Welcome to the spring edition of the Curtin Health Community eNewsletter, now in a refreshed format.
We are thrilled to celebrate the incredible achievements of 26 Curtin alumni who competed at the Paris Olympics and were privileged to welcome back Health Sciences graduates, Zoe Arancini and Jake Harvie, to the 2024 Curtin Young Alumni event to hear about their inspiring Olympic journeys.
This month, 633 Health Science students graduated, an important milestone for our future healthcare professionals across Perth and Singapore. The Curtin School of Nursing also hosted the “Fifty Years of Excellence Conference”, bringing together over 220 delegates. Click here to view the conference images. The School’s 50th anniversary celebrations will conclude with an invite only reunion on the Bentley campus on 14 November.
In this edition, discover our latest research that makes a difference to people’s lives and shapes our learning and teaching. And read the remarkable story of Jordan Bowling and his experience in our student-led speech clinics.
Thank you for your continued support and for being part of our vibrant alumni community.
Best regards,
Professor Carlo Marra
Pro Vice Chancellor, Faculty of Health Sciences
From ED nurse to founder of reputable nursing agency Mediserve, Miles Cue has always been passionate about providing quality healthcare. Aside from offering personalised service you can trust; the company is highly committed to supporting community and giving back.
Sally Webster was a beloved Curtin staff member and alumni who championed equality. To her loving husband Evyn and sons Luke and Josh, Sally was their world. Ten years ago, Sally lost her courageous five-year battle with ovarian cancer, leaving an irreplaceable void in the Webster family.
Winner of the 2024 Curtinnovation Health Sciences Prize, ChemoDX has been developed by Dr Yu Yu, Professor Paul Cohen, Dr Adeline Tan and Mr Alishum Ali to help solve the problem of up to 50% of cancer patients receiving unnecessary chemotherapy treatment. This new diagnostic tool has the potential to determine a patient’s likely response to platinum chemotherapy before treatment commence.
Congratulations to Curtin Health Sciences graduate Zoe Arancini on winning a Silver Medal at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games! As the Australian women’s water polo captain, Zoe’s achievement is the culmination of years of hard work and dedication. “Winning an Olympic medal is a lifelong dream, representing perseverance and resilience,” says Zoe. Well done to all our Curtin graduates and students.
Growing up, Curtin University Physiotherapy graduate Jake Harvie has always had a special connection to the Olympics. Coming from a strong bloodline of hockey royalty, Jake always wanted to follow in his grandfather, triple Olympian Gordon Pearce’s footsteps. Before Jake took on the Paris Olympics, we sat down with him to learn more about his journey to becoming an Australian Olympic hockey player
Professor Sonya Girdler from Curtin Autism Research Group (CARG) joined autism advocates, Dr. Emma Goodall, Lisa Munday MLA, Jo Hall, Debbie Hawthorn, and David Winder, to explore strategies for autism inclusion in classrooms. CARG supports the strengths of individuals on the spectrum through research guided by and for them, funded by the Stan Perron Charitable Foundation and Telethon.
Curtin University has been awarded $1.1 million from Healthway to continue its Act Belong Commit mental health promotion campaign for the next two years, with an Australian-first Indigenous youth yoga training program among the initiatives on offer.
A Curtin speech clinic is helping brain injury survivor Jordan Bowling regain his voice. The 23-year-old fell 13 meters off a cliff, leaving him in a coma. The clinic offers hope on his long road to recovery.
Curtin University researchers are calling for participants for a national study into how best to support children’s mental health and wellbeing as they navigate the important transition from primary to secondary school.
Congratulations to outstanding Curtin University alumni, Associate Professor Zoe Bradfield and Dr Angela Spence who were named finalists in the 2024 Young Tall Poppy Awards!
The Young Tall Poppy Awards recognises emerging scientists who excel in both world-class research and science communication across a range of fields.
Please join us again in congratulating Zoe and Angela for being named the 2024 WA Young Tall Poppy award recipients!
Congratulations to Curtin University PhD graduate Dr Ellie Dunlop on being named as a finalist in the 2024 Premier’s Science Awards!
Eleanor was recognised for her outstanding work in multiple sclerosis research, particularly her research into the influence of dietary factors in the onset and progression of multiple sclerosis in children and adults.
The prestigious annual event celebrates the best groundbreaking scientific work taking place across WA and aims to raise the profile of hashtag #STEM in the State.
Congratulations to the 2024 Premier Science winners!
Congratulations to the Healthy Connections team, who won the Social Impact category at the recent Western Australian Information Technology and Telecommunications Alliance INCITE Awards for their mobile Medi-Kit. The Kit, a virtual healthcare solution that supports preventative health screening for chronic diseases in remote Indigenous communities, was developed in response to the State Government’s global Challenge to reimagine remote and regional healthcare.
Curtin’s Professor John Olynyk has played a leading role in establishing a new national patient registry launched in Federal Parliament today, which could help drastically improve the lives of the estimated 100,000 Australians living with haemochromatosis.
Congratulations to Dr William Gilmore from NDRI and the enAble Institute who has been awarded the prestigious ARC Discovery Early Career Researcher Award (2025) for his project, “Addressing Alcohol Use and Injury in Australia’s Ageing Population.”
This is an exceptional achievement considering the highly competitive nature of the ARC DECRAs, which is granted to only a select few researchers each year.
Congratulations on this remarkable achievement and to his colleagues in the NDRI and enAble Institute who supported him.
Read about incredible Curtin research that helps our community
Read about incredible Curtin research that helps our community
Curtin University students have come together to tackle challenges in the disability sector, creating innovative solutions as part of the first-ever Learning Futures Accessibility Challenge.
New Curtin University research has revealed at least 46,000 Australian welders are exposed to high levels of dangerous, potentially cancer-causing fumes at work — and little is being done to protect them.
People with Type 2 diabetes are far more likely to suffer cardiovascular events such as stroke and heart attack than the rest of the population, however a new Curtin University project will explore if common, easily accessible medications can reduce this risk.
New Curtin University-led research has revealed around 0.5 per cent, or approximately 260, suicide deaths in Australia over a two-decade period were correlated with unusually higher temperatures caused by climate change.
Curtin University researchers have trialled an online nutrition education program designed to help people with multiple sclerosis (MS) manage their symptoms through healthy eating.
The ‘Young Minds: Our Future’ survey will update national mental health rates among Australian children and adolescents. Led by Professor David Lawrence, the study will involve interviews with 6,500 primary carers and questionnaires for young people aged 11-17.
We are on the road to eliminate trachoma in Australia, says environmental health expert Dr Melissa Stoneham. But Melissa, who heads up the service-delivery Environmental Health Trachoma Project (#endingtrachoma) run by the Public Health Advocacy Institute (PHAI) based at Curtin University, would dearly love to see the process speed up.
Curtin University researchers are calling for participants for a national study into how best to support children’s mental health and wellbeing as they navigate the important transition from primary to secondary school.
What do you think about Curtin Health Community and the stories we’re sharing? Have a story you’d like to share? Let us know.