Bond University will shine the spotlight on its growing research portfolio with a series of free community lectures and seminars covering everything from unprovoked shark bites to the rise of technology as a vehicle for domestic violence and whether society is receiving too much medicine, creating a culture of over diagnosis.
The fourth annual Bond University Research Week will run from November 16 to 20 and showcase the diverse research underway across the Law, Business, Health and Medicine, and Society and Design faculties at the private Gold Coast university.
The week will include a series of public lectures throughout the day and evening along with industry events, including doctoral student presentations, and a 'Three Minute Research' competition for academics, which will provide a quick snapshot of the variety of studies underway.
Bond University Vice-Chancellor and President, Professor Tim Brailsford, said Research Week was now an integral part of Bond's academic calendar.
He said the week was an opportunity for the community and practitioners to find out more about the research being undertaken at Bond and to make connections with the university.
"Research can improve our way of life by uncovering the 'how' and 'why' and finding new and better ways of doing things," he said.
“Universities have an important role to play in the wider community and Research Week allows us to open our doors and showcase our recent breakthroughs.
"Research is the first step to making change whether that be improved healthcare options and outcomes, the implementation of new laws, doing business differently or better informing the community about a range of social concerns.
"We're tackling these issues right here at Bond and Research Week is a chance for the community to learn more about them first hand."
Bond University Interim Pro Vice-Chancellor of Research, Professor Keitha Dunstan, said the series of evening lectures were expected to be the most popular.
"Each evening will be dedicated to showcasing a major project in each faculty, which will give the community a sense of the depth and breadth of research at Bond," she said.
"The series will start with a presentation from our Executive Dean of Law, Professor Nick James, on professional legal education and the future research direction of the faculty.
"Wednesday evening, Bond's recently appointed Chair of Immunology and Stem Cell Biology, Professor Helen O'Neill, will present on stem cells, where they hide and how they can be used to advance medicine.
"The evening lecture series will conclude on Thursday with Associate Professor Daryl McPhee's discussion on understanding and responding to unprovoked shark bites, which will cover the increasing frequency of these events and mitigation options that can be employed to address them.
"Throughout the day, there will also be presentations from key academics in each faculty, and I would encourage anyone who is interested in learning more to attend. It is a chance to come and meet our academics and to ask questions about their work."
Other topics covered during Bond University's Research Week include a look at the newly emerging raw milk cheese industry in Australia following changes to regulation in early 2015, whether food marketing is making us fat, how to detect and prevent fraud, corruption and bribery, and the journey of modern humans to Australia.