Professor Kathy Andrews
Project Leader; Author; Editor
Head, Tropical Parasitology Laboratory, Griffith Institute for Drug Discovery, Griffith University
Kathy is a biomedical researcher at the Griffith Institute for Drug Discovery (GRIDD) at Griffith University. She and her research team are searching for new drug leads for malaria, a disease that kills >1000 people each day.
Kathy is also passionate about science communication and was inspired to start the “That’s RAD! Science” project. Her aim is to engage children through fun and informative books about the amazing worlds of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). She hopes to intrigue children by telling them about cool and creepy parasites and about the jobs of scientists who study them.
Links: Kathy Andrews Griffith Experts Profile, Twitter Profile
Professor Donna Pendergast
Editor: literacy and Australian curriculum alignment
Dean and Head, School of Education and Professional Studies, Griffith University
Donna is a teacher educator with specialisation in early and middle year’s teacher education. Donna commenced her career as a secondary Science and Home Economics school teacher and has been an academic at Griffith University since 2009. She specialises in school reform, working closely with school leaders, teachers, students and systems, to ensure the success of the shift of Year 7 into Queensland secondary. Donna has >200 publications and has supervised many research students with a passion for teaching and education, always adding to the evidence-base of the profession.
Links: Donna Pendergast Academic Profile
Dr Mia O’Brien
Editor: literacy and Australian curriculum alignment
Coordinator of Initial Teacher Education & Professional Practice, School of Education and Professional Studies, Griffith University
Mia is a Teacher Educator and Educational Researcher. As Chief Investigator on an ARC Discovery Project, and the lead investigator of several related/previous projects, she partners closely with teachers in schools and classrooms to research areas including: i) pedagogical practices that build positive learning identities and experiences for students; ii) new ways of understanding and theorising student learning and engagement and; iii) teachers’ pedagogical knowledge and learning. Mia lectures and offers professional development workshops in pedagogical innovation and professional learning, action research, practice as research, engaging students in learning, developing positive learning environments, creative and critical thinking, learning in and through the Arts, inquiry and growth mindsets.
Links: Mia O’Brien Academic Profile, Scholar Profile
Associate Professor Georgina Barton
Editor: literacy and Australian curriculum alignment
Associate Professor of literacies and pedagogy, School of Teacher Education and Early Childhood, University of Southern Queensland
Georgina is an expert in literacy and pedagogy. She has experience as a Program Director for pre-service teachers and teaches English and literacy education. Before being an academic, Georgina taught in schools for over 20 years including teaching English in South India with Australian Volunteers International. She has been an acting Principal, coordinator of international students, and a lead teacher in the areas of literacy and numeracy. Georgina also has extensive experience in teaching the arts in schools and universities and often utilises the arts to support students’ literacy learning outcomes. She has >60 publications, including her most recent book with Dr Gary Woolley entitled Developing Literacy in the Secondary Classroom (Sage publishers).
Ms Megan Cross
Hands-on Science Experiment Developer
PhD Candidate, Structural Chemistry Program, Griffith Institute for Drug Discovery, Griffith University
Megan’s PhD research uses structural biology to discover how an essential enzyme could be used to prevent and treat parasitic diseases. She loves showing others the science that underlies our everyday lives and believes that complex systems can be understood by everyone if they are able to engage with them in a simplified context. Megan is passionate about getting young people interested in science and empowering them to tell good science from bad in an age of misinformation.
Links: Megan Cross Research Gate
Ms Heidi Walkden
Social Media Coordinator
PhD Candidate, Griffith University
During her high school years Heidi developed an interest for neuroscience. She went on to complete a Bachelor of Biomedical Science and, following this, experienced a year of research during her Honours degree. Heidi is now a PhD candidate investigating bacterial infections of the brain. She enjoys working in the laboratory and talking to the community about science. She is motivated to reach out and inspire the next generation into a career that is both interesting and rewarding. Heidi is excited to see how many students are encouraged by the That’s RAD! Science project.
Links: Heidi Walkden Linkedin Profile, Twitter Profile and Research Gate Profile
Dr Manuela Dieckelmann
Administration Officer
Manuela has a PhD in Microbiology from Griffith University and >5 years experience in project management. Manuela’s role on the project is to provide administrative support, including contributing to production of books, client liaison and promotion of the project externally and to potential stakeholders.
LiveWorm
Book Design and Layout
Liveworm is a mentored, professional graphic design studio program embedded within the Bachelor of Design Program at the Queensland College of Art, Griffith University. With one studio based in South Bank and the other on the Gold Coast, Liveworm has been providing a successful bridge between the Queensland College of Art and the design industry for over thirty-five years—a real world extension of the academic program. That’s RAD! Science publications are all designed by students in Liveworm.
Square Cell Consultancy
Website Developers
The Square Cell Consultancy Team designed and developed this website as part of a Griffith University Work Integrated Learning project and in collaboration with Prof Kathy Andrews. Team members and their areas of role are listed below (from left to right in photo):
Amy Turner (Client Liaison); Keya Patel (Chief Designer); Anthony Wong (Team leader) and Luke Butt (Chief Programmer)
