Compounds Australia at Griffith University has announced that it has finalised the purchase of the state-of-the-art Hamilton Verso M3 automated compound storage system.
Based at the Griffith Institute for Drug Discovery (GRIDD, Griffith University), the Hamilton Verso M3 complements Compounds Australia’s suite of sophisticated compound management and logistics infrastructure and will provide storage for 10,000 plates and 430,000 tubes under tightly regulated environmental conditions. The system will be installed in mid-2018. The Hamilton Verso M3 offers an automated sample storage system with a flexible internal configuration to accommodate a wide range of labware and seamless integration with liquid handling robotics.
“The acquisition of the Hamilton Verso M3 Store delivers on Compounds Australia’s commitment to support world class Australian drug discovery research through high quality compound management and logistics,” Compounds Australia’s Manager Moana Simpson said.
The Verso M3 will house the new Australian Drug Discovery Library, which forms part of the Hit ID Platform
Category: Griffith University Feed
Lending a helping hand to graduates pays off for Professor
Griffith University’s Professor Cordia Chu from the School of Environment and the School of Medicine has been awarded a Special Commendation for Excellence in Graduate Supervision at the annual Australian Council of Graduate Research (ACGR) Awards, held in Adelaide on Monday night.
Professor Chu was one of two recipients of the special commendation chosen from a pool of academics at the awards, which highlight exemplary graduate research supervisors and leaders from across Australia.
“It means a lot to me to have this recognition for research supervision work. It’s a national award and to work with the creme of the crop is quite a privilege,” Professor Chu said.
“We have a great multicultural research culture in my group, where there is critical thinking, debate, and a high completion and publication rate. We try to nurture researchers to conduct research that addresses health issues of global significance, and the impact that our students have on the
Coral reefs create their own ‘cloud umbrellas’ to stay cool
Our coral reefs are feeling the heat – and new research from a team that includes Griffith University researchers has found that corals are making ‘cloud umbrellas’ to stay cool.
Associate Professor Albert Gabric, Dr Roger Cropp and Dr Dien van Tran from the Griffith School of Environment and Science were part of the team that included researchers from Southern Cross University and the University of Southern Queensland whose findings were published in the journal AMBIO.
The team’s analysis of a 15-year time series of satellite-derived data on atmospheric aerosols over the reef revealed that corals are seemingly protecting themselves from ‘stresses’ – such as high water temperatures and high irradiance and the bleaching events related to them – by producing and releasing aerosols into the atmosphere to create an ‘umbrella of cloud cover’ to help cool them down.
Associate Professor Gabric has worked in marine aerosols for 25 years and said while the
Australia Awards marine fellowship brings Vietnamese ministry reps Down Under
In March, 15 representatives from the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment in Vietnam travelled to Australia to take part in a two-week Australia Awards Fellowship focusing on human resource development in coastal and marine management in Vietnam.
Funded by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, the fellowship was designed to enhance the capacity of Vietnam government ministries in developing policies and instruments to improve coastal and marine sustainability, resilience and growth.
Mrs My Doan Thi Thanh, Deputy General Director of the Department of Legal Affairs in the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment in Vietnam, says the fellowship is “designed very well” and will be very useful for their country.
“We have acquired a lot of knowledge, which we can now apply in Vietnam for better coastal management and coastal resource management along the Vietnam coast,” she said.
The fellows’ visit to Australia helped maximise their global awareness and knowledge of these
New treatment for a common wrist injury
Groundbreaking bioengineering and 3D printing technology at Griffith is creating hope for sufferers of Scapholunate Interosseous Ligament (SLIL) injury, the most common of wrist ligament injuries.
SLIL injuries cause dislocation of scaphoid and lunate bones and can be career-ending for an athlete and result in long-term disability for others.
Typically, SLIL injuries are surgically treated, but have poor prognosis, with patients developing functional limitations and severe hand/wrist osteoarthritis, which impairs long-term health and imposes substantial economic burden.
Many Australians suffer a SLIL injury each year due simply to an active, outdoors lifestyle. Meanwhile, the traditional reconstruction technique involves surgical procedures which can typically result in losing up to a third of wrist functionality and strength.
Pioneering technique
However, Gold Coast Health and Griffith’s Professor Randy Bindra and Professor David Lloyd from Gold Coast Orthopaedic Research, Engineering and Education Alliance (GCORE), in conjunction with colleagues from Orthocell and the Universities of Queensland and Western Australia, are
Griffith launches free online course to improve infection control and combat health pandemics
‘Plagues, Pestilence and Pandemics: Are You Ready?’ is open for enrolment now and enables learners to explore the current and emerging threat of global health pandemics and how we can respond to them effectively.
Griffith University’s Infection Prevention and Control Program Director and expert, Dr Peta-Anne Zimmerman leads the global discussion on why we need to look at the current and emerging threat of global health pandemics and how we can all play a part in containing and preventing them in the future.
“Unfortunately people do not automatically see how easily disease can be transmitted and how it is related to the many choices we make regarding our food, health and lifestyle. People often, for example, expect antibiotics to solve common human infections or be used for agricultural purposes, when really the overuse of antibiotics has exacerbated antibiotic effectiveness and we now have issues with antimicrobial resistance.”
“We are aiming to also raise awareness of how the
Graduate Vanessa explores UN peacekeeping in Lebanon
At a time when international tensions in the Middle East are the subject of increasing scrutiny, a new book by Griffith University graduate Dr Vanessa Newby offers rare insight into the challenges facing United Nations peacekeepers.
Through the prism of the UN’s Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), Peacekeeping in South Lebanon: Credibility and Cooperation explores questions such as: How does the United Nations mission in Lebanon operate on the ground? How can peacekeepers build credibility? Why does it matter?
“I wanted to contribute to the growing body of literature that is broadening awareness of what the UN practitioners do in their day to day practice, especially the challenges they face,” says Vanessa.
“There is a tendency for the public to assume that once a peacekeeping mission has been authorised by the United Nations Security Council, everything is all right. That’s simply not the case in a crisis.”
Griffith University graduate, author Dr Vanessa Newby
An
‘Devil’ in the details for Eugene’s video game success
Forging a successful career is no game, but Griffith University graduate Eugene Nesci has shown it can arise from playing one.
The game in question is Devil Daggers, a first-person shooter video game released to critical and popular acclaim in February 2016. Players strive to survive against demonic enemies in an arena shrouded in darkness. Survival times are recorded on a global leaderboard.
Eugene provided the sound and music for Devil Daggers and continues to work as an independent audio producer.
The appeal of the game owes much to the ingenuity and innovation of the stark, minimalist design. Reviewers also raved about the elevated contribution of the sound and music to the overall experience.
For Bachelor of Popular Music graduate Eugene, response to the game was a validation of his skills after a slow start in the industry.
“My goal was always to develop games. I started out with animation, but an interest in music
Griffith ends Games partnership on a high
The Gold Coast saved its best for last as the 2018 Commonwealth Games came to a captivating end with the staging of the marathon on the final day of competition.
Para-Marathon competitor, Madison de Rozario, does Griffith proud by winning the T54 event. Photo: Dylan Crawford
GBS alumnus Michael Shelley, holds the flag up high after coming in first place during the men’s marathon. Photo: Dylan Crawford
Under perfect autumn Sunday skies, the marathon attracted 30 thousand spectators keen to watch for the first time the men’s, women’s and para races all competing inside a three-hour block.
It was double Team Griffith gold as current Business student Madison de Rosario was first home in the women’s T54 event while GBS alumnus Michael Shelley executed a perfect strategic plan in sapping conditions to make it back-to-back marathon golds at the Games.
The 42 kilometre course showed off the city to a worldwide audience and Griffith, proud presenting
Marathon double gold crowns glorious Games
A Marathon double has crowned a remarkable eleven days for Griffith students, staff and alumni competing at the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games (GC2018).
Team Griffith ended a spectacular 11 days of sporting competition with a glittering haul of 23 gold, seven silver and 10 bronze medals. The 40 medal total surpasses the 22 medals (10 gold, five silver and seven bronze) won in Glasgow four years ago.
On the final day of GC2018, brilliant and courageous performances in searing temperatures by defending gold medalist Michael Shelley and Rio silver medalist Madison de Rozario secured two memorable triumphs at the end of the 42km Marathon course.
Michael Shelley (right), a 34-year-old Bachelor of Business graduate, took out the Men’s event in dramatic fashion. The Gold Coast local capitalised when race leader Callumn Hawkins collapsed in the April heat less than a kilometre from the finish line.
Bachelor of Business student Madison de Rozario, who