Episode 97 - Finishing A PhD With Courtney And Craig by The Meaning of Health Podcast

We return with our first episode for 2024, and bring you a great conversation with Mariam Alessa, a podiatrist from Kuwait currently completing a PhD investigating diabetic foot disease at the School of Allied Health at UWA. Mariam takes us through her journey which has seen her study in Malta and the UK, before practicing in Kuwait and doing research in Abu Dhabi. Mariam talks through some of the consequences of diabetes, and how complications such as diabetic foot disease can arise, often with quite serious consequences such as major limb amputations and even death. We finish our conversation with Mariam describing the amputee crisis currently unfolding in Gaza with thousands of children losing limbs as a result of the conflict there, often having amputations performed without anaesthetic due to a lack of supply. We hope to have Mariam back on in the future to discuss her PhD findings, in the meantime we hope you enjoy this chat as much as we did!

You can read more about Mariam and her work here: https://research-repository.uwa.edu.au/en/persons/mariam-alessa-2

As always, if you want to get in touch with the podcast, you can contact us at: [email protected] or via twitter @healthmeanswhat or via FaceBook @MeaningofHealth or via Instagram @healthmeanswhat

We’ve made it through to Christmas 2023! In this special Christmas episode, Craig, Courtney and Leah are joined by special guest Doug Maclaurin from the UWA Media and PR team, who is also the host of the brand new Research on the Record podcast at UWA. In addition to the usual discussion about an article from the BMJ Christmas issue, we all reflect on what has been quite an incredible year for many reasons, as well as discussing personal milestones and experiences from throughout the year. We finish up with some predictions and hopes for 2024. Thank you everyone for listening again in 2023 and we’ll look forward to bringing you some more interesting conversations in 2024!

You can find the BMJ article we discuss here: https://www.bmj.com/content/379/bmj-2022-072839

You can find the Research on the Record podcast on all podcast platforms, as well as here: https://www.uwa.edu.au/news/topics/podcasts

As always, if you want to get in touch with the podcast, you can contact us at: [email protected] or via twitter @healthmeanswhat or via FaceBook @MeaningofHealth or via Instagram @healthmeanswhat

In part 2 of our conversations with Dreambuilders Care, we chat first with Dave, a service user at Dreambuilders, followed by Kylie, the day manager of the service. Dave discusses his challenges with alcohol dependence and how he recently reached the milestone of being 1 year sober. Dave talks about the importance of asking for help when you need it, how Dreambuilders has been a great help to him and many others, and his relationship with his family. Kylie discusses her role at Dreambuilders and some of the challenges she has faced during her life, raising her kids as a single mother, and re-entering the workforce, firstly as a volunteer, and then as an employee at Dreambuilders. Kylie discusses going to TAFE and completing her Diploma in Community Services, and talks about the satisfaction she gets from seeing people in need get assistance from Dreambuilders and how it brightens their day. These were two inspiring conversations with people who have overcome various adversities and come out the other side stronger for it.

You can read more about Dreambuilders Care here: https://www.dreambuilderscare.org.au/getinvolved

As always, if you want to get in touch with the podcast, you can contact us at: [email protected] or via twitter @healthmeanswhat or via FaceBook @MeaningofHealth or via Instagram @healthmeanswhat

We travel to Midland to chat with Dreambuilders Care CEO Ursula Dixon for this episode, which is the first of 2 that we will release about Dreambuilders. Dreambuilders are a charitable organisation that operates a low cost supermarket, a café, and a community kitchen, to help feed people in Midland who may be struggling to help ends meet. Ursula chats with us about a lot of the challenges Dreambuilders’ clients face, and also how they are starting to see a change in the people use their service, with people who have full time jobs who have never needed assistance to feed themselves and their families now struggling to make ends meet in the current cost of living crisis. Ursual chats with us about her work history, and journey raising a family, as well as the amazing Christmas hampers that Dreambuilders provides for their clients to lift spirits on Christmas Day. Ursula’s passion for the work Dreambuilders are doing in the community is infectious, we encourage anyone who is interested in helping to check out the website and to consider going down and volunteering at 10am on 16 December 2023 to help pack the Christmas Hampers.

You can read more about Dreambuilders Care here: https://www.dreambuilderscare.org.au/getinvolved

As always, if you want to get in touch with the podcast, you can contact us at: [email protected] or via twitter @healthmeanswhat or via FaceBook @MeaningofHealth or via Instagram @healthmeanswhat

In this episode we venture out to Royal Perth Hospital for a chat with Dr Erika Bosio, Laboratory Head in the Centre for Clinical Research in Emergency Medicine, and a senior lecturer at the UWA School of Biomedical Sciences and Graduate Research Coordinator at the UWA Medical School. Erika talks us through her career in research, which took her to Italy and back again. She has conducted research in immunology, transplantation, diabetes and stem cells. Erika is currently working with UWA and the Harry Perkins Institute using a live human model of tiny blood vessels to try and improve our understanding of how sepsis and anaphylaxis work to make people acutely unwell. Erika also discusses our reliance on the use of animal models in early-stage laboratory research, a complex and often controversial topic.

You can read more about Erika’s work here: https://research-repository.uwa.edu.au/en/persons/erika-bosio

As always, if you want to get in touch with the podcast, you can contact us at: [email protected] or via twitter @healthmeanswhat or via FaceBook @MeaningofHealth or via Instagram @healthmeanswhat

Prof Anna Nowak joins us in the studio for a chat about the many strings to her bow. From studying music and playing the violin during school (and learning the flute more recently), through to treating cancer patients and investigating how to improve treatment outcomes, Anna’s career is a source of inspiration for many people. Anna talks us through what drew her to practicing cancer medicine, getting involved in cancer research, and the many national and international collaborations that Anna has been a part of (including plenty of early Saturday morning calls!). The conversation progresses to Anna’s current role as the Deputy Vice Chancellor (Research) (DVC-R) at UWA. We discuss Anna’s pathway from clinician and research through to becoming one of the most senior academic leaders at UWA. Anna shares with us what her current role as DVC-R involves, and her observations on the current state of the university and research sector more broadly. We hope you enjoy the conversation as much as we did.

You can read more about Anna’s work and career here: https://research-repository.uwa.edu.au/en/persons/anna-nowak

As always, if you want to get in touch with the podcast, you can contact us at: [email protected] or via twitter @healthmeanswhat or via FaceBook @MeaningofHealth or via Instagram @healthmeanswhat

We sit down for a yarn with prominent Indigenous academic Prof Dawn Bessarab. Dawn is a Bard/Yindijibarndi Aboriginal woman who grew up in the Kimberley in North Western Australia. She has a background in social work, and is now the Director of the Centre for Aboriginal Medical and Dental Health at UWA. Dawn has led many innovations in Indigenous research methods, and was responsible for developing the clinical yarning framework which is now widely used in Australia and across the world. Dawn gives us a snapshot of her life and career, before sharing her views on the upcoming referendum on constitutional recognitional and a constitutionally enshrined Voice to Parliament for Indigenous Australians. A supporter of the Voice, Dawn provides a unique perspective on what the Voice means for Indigenous people, and some of the challenges that the Indigenous community is facing as the “yes” and “no” campaigns push their cases in a debate that has been very emotional for many. Dawn also addresses some of the arguments from the “no” side of the campaign, and provides some valuable insight into why many Indigenous people are struggling with this debate, and how white Australia can best support the Indigenous community now, and into the future.

A big thank you to Dr Emma Haynes who helped to arrange our conversation with Dawn.

You can read more about Dawn and her work here: https://research-repository.uwa.edu.au/en/persons/dawn-bessarab

For more information on the Voice to Parliament, you can watch/read a speech by Mary Crooks here: https://www.vwt.org.au/women-for-yes-address-by-mary-crooks-ao-delivered-sunday-13-august-2023/

And you can watch Marcia Langton, Jackie Huggins and Emily Carter’s talk here: https://www.vwt.org.au/video-what-do-you-tell-your-grandchildren-featuring-marcia-langton-ao-dr-jackie-huggins-am-and-emily-carter/

As always, if you want to get in touch with the podcast, you can contact us at: [email protected] or via twitter @healthmeanswhat or via FaceBook @MeaningofHealth or via Instagram @healthmeanswhat

In this brief episode we welcome Leah Roberts as a new host to the podcast. Leah joined us as a guest in episode 87 and we are delighted to have her join the hosting team. Our introduction touches on a couple of contemporary issues that are receiving media coverage at the moment (corporate misbehaviour and the Voice to the parliament) which Leah provides looks at with her political science hat on. We’ll look forward to bringing you new episodes featuring Leah in the hosting chair soon.

As always, if you want to get in touch with the podcast, you can contact us at: [email protected] or via twitter @healthmeanswhat or via FaceBook @MeaningofHealth or via Instagram @healthmeanswhat

We sit down with Alex Hughes to have a chat about the current homelessness crisis in regional Western Australia. Alex previously worked for the 100 Families project and was a podcast guest all the way back in Episode 16, and is now working with Just Home Margaret River, a community-led grass roots organisation that assists people in and around Margaret River who are experiencing, or at risk of homelessness. Alex takes us through some of the contributing factors, such as a lot of the available accommodation being offered as short-term holiday accommodation on sites such as Air BnB, and governments failing to plan and fund sufficient public housing in communities such as Margaret River and the surrounding areas. Alex also discusses some upcoming fundraising events and installations aimed at raising awareness around the issue, planned to coincide with National Homelessness Week which runs from 7-13 August 2023.

You can find out more about Just Home Margaret River, and their fundraising event which is being held on Sunday 13 August 2023 between 2-6pm here: https://justhome.org.au

You can read more about National Homeless Week here: https://www.shelterwa.org.au/homelessness-week-2023/

As always, if you want to get in touch with the podcast, you can contact us at: [email protected] or via twitter @healthmeanswhat or via FaceBook @MeaningofHealth or via Instagram @healthmeanswhat