What's On at UWA

In this workshop, we will explore methods and models for forecasting time series. Topics to be covered include seasonality and trends, exponential smoothing, ARIMA modelling, dynamic regression and state space models, as well as forecast accuracy methods and forecast evaluation techniques such as cross-validation. The workshop will involve a mixture of lectures and practical sessions using R.

Workshop participants will be assumed to be familiar with basic statistical tools such as multiple regression and maximum likelihood estimation, but no knowledge of time series or forecasting will be assumed. Some prior experience in R is desirable.

UWA Postgraduate Research students receive subsidised fees.

In the past decade, the first human reference genome was generated. Within the last several months, a steep decline in sequencing costs has enabled the analysis of entire populations. However, initial efforts almost entirely concentrated on the sequencing of individuals of European descent and their illnesses, resulting in highly biased SNV (single nucleotide variant) databases. Despite these limitations, large population sequencing projects are underway in the US, UK and Asia, attempting to link rare genetic variants to disease phenotypes. As the major ethnic groups of the human population show noticeable differences in their genetic diversity, this presentation will address issues of genome-based disease associations within study cohorts. In addition, the effect of recent exponential population growth on the generation of novel alleles is investigated, as well as the historical human census sizes of the last 200.000 years.

After receiving a degree in organic chemistry, Stephan Schuster moved into Biochemistry and Microbiology during his graduate studies at the Max-Planck-Institute, Germany. His postdoctoral studies at the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, USA, included work on bacterial motility and signal transduction. After holding group leader positions at two Max-Planck-Institutes, he was appointed a Professorship for Molecular Microbial Ecology at Pennsylvania State University (Penn State), USA. In 2013, he moved to Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore, as a Professor in Environmental Genomics, and a Research Director at the Singapore Centre on Environmental Life Sciences Engineering (SCELSE). Being one of the pioneers in next-generation sequencing, Professor Schuster has worked on the forefront of technology development and its implementation for research. His works of note include the sequencing of the woolly mammoth, the Tasmanian Tiger and Devil, as well as 2 of the first 10 human genomes

This course is aimed at anyone wishing to improve their survey questionnaires. This course is useful for both people new to questionnaire design and those who have experience and would like to extend their knowledge. It will be a benefit not only for people who anticipate designing a questionnaire in the future, but for those in the role of critiquing commissioned or existing research.

UWA Postgraduate Research students receive subsidised fees.

St George's College will throw open its doors for everyone to visit, explore and discover what life is like in the 'castle'! In conjunction with Open Gardens Australia the day will feature building and garden tours, a variety of musical performances, extensive art exhibition (including works by Jarrad Seng and John Ogburn), poetry readings, recitals of Randolph Stow works, food and beverages also available for purchase.

A live broadcast will also be held at the College of the 720 ABC James Lush program and the "Roots and Shoots" segment with Sabrina Hahn. Everyone is welcome to attend the broadcast from 8.30 am until 10.00 am.

An entry fee will be applicable from 10.00 am onwards of $8.00 per person (under 18 are free of charge). The monies raised will go towards our Scholarship Fund.

Come along and enjoy the beautiful spring day at St George's College.

Join in to raise awareness and promote the mental health of those who study and work in higher education along side 30 other universities across Australia.

Mental Health Week 2014 is coming up from October 6-10 and is a good opportunity to take some time out to consider what you can do to maximise your mental health. A number of free activities are available to staff and students during the week, including a range of seminars, laughter yoga and free come and try sessions for staff at UWA Sports. Also this year we’re inviting all UWA students and staff to make a personal pledge toward improved wellbeing at various times and venues across the week.

Check out the event page for a full list of activities running across the week for staff and students: http://www.student.uwa.edu.au/life/health/fit/events-and-activities

The Health Promotion Unit & Student Guild will be hosting the inaugural Australian and New Zealand University Mental Health Day (ANZUMHD) on October 7 as part of UWA Mental Health Week, to raise awareness and promote the mental health of those who study and work in higher education. Over 30 Australian Universities have nominated to participate in 2014.

Head over to the Oak Lawn from 11:00am-2:00pm for freebies, food, activities and special guests Headspace, Lifeline and Students Passionate About Mental Health (SPAMH). UWA support services staff available to answer questions about mental health services and support on campus. You are invited to make your personal pledge to improve your mental health & wellbeing.

Workshops/seminars: Laughter Yoga for UWA staff and students from 1:00-1:45pm; Creating a Positive Work Culture for UWA staff from 1:30-2:30pm; SPAMH 'Mental Health 101' Seminars for UWA students from 1:00-3:00pm

Register now for the workshops and seminars!

Come and have a giggle and let off steam at the free Laughter Yoga workshop hosted by the Health Promotion Unit as part of the UWA Mental Health Week. Janni Goss from Laugh WA will teach you how to giggle your way to stress relief! Spaces are limited so register today!

Missed out on the Postgrad & Honours Expo? No problem! Come along to our mini pop-up Postgrad Expo on 7 October between 1-2pm in the Bayliss Bldg. Staff from eight faculties will be there to answer your questions about postgraduate study - and to hand out free pizza!

If you are a clinician, researcher or industry representative interested in cutting edge melanoma research and the very latest treatment developments, please register now for SKMRC’s 2nd national melanoma conference in Perth, WA this October at skmrc.org.au This is a rare opportunity for Perth researchers and clinicians to hear from national and international experts on melanoma. This exciting conference will also provide potential opportunities to collaborate with some of the world’s leading melanoma researchers.

Chronic airway diseases including COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) and lung cancer are leading causes of worldwide mortality with annual healthcare costs of billions of pounds. Despite this, there have been only a few therapeutic advances in these conditions over the past 20 years. Using evidence from human patient samples, transgenic animal models, and cell and molecular biology studies, Adam will identify and characterize airway stem and progenitor cells in lung health and disease. He will discuss key pathways that control normal and abnormal growth of these airway progenitor cells, and suggest how targeting these pathways using new and existing therapies has the potential to improve lung cancer and COPD patient outcomes.

After graduating with BSc and MSc degrees in Biology and Toxicology from the University of Rochester (1995-2001), Adam Giangreco completed a PhD in cell biology at the University of Pittsburgh with Professor Barry Stripp (2001-2004). This work led to the first identification of stem cells within mammalian conducting airways. Adam was then awarded US NIH and US-UK Marshall Sherfield Postdoctoral Fellowships to continue his training at Cancer Research UK and the University of Cambridge (2004-2009). During this time, he made several key discoveries regarding the molecular mechanisms governing skin regeneration and ageing. Subsequently, Adam was recruited to the Lungs for Living Research Centre at University College London where he is now a Principal Research Investigator.

Presenter: Associate Professor Peter McEvoy

Associate Professor Peter McEvoy completed his masters in clinical psychology and PhD in the School of Psychology at UWA in 2004, after which he worked as a clinical psychologist and service co-ordinator at the Anxiety Disorders Unit, St Vincent’s Hospital, Sydney for four years. After he returned to Perth in 2008 he worked as a senior clinical psychologist and research co-ordinator in the anxiety and depression program at the Centre for Clinical Interventions (CCI) for six years. Over the last decade he has personally run around 80 therapeutic groups for various anxiety and affective disorders whilst maintaining an individual caseload and squeezing in research projects where possible. In February 2014 Peter commenced a teaching and research position in the School of Psychology and Speech Pathology at Curtin University, although he maintains an ongoing consultancy with CCI. Peter teaches the adult psychopathology and psychotherapy units in the clinical Masters program, he has published around 50 journal articles and book chapters in the areas of mental disorders and their treatment, and he has served on the editorial board of the Journal of Anxiety Disorders since 2008.

Title: Targeting transdiagnostic processes and using imagery to optimise clinical outcomes from cognitive behaviour group therapy for anxiety disorders

Abstract

Cognitive behavioural interventions are highly efficacious and effective for emotional disorders, and yet a significant proportion of patients fail to achieve full remission of their symptoms after gold-standard treatments. A significant minority of patients in clinical practice also find exposure-based techniques highly distressing, leading to high attrition rates in real world practice. Evidence-based clinical innovations are required to further improve engagement with, and the potency of, existing treatments. This presentation will describe two parallel programs of research being conducted at the Centre for Clinical Interventions to meet these aims. The first research program involves an intervention targeting a key transdiagnostic factor known to contribute to multiple emotional disorders, namely, repetitive negative thinking (RNT). A 6-week, transdiagnostic metacognitive group treatment for RNT will be described and initial outcomes will be reported. The second research program involves modifying the mode within which cognitive therapy is applied to potentiate greater emotional change. A new, innovative imagery-enhanced 12-week group program for social anxiety disorder will be described and outcomes will be reported. Both of these programs have demonstrated high retention rates, huge effect sizes (ds >2.0), and an improvement compared to gold standard treatments reported in the literature in terms of efficiency and effectiveness.

The aim of this course is to introduce you to basic statistics. It will cover descriptive statistics (means and standard deviations); data exploration; basic categorical data analysis; simple linear regression and basic analysis of variance (ANOVA). The statistical package SPSS will be used to illustrate the ideas demonstrated. The course will be held in a computer laboratory allowing participants to immediately apply the material covered through a series of practical examples.

UWA Postgraduate students receive a subsidised rate.

Abstract

Every year road accidents take a significant toll on health and well-being in WA, and results in substantial costs in lost productivity and medical care. While conventional approaches have focused on tougher law enforcement and vehicle safety technology to mitigate risk, another valuable approach is to focus on improving driver ability. In this talk, I will review work from my lab on a novel intervention program designed to reduce distraction that occurs when cognitive processing of irrelevant information leads to perceptual failures (i.e. looking without seeing). Results suggest approximately six hours of training on a simple computer task can reduce this type of distraction on simple perceptual tasks as well as improve performance in simulated driving.

Information about the speaker

Dr. Troy Visser is a faculty member in the School of Psychology at UWA. His core research interest is in human attention - cognitive mechanisms that enable us to select relevant information from the environment. This work has led to publications examining diverse areas of human perception and cognition including temporal object perception, reading, stigma, and distraction.

Postgraduate Courses in Health Professions Education

Do you have a background in health or science?

Do you teach or supervise students or peers and are you interested in improving your skills as an educator?

Do you have an interest in educational research and innovations in health education?

If you answered yes to any of the above, we encourage you to attend a course information session to learn more about our suite of postgraduate courses in Health Professions Education.

Please contact Caroline Martin to register your attendance.

Relative to its size, the brain is the most oxygen-dependent organ in the body, but many pathophysiological and environmental processes may either cause or result in an interruption to its oxygen supply. Remarkable feats, however, have been achieved where the human brain has survived extremely low pressures of oxygen on the summit of Mt Everest. Even more oxygen deprivation occurs during extreme breath-hold diving. An overview of these human feats will be covered in this talk, as well as comparative examples of true adaption in high-flying geese and diving mammals.

Phil Ainslie is Professor and Research Chair at The University of British Columbia, and Co-director of the Centre for Heart, Lung and Vascular Health. He received his PhD from Liverpool John Moores University (UK) followed by postdoctoral research at the University of Calgary (Canada) and a Faculty appointment at the University of Otago (NZ). Phil is at the forefront of human integrative physiology in the area of cerebrovascular physiology. He has published >170 peer-reviewed manuscripts in high impact basic science and clinical journals (H index>35), >15 major book chapters, and one book.

Come and try the great range of group classes available at the Exercise and Performance Centre for just $30. Classes include Pilates, Aqua and Circuit training. Valid for new members only, medical clearance may be required. Space in classes are limited and bookings are essential.

The Exercise and Performance Centre is offering a weekly Sports Recovery Session. It's focus is to assist restoration, regeneration and adaptation to training loads and competition. This class is catered to all athletes with personalised sports specific exercises given to each attendee. This class is fully supervised by a Physiotherapist with post graduate Sports Physiotherapy certification.

Professor Giles Plant obtained his PhD degree from The University of Western Australia and is now Basic Science Director of the Stanford Partnership for Spinal Cord Injury and Repair in the Department of Neurosurgery at Stanford University. The aim of Giles' research is to elucidate new cellular and molecular repair strategies to improve functional and anatomical outcomes following spinal cord injury (SCI). Current research areas include examining the efficacy of human neural stem cells and induced pluripotent stem cell (iPS) lines to improve functional outcomes in cervical SCI and assessing the capacity of adult and embryonic olfactory glia to induce axonal regeneration and myelination in the injured and demyelinated CNS. This research utilises spinal cord contusion injury modeling and behavioral assessments using forelimb and hindlimb tests as well as a variety of molecular and cellular techniques to assess the results of stem and glial cell spinal transplantation.

Department of Translational Research in New Technologies in Medicine and Surgery University of Pisa - Fondazione Stella Maris IRCCS

Maria Concetta Morrone graduated in Physics from the University of Pisa, trained in Biophysics at the elite Scuola Normale Superiore and she is now a Professor of Pshysiology at University of Pisa, Medical School. Over the years her research has spanned most active areas of vision research, including spatial vision, development, plasticity, attention, color, motion, robotics, vision during eye movements and more recently multisensory perception and action. Prof. Morrone has published some 170 publications in excellent international peer-review journals, including Nature and her sister journals, Neuron, Current Biology and Trends in Neuroscience and Trend in Cognitive Neuroscience. She is a member of the Lincei Accademy. She has been editor of several major specialised journals and was one of the founding editors of the journal of vision, and currently she is Chief Editor and founder of the journal "Multisensory Research".

Title: Development and Plasticity of primary visual cortex in human.

The brain is a flexible, and continuously adapts to past experience. In this talk I will give two examples of visual cortical plasticity, during development, and in adult life. Using fMRI, we have demonstrated unexpected maturation of motion direction-sensitivity in young infants. BOLD responses to flow-motion versus random-motion in 7-week- old infants are nearly adult-like in parietal-occipital area, cuneous, posterior parietal and posterior insular cortex, which in adults receives visual-vestibular input. We also have evidence that MT receives independent input from V1 perinatally, and that V1 maturation is delayed respect other cortical visual area. This may help to explain the profound reorganization that we and others have observed in patients with perinatal lesions of optical radiation,where ipsilateral primary cortex codes non only the contralateral but also the ipsilateral visual field. Plastic changes in primary visual cortex are not limited to the developmental period, but can extend through life. We showed strong residual plasticity in the adult human visual cortex, particularly for processes involving competition between ocular inputs. One of the most sensitive measures of the effects of deprivation is binocular rivalry, a form of visual bistability that engages strong competition between monocular signals. surprisingly, short term monocular deprivation results in the deprived eye dominating rivalrous perception, lasting up to 3hr after patch removal.. Our results suggest that monocular deprivation may act to up-regulate contrast gain, resulting in stronger signals from the deprived eye(homeostatic plasticity, contrary to what is thought to occur with patching theraphy). We further show a release of GABAergic inhibition after short deprivation in occipital cortex measured by MR spectroscopy at 7T. In summary, the adult human visual cortex retains a high degree of plasticity using similar molecular mechanisms at core function in modulating plasticity during development.

The University of Western Australia's Careers Fair provides excellent opportunities for students to engage, network and meet prospective employers looking to recruit students for graduate programs, vacation work, internships and voluntary positions. From first year to final year, Undergraduate to Post-Graduate, the Careers Fair is for you. Come along and meet more than 80 exhibitors and attend the 10 presentations.