at medicine.research@monash.edu

Please email any questions about the Promotion application process to hr.academic-promotion@monash.edu.

Peer2Peer Promotion Support Networking Event for Academic Women in STEMM

The Monash STEMM Women Academic Network is hosting an event on Wednesday 24th August for academic women in STEMM interested in peer-2-peer mentoring for academic promotion.

Event details

• Date: Wednesday 24th August
• Time: 12pm – 2pm: refreshment and networking opportunities available from 11:30am
• Venue: Chancellery room, Chancellery Building, 27 Chancellors Walk, Clayton campus
• Register: medicine.research@monash.edu
• RSVP by 1 August

This event welcomes women in STEMM who are intending to submit an application for academic promotion this year, as well as those considering applying for promotion in the future.

We encourage you to forward this invitation to other potential candidates who may be interested in this promotion support. Please find further details below.

On behalf of the STEMM Women Academic Network, we are very excited to invite you to the annual Peer2Peer Promotion Support Networking Event sponsored by the Monash Data Futures Institute.

Target group

This event is for academic women in STEMM who are interested in peer-2-peer mentoring for academic promotion (regardless of whether you intend to submit for promotion this year or in the future).

We are also seeking mentors with previous experience on promotion committees who are available to come along to the event and willing to share their insights and wisdom with potential candidates.

The event is a fantastic opportunity to meet and connect with women from various STEMM faculties and departments at Monash and talk to an experienced mentor about preparing for academic promotion.  It is never too early to start thinking of your promotion so we encourage women of all career stages to avail yourself of this opportunity, regardless of your intention to apply for promotion this year. With this initiative we hope to enable you to prepare better and earlier for promotion and maximise your chance for success.

The STEMM Women Academic Network is a gender initiative of the Athena SWAN Committee aimed at supporting the retention and success of academic women in STEMM disciplines at Monash University. We seek to support career development and success of academic women at Monash, while driving and growing a cultural shift.

Please feel free to join the Network: Become a Member.

We would also greatly appreciate if you could forward this email to other potential candidates who may be interested in the promotion support.  

Hope you can join us!

MNHS Research Town Hall

Sent on behalf of  Professor James Whisstock, Deputy Dean, Research

This month's Research Town Hall will be held on Thursday 21 July from 12:00 - 1:00 PM. We will provide updates relating to research, research infrastructure, and research training. There will also be an opportunity to ask us questions about any research-related matters, including travel, platforms, HDR students, upcoming and open funding schemes, etc. The Agenda for the upcoming session is attached.

Please note that recently appointed MNHS Senior and Bridging Postdoctoral Fellows will be invited to give a presentation on their work at these sessions throughout the year. This month's speaker is Dr Romana Stark from the Biomedicine Discovery Institute, who will present, "Understanding how the olfactory system affects behaviour and metabolism."

The session will be hosted by:

• Prof James Whisstock, Deputy Dean (Research)
• Prof Ian Smyth, Associate Dean (Research and Research Infrastructure)

Please join us via Zoom

All MNHS staff are welcome to attend, so please distribute this throughout your relevant areas.

We hope that you will join us. 

Important information for upcoming promotion round 2022

Teaching & Research and Education Focused staff who apply for promotion to Level C, D or E in the upcoming Academic Promotion round will be required to include a 2022 Summative Peer Review of Teaching in their promotion application.

Prospective applicants are advised to plan their teaching schedules and submit their requests in PeerView.monash as soon as possible, allowing sufficient time to assign available reviewers.

Peer reviews can be undertaken on synchronous (face to face and online) and asynchronous (recorded) teaching. The process is detailed in the Monash Learning and Teaching Peer Review website. 

Monash Biomedical Imaging Zoom Webinar

• Date: Wednesday, 3 August 2022
• Time: 12:30pm - 1:15pm
• Title: Learning with less labels for medical image segmentation
• Speaker: Dr. Mehrtash Harandi, Department of Electrical and Computer Systems Engineering, Monash University
• Register here

Abstract

Accurate segmentation of medical images is a key step in developing Computer-Aided Diagnosis (CAD) and automating various clinical tasks such as image-guided interventions.

The success of state-of-the-art methods for medical image segmentation is heavily reliant upon the availability of a sizable amount of labelled data. If the required quantity of labelled data for learning cannot be reached, the technology turns out to be fragile.  

The principle of consensus tells us that as humans, when we are uncertain how to act in a situation, we tend to look to others to determine how to respond. In this webinar, Dr Mehrtash Harandi will show how to model the principle of consensus to learn to segment medical data with limited labelled data. In doing so, we design multiple segmentation models that collaborate with each other to learn from labelled and unlabelled data collectively.

Biography

Dr Mehrtash Harandi is a senior lecturer in the Department of Electrical and Computer Systems Engineering (ECSE) at Monash University and a contributing research scientist at the Machine Learning Research Group (MLRG - Data61-CSIRO). His research spans various aspects of machine learning, computer vision and signal processing, developing algorithms and mathematical models to equip machines with intelligence.

Enquiries

T: +61 3 9905 0100 | E: enquiries.mbi@monash.edu