06 November 2013
One of Australia’s leading researchers in brain injury has been appointed Pro Vice Chancellor for the University of South Australia’s Division of Health Sciences.
Professor Robert Vink is currently the Head of School of Medical Sciences and Chair of Neurosurgical Research at the University of Adelaide. He won the position from a highly competitive international field.
UniSA Vice Chancellor Professor David Lloyd says Prof Vink will provide strong innovative leadership in health education at a time when UniSA is making significant investments in the new West End health precinct.
“Bob is an example of the high quality staff that UniSA attracts to its teaching and research. His passion for education is matched by a world view that reflects our culture of enterprise,” he says.
“His career demonstrates a commitment to the highest standards of excellence and a research profile focused on the application of knowledge to improve the lives of others.”
“Bob joins UniSA at an exciting time for our institution and I look forward to him being part of our senior management team.”
Prof Vink says he is delighted to be joining UniSA and will commence in the post in early January 2014.
“I am particularly looking forward to the opportunity to contribute to the emergence of UniSA as a leading centre for health education and research at the local and national level,” Prof Vink says.
Prof Vink completed his PhD on nuclear magnetic resonance studies of energy transduction at Griffith University in 1986.
He was awarded a Doctor of Science – which recognises the highest standard of research – by the University of Adelaide earlier this year. His Doctor of Science thesis uncovered the critical roles of magnesium and the neuropeptide substance P in central nervous system injury.
Prof Vink has been invited to give a number of keynote and plenary lectures at international meetings, including the Jamieson Lecture (and medal) at the Neurosurgical Society of Australasia meeting.
He has published extensively during his scientific career with in excess of 200 authored articles to date.
Prof Vink will lead UniSA’s Division of Health Sciences which is the largest provider of health graduates in South Australia, producing more than 1200 health graduates each year in areas such as nursing, midwifery, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, podiatry, human movement, pharmacy, medical imaging and clinical exercise physiology.
Over the past four years, the Division has grown by more than 17 per cent with increasing focus and interest on health and health research across the state.
In the most recent round of the Excellence in Research for Australia (ERA) initiative, the Division’s research was judged to be of world class standard or above in the areas of nursing, human movement and sports science, nutrition and dietetics, clinical science, pharmacology and pharmaceutical sciences, medical physiology, and public health and health services.
UniSA is set to deliver a new state-of-the-art building in the South Australian Health and Biomedical Precinct, housing the Centre for Cancer Biology (CCB), UniSA’s Interprofessional Health Clinic and SciCEd (Science Creativity Education Studio), a science outreach initiative.
Media contact: Kelly Stone office 8302 0963 mobile 0417 861 832 email Kelly.stone@unisa.edu.au
