Next Wave | Page 20

Research for jobs… A nimal genetics, detection dogs, transport safety and the prevention of disease. These are all in a day’s, or a lifetime’s, work for USC researchers, who are creating knowledge for the region, the nation and the world. The University is a treasure trove of some of the most inquisitive minds around, including Adam Polkinghorne and Peter Timms, who, with a team including Professor Ken Beagley from QUT, developed Australia’s first koala chlamydia vaccine field trial, and Mohammad Katouli, whose research has contributed to effective treatment of septicaemia and urinary tract infections. 20 USC Pro Vice-Chancellor for Research Professor Roland De Marco says staying on the cusp of innovation means academics are integrating research with teaching. “Knowledge transmission is teaching, knowledge creation is research, and the two go hand in hand in a university environment,” he says. “If you’re teaching out of a textbook, you’re teaching old material. It’s critical to have researchers generating new material and having their finger on the pulse of the latest developments in their field.” Indeed, research at USC is led from the front, with many of the senior management team having esteemed research profiles. Professor De Marco is a globally recognised leader in electrochemical sensors and their applications; Deputy Vice-Chancellor Professor Birgit Lohmann is renowned for her research in atomic and molecular physics; and Vice-Chancellor Professor Greg Hill is well known for his research in wildlife and statistical ecology.