A big hello to our project partners and funders and contributors to the  UPLOADS project!

As some of you may be aware, the UPLOADS team from the University of the Sunshine Coast has had a few changes, and I just wanted to take a moment to introduce ourselves. Since the wonderful Dr Natassia Goode left on maternity leave, we have welcomed two new research fellows onto the project.

Dr Michelle van Mulken has a Bachelor Degree in Health Science, a Master Degree in Health Promotion and PhD in Public Health with 10 years of experience in the Health Care sector and 3 years of volunteering experience at Outdoor Kids & Youth Camps in Europe. In her role on the UPLOADS project Michelle will be primarily involved with the continued running of the National Incident Dataset. Michelle is also running the countermeasures evaluations which are based on the information you have provided and the workshops that were run with sector representatives in 2015.

Amanda Clacy has a Bachelor Degree in Psychology (with honors) and has completed a PhD on sport-related concussion in junior contact football. In her role on the UPLOADS project Amanda will be primarily involved with applying what we have learnt from UPLOADS to produce a structured process to support organisations in translating incident reporting system outputs into appropriate and effective injury countermeasures. The process will be developed in consultation with a diverse range of organisations and will be generic, and will thus support injury prevention activities both in the LOA sector and across safety critical domains more generally.

We would also like to congratulate Natassia and Miles on the arrival of their baby boy, Tristan Thomas, born on 01 March 2016. Everyone is happy and healthy, and we here at the Centre for Human Factors and Sociotechnical Systems are overjoyed with the new addition to the team!!

We look forward to meeting you all throughout the year, and working towards a safe and adventurous future in LOA.  If you have any questions or would like to talk to the UPLOADS team, please do not hesitate to contact Michelle (MVanMulk@usc.edu.au), Paul Salmon (psalmon@usc.edu.au), or myself (aclacy@usc.edu.au).

Cheers!

About amandaclacy

After completing my PhD in sport psychology and concussion risk, it was clear that the wonderful world of research had captured my attention. In my role at the Centre for human Factors and Sociotechnical Systems I am part of a brilliant team of researchers, working on world class research in the fields of sport and outdoor recreation, transport and infrastructure, organisational health and safety, urban planning and design, and defence security and resilience. My personal research interests are in the dynamic topic of injury management in grassroots sport. Although my PhD only skimmed the surface of this complicated issue, I look forward to a long career not only improving sport-related injury risk but also finding new ways to motivate kids to keep participating in sport and outdoor activity.