Ben and Dr Ian Henry, Leader of the Scientific Computing Facility at Max Planck Institute, investigating the structure of a new promising anticancer target generated by Ben in the MPI-CBG 3D virtual reality cave.

Taking the next step in his research career is what Dr Ben Lewis achieved by successfully applying for a 2018 Senior Research Fellowship in Medicine at the Technische Universität Dresden (Technical University of Dresden, TUD), Germany.

Only three Senior Research Fellows in Medicine were awarded in 2018, and of the 25 Senior Research Fellowships awarded by TUD in 2018, only three were from Australia.

Ben's interests are focused on using the 3-dimensional (3D) structure and chemical composition of enzymes to understand drug metabolism and to develop new drugs. As a Flinders Centre for Innovation in Cancer researcher, Ben is devoted to researching the biochemical and molecular processes involved in the initiation and progression of cancer and how these processes can be targeted for the design of new anticancer agents.

"I’ve been extremely fortunate to form a number of key collaborations at the Carl Gustav Carus University hospital and the Max Plank Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics [MPI-CBG], one of which has opened up a further collaboration in Italy with the Department of Experimental Medicine at the University of Perugia, from my time spent in Dresden," said Ben.

"I have already submitted one research grant with my German colleagues, but my real aim is to secure large Commonwealth funding through the NHMRC and secure some internal Flinders funding so I can establish a 'Structural Biology and Molecular Targets Laboratory'.”

Ben has published 40 articles, comprising 762 citations, with a h-index of 14. His principal areas of interest are breast cancer, prostate cancer, and metastatic melanoma research in addition to characterising the structure-function relationships of drug metabolizing enzymes.

(Left to Right): Dr Ben Lewis, Prof Peter Spieth (Anesthesiology and Intensive Care; TUD), Assoc Prof Roman Rodionov (Internal Medicine and Angiology; TUD), and Prof Norbert Weiss (Director TUD Centre for Vascular Medicine)

Dr Ben Lewis

Dr Ben Lewis is a medical researcher at Flinders University whose interests are focused on developing innovative methods of drug therapy, including a gene directed pro-drug therapy model for targeted cancer treatment. Ben has been an integral part of the Department of Clinical Pharmacology at Flinders University since 2002 with his research focussed on the molecular determinants of diversity in drug and chemical metabolism. Ben completed his PhD in 2011 under the supervision of Flinders' Professor John Miners and was successively awarded a Flinders University Research Fellowship.

T: 8204 4031
E: ben.lewis@flinders.edu.au
Campus: Flinders Medical Centre
College: Medicine and Public Health
Role: Lecturer/researcher in Pharmacology

This is a feature for Inspiring Research where we profile Flinders’ Early Career Researchers (ECRs) in our ECR Spotlight. This initiative appears regularly and aims to connect our research community and strengthen research communications within the University. You will get insight into who our ECRs are and how their research and achievements are making a difference.

The featured ECRs welcome dialogue, debate, and conversation and we hope that it may shape future intra-, inter- and/or trans-disciplinary collaboration with Flinders’ colleagues. Please feel free to comment on their spotlight, and/or contact them directly. Also, you can contact the ECR Spotlight coordinator, Dr Marina Delpin, with your queries and comments.

2018 has been a year for Flinders to build on past success and evolve in a changing environment. Inspiring Research has reported on some landmark research and research management achievements. As the year draws to a close, in this, the last, edition we look back over the year that was.

We wish all staff a happy and safe holiday break and look forward to seeing you in 2019.

Research Management highlights at Flinders included:

• The successful implementation of the online research certification form and signing of a new research management tool for implementation in 2019, informed through consultation with our research community.
• The Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research), Professor Robert Saint established a new Flinders Research Support program to provide ongoing support towards our ARC and NHMRC success rates.
• Formalised researcher professional development was established and embraced by Flinders’ research community. The Research Activate (June) and Flinders Focus on Research Engagement and Impact (Sept) training intensives had massive attendance.
• Flinders’ submission to the ARC’s Engagement and Impact assessment.

Successes and 2018 research highlights included:

The award of $7.85 million to Flinders’ researchers in the November 2018 announcement of ARC grants - a total of 19 grants funded across four ARC schemes: 15 Discovery Projects (DP); 1 Discovery Early Career Researcher Award (DECRA); 2 Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment and Facilities (LIEF) grant; 1 Linkage Project (LP) grant. This builds upon Flinders earlier six LP successes in 2018.

Three Flinders University research leaders collectively received more than $1.6 million in NHMRC research grants. The Flinders’ International Centre for Point-of-Care Testing team, led by Professor Mark Shephard, is a co-chief investigator in the new five-year $2.49 million collaborative NHMRC Centre for Research Excellence (CRE) focusing on scaling up new point-of-care (POC) diagnostic technologies for infectious diseases of global importance, including HIV, hepatitis C, tuberculosis, HPV and STIs.

Professor Jamie Craig received a 2017 NHMRC Research Excellence Award for ‘Top Ranked Program Grant’ at the annual research excellence awards in Canberra.

Four Flinders researchers were appointed to the 2019 ARC College of Experts, Professor Mike Nicholls, Associate Professor Janni Petersen, Professor Colin Raston AO FAA, and Professor Sharyn Roach Anleu.

Professor Simon Brookes and Associate Professor Phil Dinning, College of Medicine and Public Health, partnership with groups from University of California Los Angeles, CALTECH, Universities of Nevada (USA) and Munich (Germany) led to a successful National Institutes of Health consortium grant.

Associate Professor Wendy Van Duivenoorde and Dr Jonathan Benjamin became co-Chairs of the UNESCO University Twinning and Networking Programme for Underwater Archaeology (UNITWIN Network) in 2015, and in 2018 they submitted an Australian Research Council (ARC) LP grant with the UNITWIN Network as a result.

Associate Professor James Ward has received a prestigious Viertel Senior Medical Fellowship, providing $1.25 million over five years to help transform the health of Aboriginal young people.

Six Flinders' Chief Investigators were granted a Translational Research Package, an Early Career Cancer Research Fellowship, a Project Grant, two travel awards and continued funding for the Beat Cancer Professorial Chair at Flinders through the 2018 round of SA Beat Cancer awards. Flinders researchers are also collaborating with other state partners on projects that were awarded in this round.

Flinders researchers continued their excellence in research communication in 2018. Dr Alice Gorman’s articles in The Conversation achieved over half a million unique reads in May 2018, after she first started publishing in 2012. Professor Corey Bradshaw published, The Effective Scientist – A Handy Guide to a Successful Academic Career in 2018. To book aims to help younger scientists, with Corey focusing in on writing, communicating and storytelling. It is illustrated by Flinders University PhD candidate René Campbell.

Inspiring Research continued to profile our Early Career Researchers (ECRs) through the ECR Spotlight series and Impact Seed Funding recipient series. The inaugural Flinders Impact Seed Funding Grants were awarded in 2018, and the initiative aims to provide an opportunity for ECRs to develop their careers and enable key research projects or promotion of research outcomes.

Ten ECRs were awarded 2018 Vice-Chancellor Awards for their contributions to research at Flinders University.

ECR Dr Ian Moffat took his Flinders research expertise to Cambridge University (UK), funded by a Commonwealth Rutherford Fellowship. He has been working at the McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research while in Cambridge.

The Timor-Leste National Human Development Report 2018, a collaboration between the Government of Timor-Leste, United Nations Development Program and Associate Professor Udoy Saikiaand team was delivered to the United Nations. This was the first time a UN Human Development Report at a national level has attempted to measure well-being, a subjective aspect of the quality-of-life, through developing a dedicated index.

The Human Equity Hub, an initiative of the Southgate Institute, was launched in 2018, aiming to bring together policy briefs and summaries of key findings from research to inform practice and policy in Australia and internationally.

In November 2017, Flinders began an exciting journey to modernise its digital research management environment, to meet research objectives outlined in Making a Difference: The 2025 Agenda.

After an intensive period of consultation with the research community, Research Development and Support (RDS) and Digital Research Services (DRS) ran an open tender for a software solution to replace the ageing ResearchMaster system; replace RePortal;and help streamline ethics approvals. Our research community told us that the solution had to be easy to use and work as a single system.

The tender team selected two components that would be integrated to establish a solid foundation for the evolving Research Ecosystem at Flinders:

• Elsevier Pure for improved research management
• Infonetica ERM for more efficient ethics process management.

A project team, drawn from DRS, RDS, and the Library, will release the integrated Pure and ERM solution in four stages.

By early 2019, Stage 1 will be released. This will provide researchers with more accurate publication management, as well as enriched researcher profiles to help promote Flinders research and collaborations. Stage 1 will also include the first of the new ethics processes being co-designed by RDS, ethics committees, and stakeholders.

In subsequent releases in 2019 the remaining functionality from ResearchMaster and RePortal, and other ethics processes, will be transferred to the new solution.

To find out more, visit the DRS website and look for updates in Inspiring Research. We welcome your feedback - just email Research Management Project.

ON Prime:Defence is a part-time pre-accelerator experience designed for innovative science and technology that has the potential to deliver real impact for Australia's national security and defence. It will run in 2019 as part of the Prime6 program, opening on 4 February 2019.

Powered by CSIRO, and delivered in partnership with Defence Science and Technology (DST), ON Prime:Defence gives researchers a unique opportunity to fast-track their science or technology proposition with expert guidance from those who've been there and done it before.

Like all ON experiences, it's free to participate, and all IP and equity remains the property of the participating team or their sponsoring institute.

If you are interested in applying for ON Prime:Defence, contact Tony Kyriacou, Defence Partnerships Director, Research Development and Support.

Key Dates for 2019

Prime6 program

Applications open 4 February - 1 March 2019.

Prime6 program runs 6 May until 2 August 2019.

Prime7 program

Applications open 10 June - 7 July 2019.

Prime7 program runs 2 September until 22 November 2019

All ON accelerator experiences are open to teams with at least one research employee from CSIRO, Australian universities or Australia's publicly funded research agencies (PFRA). The research employee may be full time, part-time or a casual employee of a PFRA.

ON Prime:Defence is looking for innovative technologies that have the potential to deliver game-changing capabilities for Australia's national security and defence. Teams working on technologies that address the following priority areas with the potential for dual-use applications in the commercial market are highly encouraged to apply.

• Integrated intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance
• Space capabilities
• Enhanced human performance
• Medical countermeasure products
• Multidisciplinary material sciences
• Quantum technologies
• Trusted autonomous systems
• Cyber
• Advanced sensors
• Hypersonics
• Directed energy capabilities

The Myer Innovation Fellowships aim to support breakthrough solutions to Australia’s most pressing social and environmental challenges and bring new talent to the social sector.

The Fellowships provide recipients with time and support needed to develop their ground-breaking idea into a sustainable plan for action. Applications for the Fellowship are accepted on an ongoing basis.

Fellows are offered the unique opportunity to take twelve months away from their current role to pursue a big idea that has the potential to achieve positive outcomes in the areas of:

• Education
• Poverty and Disadvantage
• Sustainability and Environment.

Fellows will each receive $120,000 for their 12-month commitment to the program and an additional $30,000 will be available to each Fellow for approved expenses such as work space, rent, travel and contracting of external expertise.

For more information, visit the Myer Foundation website. Application support and advice for the grant is available from Mary Lyons, Senior Research Grants Officer, Research Development and Support.

The Mawson Lakes Fellowship Program (MLFP) provides a scholarship to assist Early Career Researchers and Australian and Japanese students undertaking honours, masters or doctoral studies by coursework or research in a relevant discipline in the areas of urban development, planning, urban design and environmental management to study overseas for up to six months in Japan or Australia.

Proposals for the development of research collaboration between the three South Australian Universities and three Universities in Japan; Nagoya, Tsukuba and Waseda are now open and will close on 31 January 2019. Funds will support international activities leading to high quality research collaborations in the scope of the MLFP.

Applications are open all year round for the MLFP, but should be submitted at least 6 months before the commencement of the proposed study in Japan or South Australia.

The Fellowship provides South Australian recipients with a grant of A$18,600 and Japanese recipients with a grant of A$13,500. Scholarship funds are to assist in covering costs including travel, accommodation, food, student visa, health and travel insurance, and other charges incurred based on a stay of six months.

Up to A$20,000 per project is available under the Research Grants program with a maximum of 2 grants per SA University being available. Application support and advice for the grant is available from Mary Lyons, Senior Research Grants Officer, Research Development and Support.

For more information, visit the Mawson Lakes Fellowship program website.

The Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF) Frontier Health and Medical Research program creates opportunities for researcher collaborations to explore bold and innovative ideas in the health and medical research sector and/or make discoveries of great potential and global impact.

Stage One supports the development of a detailed research and implementation plan that will form the basis of a Stage Two application. The research plan will cover up to five years of activity to take your idea from concept to outcome. You must demonstrate how your idea is novel and transformative, and how you will bring together multi-disciplinary research and industry partners to transform your idea into practical benefit for Australia.

The Stage One grant opportunity will fund up to ten projects. For this Stage One grant opportunity, up to $10 million is available.

• The minimum grant amount is $250,000.
• The maximum grant amount is $1 million.
• The grant amount will be up to 100 per cent of eligible project costs.
• The maximum grant period is one year of execution of grant agreement to develop a detailed research plan. The research plan will cover up to five years of activity to take your idea from concept to outcome.

Flinders University is an eligible organisation for the Frontier Health and Medical Research program. Applications will not be accepted from individuals. Joint applications are encouraged, provided you have a lead applicant who is the main driver of the project and is eligible to apply.

Applications close on 26 February 20195:00 pm AEDT. For more information, please see the opportunity entry on business.gov.au  - https://www.business.gov.au/assistance/frontier-health-and-medical-research#key-documents. Application support and advice for the grant is available from Mary Lyons, Senior Research Grants Officer, Research Development and Support.

The program will operate using a two-stage process. Stage One will fund development of detailed research plans for cutting-edge research projects. Stage Two will fund the implementation of selected research projects. Successful applicants from the Stage One grant opportunity will be invited to participate in Stage Two.

The intended outcome of this grant opportunity is a detailed research and implementation plan that will form the basis of a Stage Two application that supports research into a range of new treatments for disease and medical services that can transform health care in Australia.

The Leakey Foundation exclusively funds research related specifically to human origins. Priority of funding is commonly given to exploratory phases of promising new research projects that meet the stated purpose of the Foundation.

Advanced doctoral students (advanced to candidacy – all but dissertation) and established scientists are eligible for Leakey Foundation Research Grants.

The deadlines for research grant applications are 10 January 2019 and 15 July 2019. Application support and advice for the grant is available from Mary Lyons, Senior Research Grants Officer, Research Development and Support.

For more information, visit the Leakey Foundation website.

A tender is now open, seeking interested parties to become panel members for the Department of Health (the Department) Health Technology Assessment, Research Support and Other Services panel.

The opportunity closes on 31 January 2019, 2pm Canberra time. For advice, documentation, and tender application assistance, please contact Daniela Tyson.

The Commonwealth of Australia acting through the Department of Health  is responsible for better health and wellbeing for all Australians. The Department aims to achieve its vision through strengthening evidence-based policy advice, improving program management, research, regulation and partnerships with other government agencies, consumers and stakeholders.

The Medical Services Advisory Committee (MSAC) and Sub-Committees, the Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee (PBAC), the Prostheses List Advisory Committee (PLAC), and the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA), are independent scientific committees comprising individuals with expertise in clinical medicine, epidemiology, health economics and consumer matters. Health Technology Assessment (HTA) plays an integral role in supporting the operation of the Medicare Benefits Scheme (MBS), Pharmaceuticals Benefit Scheme (PBS), the National Immunisation Program, the Prosthesis List (PL) and other government programs.

Panel arrangements is for 3 years, with 2 x 12 month extension options.

For more information, visit the Aus Tenders page.

Tender request information - Health Technology Assessment, Research Support and Other Services panel

The Australian & New Zealand Association for Health Professional Educators (ANZAHPE) Grants for Educational Research were established in 1987 with the aim of encouraging and fostering research and development in the education of health professionals.

The grants are a one-time offer of support, rather than a continuing fund, and are intended to encourage quality research into any issue associated with the education of any health professionals. The closing date is 21 January 2019.

It is hoped that these grants will allow the recipients to pursue educational research that is unlikely to be funded by other sources. ANZAHPE is particularly keen to support new and emerging educational researchers.

The primary investigator must be an Australian or New Zealand resident and a financial member of ANZAHPE.

For more information, visit the ANZAHPE website.

The Mito Foundation is excited to make funds available to exceptional research into mitochondrial disease (mito) as part of its new Medical and Research Funding Strategy. This has been made possible by the fundraising efforts of the Foundation, including The Bloody Long Walk National Series.

The Booster Grants offer an exciting opportunity for those whose research was deemed of a high quality by the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) but were unsuccessful in securing funding.

Mito Foundation Booster Grants provide up to $75,000 worth of funding and may assist in securing future NHMRC funding.

Funding Round is open now and closes on 7 January, 2019. For application advice and assistance, please contact Gareth Rees, Senior Research Officer (NHMRC, MRFF, & Health).

More Information on the Mito Foundation Booster Grants and access the application form is available at their website.

Need a statistics refresher, or perhaps you need to master an new approach to your data analysis?

The early-bird offer for the Australian Consortium for Social and Political Research Incorporated (ACSPRI) Summer School quantitative courses closes on 12 December.

Follow the links for course outlines, or visit the ACSPRI Summer Program page.

Fundamentals of Statistics

ANU- Jan 21-25 & UniMelbFeb 4-8

• A solid foundation in basic statistical concepts and procedures
• Emphasises statistical techniques applicable to the social sciences.
• Largely non-mathematical, concentrating on concepts rather than mathematical theory
• Gain competency in SPSS (no previous experience needed)

SPSS for Researchers

ANU - Jan 21-25

• Learn procedures to set up, modify and present data obtained from surveys, experiments and other sources.
• Covers basic statistical concepts
• Provides you with a structure to help you develop a data analysis plan
• For people with little or no knowledge of SPSS, or who want to improve their SPSS skills

Data Analysis in R

UniMelb Feb 4-8

• A course for applied data analysts, looking at public policy, social sciences and industry.
• Learn to use R for statistical analysis including means, confidence intervals and linear regression in R.
• Create publication standard graphs of your results.
• No prior experience with R, or any sophisticated quantitative methods are required for this course.

Data Analysis Using Stata

UniMelb Feb 4-8

Stata for beginners, introducing you to survey research, data management, analysis and graphics. Appropriate for people familiar with Stata who want to extend their capabilities

You are encouraged to bring your own data for analysis.

Fundamentals of Multiple Regression

UniMelb Feb 4-8

An informal and applied introduction to, and the fundamentals of multiple regression. By the end of the course, you will be able to:

• conduct regression analyses;
• interpret the results;
• inspect elementary regression diagnostics to test the underlying model assumptions.

Applied Statistical Procedures

ANU - Jan 21-25 & UniMelb Feb 11-15

An intermediate, applied course covering a range of the most commonly used statistical procedures.

Taught from an applied prospective, with questions encouraged

A good foundation for progression to the more detailed courses (Regression, Factor Analysis & SEM)

The Statistical package used will be SPSS, with no prior knowledge of SPSS required

Applied Multiple Regression Analysis

UniMelb Feb 11-15

An advanced course for those with previous knowledge and experience with multiple regression

Reviews the principles of Multiple regression & looks at specific issues and problems arising from its application.

This course will provide you with the necessary background to proceed to Structural Equation Modelling (SEM).

Research Design and Analytical Methods in the Social Sciences

UniMelb Feb 11-15

An introduction to designing experimental studies and quasi-experiments in the social sciences, including:

• achieving the highest calibre results to answer specific research questions
• threats to validity and assessing the quality of design;
• issues related to multiple regression;
• an introduction to statistical analyses for the generated data (using SPSS)

Using R for Advanced Statistical Analysis and Analytics

UniMelb Feb 11-15

For those who have basic knowledge and experience with R, and would like to develop their advanced statistical methods, including:

• design and reporting;
• linear, logistic and Poisson regression;
• analysis of Variance;
• factor analysis;
• longitudinal data analysis;
• clustering techniques;
• data visualisation.

Scale Development Rasch Analysis and Item Response Theory

UniMelb Feb 11-15

An overview of the scale development process and the statistical techniques used including:

• Reliability analysis,
• Factor Analysis and
• Rasch Analysis.

You will use RUM2030 Software to formally assess the measurement properties of scales and tests. A practical applied course with detailed, hands-on experience using SPSS and RUM2030.

Applied Longitudinal Data Analysis

UniMelb Feb 4-8

An introductory course, that provides an overview of the statistical theory, many applications & capabilities of LDA.

The course will focus on linear mixed effects models and look at generalised linear mixed effects models.

You will be using Stata and a full set of exercises and solutions will be provided.(no prior experience in Stata necessary)

This course has been developed in consultation with staff from the National Centre for Longitudinal Data, Dept of Social Services.

Big Data Analysis for Social Scientists

UniMelb Feb 4-8

An introduction to the collection and analysis of socially-generated 'big data' using the R statistical software and Gephi network visualisation software. Focuses on programmatic approaches to social media and the WWW including:

• collecting data;
• constructing, analysing and visualising social networks;
• extracting and analysing text data;
• conducting temporal analysis;
• identifying and engaging with advanced techniques for dealing with very large datasets.

Fundamentals of Structural Equation Modelling:

ANU - Jan 21-25

An introductory overview of the fundamentals of SEM, theory, applications and capabilities including;

• study design and reporting;
• review of regression, correlation and covariance;
• stages of SEM modelling and reporting SEM research;
• SEM diagnostics

You are encouraged to BYO data, as you will be asked to draw an SEM model from your research to discuss with the class and get feedback.

Advanced Structural Equation Modelling using AMOS

UniMelb Feb 4-8

An advanced course in SEM for existing AMOS users covering:

• revision of basic concepts;
• problem data and problem models;
• constructing composite variables for use in SEM;
• advanced single models;
• multi-level Analysis and mixture models;
• personal research with the instructor's assistance - you are encouraged to BYO data sets or research problem.

Applied Structural Equation Modelling using Mplus

UniMelb Feb 11-15

Introduces participants to a range of basic structural equation models and the use of MPlus software to estimate the model parameters.

Introduction, revision and the fundamentals of SEM;

• the 8 steps of SEM;
• basic SEM models;
• problems in SEM;
• introduction to advanced SEM models;

participants have the opportunity to work on their own research problems with the instructor’s assistance.

Multi-level Analysis using Mplu

ANU - Jan 21-25

An introduction to the concepts and techniques required to analyse data that is multi-level in nature, including:

• introduction to multilevel data, revision of basic analytical techniques and an introduction to multilevel modelling;
• two-level regression models;
• two-level latent growth-curve models (repeated measure designs);
• two-level confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and structural equation modelling (SEM);
• three-level Models;
• mixture Modelling (including Latent Class Analysis);
• personal research with the instructor's assistance - you are encouraged to BYO data sets or research problem.

The Astronaut Paolo Nespoli will be in Adelaide to participate in the International Space University/University of South Australia Southern Hemisphere Space Studies Program.

A special dinner has been organised by the South Australian Italian Association and Com.It.Es South Australia, 'An Evening Under the Stars' with Paolo, on Friday 18 January. The evening will include an interactive Q&A with guests.

Paolo is a wonderful speaker, having recently retired after a 20 year career as a European Space Agency astronaut. His career achievements include three missions to the International Space Station, totalling over 13 months in space. He returned from his most recent mission in December 2017.

A three course dinner, including beer, wine & soft-drinks will be held from 6:30pm on Friday 18 January 2019 at the at the Italian Centre, 262 Carrington Street, Adelaide. Tickets cost $90 per person and can be purchased via eventbrite.