On the evening of Monday 1st December 2008, colleagues of Professor Gordon Campbell gathered to wish him all the best upon his retirement at the end of the year. Gordon was Head of the Department of Anatomical Sciences from 1/7/91 until mid 1999. He then became the first Director of Research and Postgraduate Studies in the BACS Faculty for two years, after which he was appointed co-Director of the Centre for Vascular Research in the School of Biomedical Sciences. With a H factor of over 40 and nearly 200 publications there is not going to be any rest for Gordon during his retirement. He plans to write a major review with his wife, Julie Campbell, in the first six months of next year as well as begin to settle into the job of tending to his cattle on their property in northern NSW.

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Teaching about to start
Teaching staff are reminded that the start of semester is only days away (March 2nd). All Course Profiles and Blackboard websites are now active and available to students. If you do not have access to a course you are teaching into please let Leanne know at sbms@uq.edu.au.

Course timetables
Course timetables can be found on here, via the link on the left hand side of the page (do not log in). At present the room allocations are still changing due to enrolment number checks. Please make sure you check your teaching venue on the day of the lecture, it is common for venues to change in the next two weeks.

Exam Dates
Examinations will be held from June 13th to 27th with supplementary and special exams following on July 22-24. If you are teaching into a course and will have exam questions could you please let Leanne or Simone know if you are planning leave or to attend a conference during this period. Exam questions will be called for at the end of March.

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The winner of the Award for the Spring Round was:

Edwards, JN; Launikonis, BS (2008) The accessibility and interconnectivity of the tubular system network in toad skeletal muscle  JOURNAL OF PHYSIOLOGY-LONDON, 586(21): 5077-5089.   

The Runner-up Award went to:
 
Martin DH Teichmann, Frederic von Wegner, Rainer HA Fink, Jeffrey S Chamberlain, Bradley S Launikonis, Boris Martinac and Oliver Friedrich (2008) Inhibitory Control Over Ca2+ Sparks via Mechanosensitive Channels Is Disrupted in Dystrophin Deficient Muscle but Restored by Mini-Dystrophin Expression. PLoS ONE 3(11): e3644. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0003644.
 
Presentations of this research will be given on Friday 27th of March 2009 in the Skerman Seminar Room (305) at 3.00pm.
 

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February Courses - Occupational Health and Safety

Workplace Safety - Chemicals Management- 3 Hours - 26th February 2009 9:00am- 12:00pm TEDI Seminar Room, Bldg # 15

Radiation Safety Officer Training – 6 Hours - 10th February 2009 9:00am – 4:00pm TEDI Seminar Room, Bldg # 15

Radiation Safety with Unsealed Sources – intro.- 3 Hours - 18th February 2009 9:00am- 12:00pm TEDI Seminar Room, Bldg # 15

Risk Assessment Database Training – 1.5 Hours 19th February 2009 9:00am – 10:30am Building 33, Rooms 102 & 104

Biological Safety - Requirements for working with biological material – 2 Hours - 19th February 2009 9:00am – 11:00am IMB Auditorium, Bldg 80

Please ensure that all relevant personnel nominate for the above courses. For detailed course descriptions and to register, please contact the Teaching and Educational Development Institute on extension 53019. Alternatively, email the Staff Development Administrator on StaffDev@tedi.uq.edu.au or visit TEDI’s website.

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Lindsay Brown - Conference - February 9 - 20
Elizabeth Gillam - Maternity to September 18, 2009
Brad Launikonis - Conference - February 25 - March 12
Stuart Mazzone - Conference - April 15 - 23
Stuart Mazzone - Recreation - April 24 - May 1
Rod Minchin -  Recreation - April 6 – 8
Conrad Sernia - Recreation - February 18 – 24
Conrad Sernia -  LSL - March 30 - April 17
Conrad Sernia - LSL - June 29 - July 24
Peter Thorn - Conference - March 24 - 27
Peter Thorn - Conference - June 25 - July 6

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The new finance system Unifi has finally begun and what a beginning! I would like to congratulate everyone on the way you have all handled the transition. I believe we have been extremely successful in converting to the new system. Most labs are up and ordering without hassle. Apart from a few hiccups in the beginning, I believe transition went rather smoothly and now we are very adept at using the eProcurement system. Based on the feedback and questions I received from the training sessions I relayed our questions and worries to the Unifi hierarchy and I am delighted to say they acted on more than a few of them, hopefully making it easier for us all.
I only have a few things to note:
Categories
When placing a Special Item requisition, a category with the word other in its description should be used as a last resort. UQ are monitoring and trying to reduce any items placed under these categories. Use of these categories may increase processing time and delay approval of your order. Please try to select a different, more accurate category.
Receiving
The new Unifi system requires requestors to ‘receive’ their items in the new system. If items are not received the invoices will not be paid and suppliers will place holds and restrictions on your purchases. To enable continued use for yourself and your colleges please receive items. If you need to know how to do this please email Thomas Orth t.orth@uq.edu.au.

Campus Travel News

Crisis Management
It doesn't take long for the media to let us know whenever there is a crisis somewhere in the world.  The worse the situation the more we hear about it and even more disturbing can be the photos that are immediately flashed across our television screens and over the internet.  
At Campus Travel, the immediate response is "do we have any clients there?".  Instantly our Crisis Management procedures get underway with the running of a Where Are They report that covers our entire database.
  
Are our staff safe?
Recent events in Mumbai, India really brought home the importance of having a robust Duty of Care/Risk Management process.   What happens if staff have not booked with the University's nominated travel agent?  The travel agent is not going to be able to find them. How does the University keep track of staff if they have booked their airfare over the internet, and even more importantly, who is going to find them, reissue their ticket, rearrange their travel - not possible to do over the internet!
 
Duty of Care - What is the cost of Safety?
Crisis Management is a process that Campus Travel manage for our clients.  A Crisis Management Alert will be raised not just for acts of terrorism, or political protests, but also for any event that may affect travel.  Such events can include airline strikes, poor weather conditions, natural disasters, etc.  At Campus Travel we have a very hands on approach to the management of duty of care.  Our customers safety is of utmost importance, these are the people that we have formed relationships with as we have planned their travel arrangements and often these people will become long term clients and even friends.  Inside our office walls it's 'all hands on deck' until we are certain all our customers have been accounted for.
Please consider the importance of this so that you have an organisation you can rely on in times of an emergency.
 
If you would like to know more about Campus Travel's Crisis Management procedures, please contact Julie McLean 0409 332 420 or julie.mclean@campustravel.com.au

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Climate Smart your Home
One SBMS staff member can’t stop talking about the new home electricity monitor she got as part of her ClimateSmart Home Service, letting her see just how much energy she is using, any time of the day or night. Everyone can do their bit to save energy, money and the environment. The service costs just $50 and will help you reduce your home's carbon footprint. It can also help you save up to $250 on your water and energy bills a year. Find out more about the service here.

Share the load
Got some old equipment or office supplies you will never use again? Recent devastating fires and floods have left some people with nothing. Before throwing things out, ask yourself ‘does someone else have a use for it?’ and ‘can it be recycled?’ Think about folders, computers, documents, stationery etc and don’t forget to order extra paper recycling bins at recycle@pf.uq.edu.au.

Clean up your Neighbourhood
Sunday March 1 is Clean Up Australia Day, a great day to get outdoors for a few hours and help make your neighbourhood a more liveable place. If you live near to the uni, you can join volunteers at Brisbane River - St Lucia Reach or locate / register another site here.

Dave Logan
CoralWatch Project Manager
Ext: 54080
E-mail: d.logan@uq.edu.au

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