Professor Elizabeth Deane

Deputy Chair of Spinal Research Committee – BSc (Hons), PhD

Professor Elizabeth Deane has a BSc with 1st Class Honours (1975) and PhD (1981) from the University of Sydney. Elizabeth is currently PVC (Education) at the Australian National University. Prior to this, and for over 20 years, she has held a number of academic leadership positions including Foundation Head of Department of Biological Sciences; Head of School of Sciences and Interim Dean of College of Science and Technology at the University of Western Sydney (1989 – 2000) and Dean of Division of Environmental and Life Sciences at Macquarie University, Sydney (2000 – 2008).

Elizabeth has been and is a member of a number of Boards, including: 

• Access Macquarie - the commercialisation arm of Macquarie University
• the DEST CRC Committee and a member of its Communications Sub-Committee
• Biomed North - a consortium aimed at increasing the interface between university, medical research and industry to deliver commercial outcomes
• Australian Council of Deans of Science Executive   

Elizabeth has been an active funded researcher in the area of marsupial biology and management and was a member of the executive for the CRC for Conservation and Management of Marsupials (1998-2003). She has also undertaken research and published in the area of University Management and women and research in Universities.

Associate Professor Bernadette Murphy BA, DC, MSc, PhD

Associate Professor Bernadette Murphy was born in Canada and completed an undergraduate degree in Life Sciences at Queens University in 1985. Bernadette then completed her four year Doctor of Chiropractic (DC) degree from the Canadian Memorial Chiropractic College in Toronto in 1989.  Upon graduating, Bernadette travelled to Auckland, New Zealand, where she completed her MSc with 1st Class Honours and her PhD in Physiology from the University of Auckland.  While completing her graduate studies, Bernadette was the Director of Research at the New Zealand College of Chiropractic.  In 1999, she accepted a lectureship in the Department of Sport and Exercise Science at the University of Auckland.  She maintained a small clinical practice in addition to her academic work in the 18 years she spent in New Zealand, and that experience informs both her research and teaching.  In December 2007, she returned to Canada and accepted a position at the University of Ontario Institute of Technology (UOIT).

Bernadette’s primary interests are in the alterations in sensorimotor integration and motor control that occur following musculoskeletal injury and which may lead to chronic pain syndromes. The overall theme of her research is neural adaptation in humans and the role of physical interventions such as exercise and spinal adjustments in aiding the re-establishment of meaningful neural connections.

Associate Professor Goran Štrkalj BA, MA (Belgrade), PhD (Witwatersrand)

Goran Štrkalj is a biological anthropologist and anatomist. His main research interests are in human biological variation and evolution, ‘race’, history of biological anthropology and science education. He has more than 100 publications, including four books and papers in leading anthropological journals such as Current Anthropology, American Journal of Physical Anthropology and American Anthropologist. He is an Associate Professor at Macquarie University where he teaches anatomy in the Department of Chiropractic. Prior to his arrival to Macquarie, Goran was working in the School of Anatomical Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. As a Research Associate he has been affiliated with the Wellcome Trust for the History of Medicine at the University College London, Institute for Human Evolution at the University of the Witwatersrand and the Institute of Ethnography at the Serbian Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Goran has been teaching a number of courses including human and comparative anatomy, histology, human variation, human evolution, history of science and research methods. He is a member of various professionals association in biological anthropology, anatomy and history of science. He also organised and chaired several scientific symposia. Goran has acted as the manuscripts reviewer for the Proceedings of the Anatomical Society of Southern Africa, Wits University Press, Clinical Anatomy, Homo, Studies on Tribes and Tribals, South African Medical Journal, South African Humanities, Glasnik Etnografskog Instituta SANU, South African Journal of Science and Medical Science Monitor.

Associate Professor Barbara Polus BAppSc (Chiro), MSc, PhD

Associate Professor Barbara Polus is Associate Professor in Chiropractic Neuroscience at RMIT University. Barbara initially trained as a Chiropractor graduating from Phillip Institute of Technology (PIT) in 1980. Subsequently, she moved to Armidale NSW where she commenced private practice as a Chiropractor while undertaking a Master of Science degree at the University of New England. Barbara continued postgraduate training in neuroscience at Monash University completing her PhD in 1996. Barbara has worked as a chiropractor in her own practice as well as undertaking both teaching and learning, and research responsibilities at RMIT University since 1991. She currently has a full-time academic position at RMIT University. Her current research areas of interest include the influence of neck somatosensory inputs on sensorimotor integration and the evaluation of whole person benefits of chiropractic care delivered in a community setting.

Professor Charles Oxnard

BSc (Hons), MBChB, PhD, DSc (Science & Engineering)

Professor Charles Oxnard holds medical and doctoral degrees from the University of Birmingham, and has held appointments at the Universities of Birmingham, UK, Chicago, Southern California, and Western Australia. Charles is currently Emeritus Professor and senior honorary research fellow at the University of Western Australia (having been retired for 10 years now), honorary professor in anatomy at the Hull/York Medical School, University of York, UK, and honorary professor of bioengineering at the University of Hull, UK. Charles researches have ranged from anatomical dissection, through mathematical and engineering modeling of anatomical structures, to Fast Fourier Transforms and Fast Lagrangian Analyses as applied to the architecture and biomechanics of bone. His most recent work is a reassessment of the Flores fossils. He has 503 publications including 30 books, monographs, edited volumes and edited volume series, 244 refereed full length papers (including more than 50 papers since retirement), symposium articles, and chapters in books.

Charles has had research funding for his entire career on three continents. His currently active research grants are: a Leverhulme Research Project Grant (2004-2007) held with UK collaborators), two Australian Research Council Discovery Grants (2005-2007, 2007-2009) held with both UWA and overseas collaborators, two Marie Curie Research Training Grants (PALAEO and EVAN 2005-2008) also held with UK collaborators, and a BBSRC UK Research Grant (2007-2009) held with UK collaborators.

Professor Peter Drake A.M.

Peter Drake graduated B.Comm. Honours (First Class) from the University of Melbourne in 1962 and Ph.D from The Australian National University in 1967.  He is now Professor Emeritus of The University of New England and of Australian Catholic University.

Professor Drake was the founding Vice-Chancellor of Australian Catholic University, 1991-1998.  His previous academic appointments were in The University of New England (where, over eighteen years, he was Professor of Economics and successively Head of the Department of Economics, Chairman of Academic Board, Pro Vice-Chancellor, Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Principal of UNE-Armidale) and in the University of Melbourne, for seven years, as Lecturer and Senior Lecturer in Economics.  He has held a Nuffield Fellowship in the University of London, Institute of Commonwealth Studies and a Hallsworth Fellowship in the University of Manchester.

Professor Drake’s expertise in international economic development has led to roles as a foundation member of the Board of Management of the U.N. Asian and Pacific Development Centre, Kuala Lumpur; member of the steering committee of the ASEAN-Australia Joint Research Project; and Project Manager of Australia’s $15m. Project of Assistance to Institut Pertanian Bogor, Indonesia.  He has been a consultant to the World Bank, the Australian International Development Assistance Bureau and AusAID, and various governments and universities in Asia and the Pacific region.  In international education, he has been a board member and deputy president of IDP Education Australia, board member of International Education Media, and board member and chairman of the Australian Education Office, North America.

Professor Drake was a member of the AVCC Academic Standards Panel on Economics, chairman of the NSW Syllabus Committee on Economics, councillor for Southeast Asia of the Asian Studies Association of Australia, member of the ANU-ARC Review Committee on the Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies.  He has been external examiner in Economics for The Flinders University of South Australia and Universiti Sains Malaysia.

Reflecting his particular leadership experience and special interest in academic governance, administration and quality assurance, Professor Drake has served, in retirement, as Chairman, Murdoch Business School Review Panel; Auditor, Australian Universities’ Quality Agency; Consultant to Macquarie University on academic organization and convenor of a postgraduate course in educational leadership and management in that university. Currently he is a Chair of Assessment Panels for Higher Education Registration and Accreditation for the NSW Department of Education and Training.

Professor Drake serves on the international advisory board of North South University, Bangladesh.  He is President of  Councils on Chiropractic Education International, a member and deputy chair of the board of the Council on Chiropractic Education Australasia. He is a member of the board of UNILINC Ltd.  He is an honorary trustee of the Committee for Economic Development of Australia (CEDA) and a member of its research and publications committee.  Professor Drake has served on the NSW Selection Panel for the General Sir John Monash Awards since the inception of  these premier postgraduate awards in 2004.

Professor Drake has published many articles in academic journals and several books, including Money, Finance and Development;  Financial Development in Malaya and Singapore;  Economic Growth for Australia ( with J.P.Nieuwenhuysen);  Currency, Credit and Commerce: Early Growth in Southeast Asia (2004);  Arndt’s Story: The life of an Australian economist ( with P.Coleman & S.Cornish) (2007).

In 2003 Professor Drake was appointed to be a Member in The Order Of Australia, was awarded the degree of Doctor of the University (honoris causa) by Australian Catholic University, and was advanced to Fellow of the Society of Certified Practising  Accountants of Australia.