Three University of Queensland researchers will advance their studies at universities and research institutes in the United States after being awarded Fulbright Scholarships.
Professor Amanda Ullman, Andrew Su, and Dr Viqar Ahmad will be heading ‘stateside’ next year.
Professor Ullman, from UQ’s School of Nursing, Midwifery and Social Work, will work with the University of Pennsylvania and the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia to improve intravenous (IV) practices in paediatric intensive care.
“Despite modern advancements, the insertion of an IV device still results in children being harmed from delayed treatment, infection and blood clots,” Professor Ullman said.
“The insertion and management of an IV during paediatric critical illness is a practice ripe for innovation, and it will make a substantial difference to health outcomes globally.”
Professor Ullman said her inspiration to pursue a career in research came from working as a paediatric intensive care nurse.
“I experienced the impact of caring for a child and family who were often having the worst day of their lives,” she said.
“Through research and innovation, I knew I could make a difference for the 12,000 plus Australian children and their families who are critically ill every year.”
Andrew Su from UQ’s Institute for Molecular Bioscience will be heading to Stanford University to further his research into cutting-edge technological approaches to challenges in medicine.
His aim is to develop machine-learning approaches for predicting cell types and estimating metastatic potential for colorectal cancer from standard clinical tissue images of tumours.
The research could assist pathologists in the early and accurate diagnosis of colorectal cancer whilst adding new information useful for clinical decision-making.
UQ’s Dr Viqar Ahmad will travel to the University of Texas to work on developing flexible and stretchable organic light-emitting devices (OLEDs) for optical stimulation of the peripheral nervous system.
This research will potentially allow the development of non-invasive techniques for neural stimulation as compared to existing invasive techniques.
The 2021 Fulbright Scholarships also include many UQ alumni, including:
• Professor Bradley Carter, Fulbright Future Scholarship
• Ms Hayley Channer, Fulbright Professional Coral Sea Scholarship
• Dr Jordan Corey, Fulbright Future Scholarship
• Mr Ivan Diklich-Zelich, Fulbright Future Scholarship
• Mr Jon Fanning, Fulbright Future Scholarship
• Mr Kailin Graham, Fulbright Future Scholarship
• Professor Susan Harris Rimmer, Fulbright Professional Scholarship
• Professor Helen Nahrung, Fulbright Future Scholarship
• Ms Clare Stephens, Fulbright Future Scholarship.
