
With the rollercoaster of 2020 and 2021 hopefully behind us, our postgraduate students have continued to excel in 2022. Our students have published over 24 research papers in peer-reviewed journals and have resumed presenting their research at international conferences, both online and physical, including the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) Conference, the International Society for Contact Lens Research (ISCLR) Symposium, International Myopia Conference, the American Academy of Optometry (AAO) Conference, International Cornea and Contact Lens Congress, 48th Annual Tow Awards and International Cornea & Contact Lens Congress (ICCLC).
Thesis submissions and Awards
Our congratulations go to the following students who were awarded their PhD in 2022: Praveen Kumar Bandela, Gauri Shrestha, Peter Wagner, Ngozi Chidi-Egboka, Zahra Tajbakhsh, Vincent Khou, Wilson Luu and Melinda Toomey.
We would also like to congratulate Sultan Alotaibi, Rajendra Gyawali, Madeeha Afzal and Nahida Akter who submitted their PhD theses in 2022.
Awards received
Congratulations also go to a long list of postgraduate students who received various awards throughout the year:
Barbara Hall Fellowship from Australian Graduate Women - Sukanya Jaiswal
Needs-based scholarship for International Association for Wildland Fire- Sukanya Jaiswal
Cornea and Contact Lens Society of Australia Dorothy Calborg Research Award - Samrat Sarkar, Azadeh Tavakoli
UNSW Development and Research Training Grant (DRTG) Scheme - Helen Nguyen, Rene Cheung, Eman Alzghoul
Top 10 abstract submissions for Australasian Road Safety Conference (ARSC) 2022 - Helen Nguyen
Best Poster Award - International Cornea & Contact Lens Congress (ICCLC) 2022 - Binod Rayamajhee
Joe and Janet Barr Early Career Cornea and Contact Lens Research Award - American Academy of Optometry - Binod Rayamajhee
President’s grant for conference attendance - Applied Microbiology International (AMI) - Binod Rayamajhee
Student Travel Grant - Australian Society for Parasitology (ASP) - Binod Rayamajhee
Australian Research Council (ARC) Postgraduate Council Outstanding Research Student Award - Binod Rayamajhee
Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) Science Communication Training Fellowship (#SciCommTF) - Eman Alzghoul
International Association of Contact Lens Educator (IACLE) Fellowship - Eman Alzghoul
Covidence Global Scholarship 2022 - Eman Alzghoul
Covidence Ambassador 2022 - Eman Alzghoul
International Myopia Conference Travel Grant Award - Tim Fricke
International Student Travel Award -Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering - Sidra Sarwat
IMNIS International Mentorship Program - Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering - Sidra Sarwat
Best Presentation Award, UNSW, Sydney - Sidra Sarwat
Bert C & Lydia M Corwin Ezell Fellowship - Sidra Sarwat
International Society for Contact Lens Research (ISCLR) Student Travel Award - Sidra Sarwat
Fellow American Academy of Optometry - Geetha Sravani - Sidra Sarwat
Postgraduate Club
Postgraduate club continues to run weekly on Thursdays from 4pm to 5pm. A wide range of fantastic speakers and topics have been presented there this year including:
2022 |
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27 Jan |
Coffee with an academic |
Michele Madigan |
3 Feb |
Research Integrity |
Amelia Kowalski |
10 Feb |
Teaching as a career path after PhD |
Vinod Maseedupally |
17 Feb |
managing candidature requirements |
Anne Barnes |
24 Feb |
Research organisation skills |
Maria Markoulli |
3 March |
Optical strategies of myopia control |
Pauline Kang |
10 March |
Library services for researchers |
Marina Van Leeuwan |
17 March |
Using UNSW REDcap for survey research |
Sheela Kumaran |
24 March |
Industry/Tech related career options for PhD graduates; Intelligence/ Defense related career options for PhD graduates. |
Vanessa Bakhos, Katherine Pick, Sedryn Lim |
31 March |
Coffee with an academic |
Lisa Keay |
7 April |
How to conduct a literature search |
UNSW Library Academic Services (via Marina Van Leeuwan) |
14 April |
What is the difference between doing EBM and doing Research? 1) Studies on diagnostic tests. |
Gordon Doig |
21 April |
Research and develop IP that people want |
Minh Phan |
28 April |
Bland-Altman analysis |
Eric Papas |
5 May |
Political optometry. Domestic and International |
Keith Masnick |
12 May |
Systems thinking and modelling. Seeing and using the whole picture |
Keith Masnick |
19 May |
The Entrepreneurial Academic’s Dilemma |
Paul Gifford |
2 June |
PhDs in different disciplines – the similarities and the differences, and how we can learn from each other so that we can approach problems in a multi-disciplinary way |
Joanne Anderton Phil Anderton Vidya - Engineering |
9 June |
What is the difference between doing EBM and doing Research? 2) Evaluations of new treatments |
Gordon Doig |
16 June |
Copyright for HDRs – what you need to know |
Anna Troiano Emma McLean |
23 June |
Cultural competency |
Kath Watt |
7 July |
Tips for getting published: the journey from first submission to acceptance |
Angelica Ly |
14 July |
Career opportunities post-PhD |
Carolien Kunnen |
21 July |
UNSWorks |
Gemma Milton |
28 July |
Giving back to the community |
Vu Do
|
4 Aug |
How to perform a peer review and get the most out of the process |
Angelica Ly |
25 Aug |
Coffee with an Academic |
Pauline Kang |
1 Sep |
Basic stats using SPSS |
Thomas John Navidulath |
15 Sep |
Basic stats using SPSS |
Thomas John Navidulath |
22 Sep |
Consumer and community involvement in research |
Sheela Kumaran |
29 Sep |
Basic stats using SPSS |
Thomas John Navidulath |
6 Oct |
Effective academic time management |
Nathan Efron |
13 Oct |
Resumes/Selection Criteria |
Katherine Pick, Vanessa Bakhos, Sedryn Lim |
20 Oct |
Careers beyond optometry |
Athira Rohit |
27 Oct |
Career path vs career portfolio |
Carolina Kunnen |
Annual Postgraduate Conference
The 2022 annual postgraduate conference was held on 8-11 August 2022 via a virtual platform.
30 students presented their research findings across a range of topics including public health, myopia and glaucoma studies, dry eye disease, systemic disease and the eye, and a total of 40 were interviewed as part of the review process.
The reviews are always a great opportunity to find out the array of research currently being undertaken by research students at SOVS. Many thanks to the following members of the SOVS community who served as panellists: Maria Markoulli (also panel chair), Eric Papas, Ajay Vijay, Judith Flanagan, Simin Masoudi, Juno Kim, Sieu Khuu, Vinod Maseedupally and David Pye.
Congratulations to Sidra Sarwat for her “Best presentation” award and Tim Fricke who was runner-up.
New Postgraduate Research Representatives
This year we thanked Sue Kweon, Fatima Iqbal, Daniel Rafla and Geetha Nakka for their service as postgraduate representatives and welcomed (clockwise from top left) Eman Alzghoul, Binod Rayamajhee, Natalie Eshow and Zeeshan Akhtar as the incoming representatives.
MPhil
The MPhil is a 1.5-year degree that incorporates coursework and a research project. The completion of an MPhil equates to honours equivalency. You can learn the Mphil here: https://www.optometry.unsw.edu.au/sites/default/files/documents/conditionsMPhilpolicy.pdf
PhD Opportunities
Are you interested in undertaking postgraduate research? Our school offers a structured postgraduate program consisting of in-house research seminars, developing students methodological, statistical and research skills, and access to internationally recognised researchers, who provide their expertise, knowledge, advice, and guidance. Learn more about our postgraduate program.
Dr Jerome Ozkan
Postgraduate Research Coordinator