L'Oreal Fellowships awarded tonight; national hearing survey and helping 10,000 patients via e-health

Bulletins

Tonight, three exceptional young women scientists will each receive a $25,000 L’Oréal Australia & New Zealand For Women in Science Fellowship to assist their research.

The 2012 Fellows are from Christchurch and Melbourne. Two are life scientists, one is a physical scientist. More here.

Also in this bulletin:


Tonight: L’Oréal For Women in Science Fellowship

The 2012 L’Oréal Australia & New Zealand For Women in Science Fellowships will be announced today, Tuesday 21 August at an award ceremony in Melbourne, starting at 6pm at Comme, 7 Alfred Place.

Tomorrow the Fellows will talk with 300 high school students at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute for the Girls in Science forum.

This is the first year that the Fellowships have been open to New Zealand.

We have profiles, photos, and HD video available on embargo to 5pm Tuesday Melbourne time.

You’ll need a password from one of the following media contacts to access the material at: http://www.scienceinpublic.com.au/loreal

Australian media contacts:

New Zealand media contacts:

Hear ye: Calling on farmers, musicians, baristas, doctors and others to join the national hearing survey

Machinery noise, tractors and other farm noise mean farmers suffer from hearing loss at roughly three times the rate of the general community. If young farmers put on their music at the end of a big day, that could push them over the limit.

But anyone could be ‘binge listening’, pushing their daily exposure over the limit: by listening to music on their smartphones; practicing with their band and other activities.

To learn more about Australia’s hearing health, a massive online science survey called Sound Check Australia is being run by The National Acoustic Laboratories, the Hearing CRC and the ABC as part of National Science Week.

Hearing scientists are looking for Australians from every profession and every walk of life to share their hearing habits – from barristers to baristas, from farmers to pharmacists.

Sound Check Australia is on until September 12 and aims to build a picture of Australia’s hearing health. And it hopes to raise awareness of healthy hearing habits.

People who take part in the online survey will be able to test their hearing, work out whether they are ‘overdosing’ on noise, and find out what part of their social or professional lives could be putting them at risk.

The experiment comes on the back of recent research which suggests that some people are choosing to expose themselves to more noise than would ever be allowed in a sound-safe work environment.

“One of the things we are trying to get a handle on is just how big a problem this really is and not trying to be sensationalist about it,” says Elizabeth Beach, a researcher from the National Acoustic Laboratories.

But not only will volunteers be lending a hand to significant scientific research which could shape the future health of the country, they also get a chance to win $1000 worth of concert tickets. The Big Day Out, a symphony orchestra or The Wiggles, whatever the favoured flavour of noise, one lucky citizen scientist will be treated to the tickets of their choice.

Sound Check Australia: the national noise and hearing survey runs until September 12. See www.soundcheckaustralia.net.au

For interviews with the scientists running the survey contact:

Frankie Lee: 0419 448-847, frankie@scienceinpublic.com.au

AJ Epstein: 0433 339-141, aj@scienceinpublic.com.au

Keeping 10,000 patients out of hospital through smart e-health

Net-savvy nannas, the $60 billion burden of chronic illness and technological solutions were some of the talking points at last Friday’s launch of the national Collaborative Care Cluster Australia (CCCA) project in Melbourne.

It’s an e-health solution that’s already been tested by 10,000 chronic care patients, 1000 GPs and 3000 allied health practitioners-and the results speak for themselves.

The Hon David Davis MLC, Victorian Minister for Health and Minister for Ageing launched the Project.

Minister Davis issued a call to action for GPs, patients and allied health professionals to get on board and online to streamline the management of chronic illness.

The launch included the demonstration of the cdmNet service­-the technological core of CCCA.

General practitioners Dr Myrle Gray and Dr Cameron Profitt also attended the event, sharing their experiences using cdmNet with colleagues over morning tea.

Dr Gray talked of one 75-year-old patient who is looking forward to viewing her care plan on the iPad her son has promised her.

A comprehensive media kit is available with quotes from four GPs working with cdmNet and health sector leaders including:

  • Professor Paul Zimmet AO, Director Emeritus and Director of International Research, Baker IDI Heart and Diabetes Institute
  • Professor Mark Cooper, Deputy Director of Baker IDI Heart and Diabetes Institute
  • Professor Leon Piterman AM, Pro Vice-Chancellor, Monash University
  • Professor Greg Johnson, CEO and National Policy Manager of Diabetes Australia
  • Paul Cohen, Deputy CEO of Barwon Health
  • Jason Trethowan, CEO of Barwon Medicare Local
  • Stan Goldstein, Medical Director at Bupa.

More at www.scienceinpublic.com.au/precedence including media kit and photos.

For further information and interviews visit precedencehealthcare.com/media or contact: