From high art to health: research makes an impact

Associate Professor Mark Carroll.
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DMAC Director Professor Philip Ryan.
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Melanie Gentgall from PARC.

Photos by Jennie Groom
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Friday, 28 November 2008

A University of Adelaide project looking at the impact of the 20th century's most influential ballet company on Australian culture has been awarded one of three major prizes at last night's Adelaide Research & Innovation Impact Awards.

Associate Professor Mark Carroll from the Elder Conservatorium of Music has received a $10,000 funding injection for his joint research project investigating the history of Ballet Russes tours and their cultural influence on Australian high art and music.

The project brings together the University of Adelaide with Australia's peak performing arts organisation, The Australian Ballet and the National Library of Australia, supported by the largest Australian Research Council Linkage Grant of its kind in the performing arts - $400,000.

"The Ballet Russes (Russian Ballet) tours from 1936-1940 raised the bar for what was possible and changed the way Australian artists conceived of European art," Professor Carroll said. "Up until that point, Australians had been really starved of the latest trends in European art and performance," he said.

Through exposure to the Ballet Russes tours, the careers of artists such as Sidney Nolan, Donald Friend and Norman Lindsay were given a major boost, along with composer Margaret Sutherland.

The two other major award winners to each receive $10,000 last night were the Pain & Anaesthesia Research Clinic (PARC) and the Data Management & Analysis Centre (DMAC), also from the University of Adelaide.

The PARC team led by Professor Paul Rolan and Professor Guy Ludbrook has combined scientific skills and expertise in pharmacology and anaesthesia to provide innovative solutions for exploratory clinical drug development. PARC operates a unit within the Royal Adelaide Hospital and has significant global linkages.

DMAC Director Professor Philip Ryan from the University's School of Population Health & Clinical Practice will use the $10,000 prize to help custom design and build database systems to integrate health research statistics.

Sound statistics and records on the actual performance of medical devices and implants are critical to delivering better health care solutions to the community. DMAC's clients include the Australian Orthopaedic Association, the Child Health Research Institute and other universities around Australia.

!mpact accolades were awarded to the following people for their contribution to research: Professor Michael Rumsewicz (Engineering, Computer & Mathematical Science); Associate Professor Bruce Ainsworth (Australian School of Petroleum); Professor Gary Wittert (School of Medicine); and Associate Professor John Spoehr (Australian Institute for Social Research).

Adelaide Research & Innovation Managing Director Robert Chalmers said: "We established the !mpact Award program to recognise researchers from the University of Adelaide and affiliated organisations who are contributing to innovation and entrepreneurship in South Australia. The award winners are great examples of partnerships resulting in knowledge transfer and real-world application of research."

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