Research Administrators
Network
The Conference Issue
The 10th Anniversary Conference
of the New Zealand Association of
Clinical Research
INTRODUCTION
This year celebrates the 10th Anniversary of the New Zealand Association of Clinical
Research in New Zealand.
The theme is People, Passion and Progress. The membership of NZACRes, that has
grown over 10 years from a pioneer group with an innovative spirit to a membership
of around 270, is a great illustration of the progress that people with passion can
make.
NZACRes was formed from the clinical research focus group to foster and promote
clinical research and is the professional association for clinical researchers in New
Zealand. NZACRes holds regular meetings to bring together members of the clinical
research community, to discuss issues and create collaborative solutions for our industry.
The Research Administrators network hopes to build a rewarding and informative
relationship with NZACRes resulting in RAN members also benefitting from the wide
range of professional topics, solutions and ideas that both groups could offer.
Issue 5
Newsletter
September 2014
Inside this issue:
NZACRes Conference
Introduction
1
NZACREs Review
2
NZACRes review
3
RAN Mini Meeting
review
4
RAN Mini Meeting
Review / Work4U
5
SRA Intl Conference San Diego
6
CTNZ Annual Meeting
7
NZSO Conference
7
ARMS Conference
8
AEA Annual Scientific meeting
9
ANZBCTG Conference Review
10
Introduce Yourselves
11
The Back Page
12
RAN Newsletter
Page 2
NZACRes Conference Review
REVIEW
NZACRes held their 10th anniversary conference on the 14th & 15th August 2014 in Auckland. With over
180 delegates attending. It was a great opportunity to meet, network and enjoy time with research colleagues ranging from Professors to the administrators and all in between.
Thursday 14th August
Dr Mark Boocock—Associate Professor of the Health and Research Institute for Occupational Health & Safety Research on “Ergonomics and Research”.
Dr Boocock talked about the relationship between the human characteristic and our capabilities in the workplace
and socially. He discussed how our behaviour and environment affect our health and wellbeing. A case study was
presented of a nursing home fatality involving an elderly patient who died as a result of asphyxia after being
caught in a bedside rail. This sad situation occurred because staff were inadequately trained in the mechanics of
bedside rails and how to properly install them. This showed a lack of regular workplace assessment by staff and
managers. However it resulted in standards being lifted and staff being trained in their workplace tasks.
Dr Boocock also talked about musculoskeletal disorders and the aging workforce. In all it was a very interesting
and certainly made me more aware of my own work and social environment.
Associate Professor Michael Schultz—Gastroenterologist, Southern District Health Board, Marie-Michelle Sullivan—Research Administrator, Health Research South and Aroha Bolton, Research Nurse & Study Coordinator,
Gastroenterology Research Unit Southern DHB “Commercial Research as an Alternative Funding Source for Investigator-Led Research”.
Associate Professor Dr Michael Schultz talked about the lack of funding resources here in New Zealand compared
to the rest of the world conducting clinical trials. He discussed the statistics of New Zealand research funding
compared to higher rates in Australia, the UK and the US based on the population ratio. The Gastroenterology
Research Unit at Dunedin Hospital runs a very successful clinical trials unit and this is due to the professionalism
and quality of the staff. Dr Schultz also states that the key to their success is the outstanding team work, a clear
responsibility structure and the right skill mix.
In the second part of Dr Schultz' presentation, he introduced two key members of his team. Marie-Michelle Sullivan is the administrator for the Gastroenterology Research Unit. Her presentation was very informative with regards to the essential role a research administrators plays in ensuring that all processes are in place to specially
cover all financial aspects of starting a clinical trial. This included administrative start up processes, budgeting and
contracting, just to mention few areas. Her administrative and financial role is pivotal to the success of the unit .
Aroha Bolton is one of the Study Coordinator's in the gastroenterology unit and works with the team 2 days a
week. Aroha began working with the gastroenterology team in February of this year and she spoke about her
experience of transitioning into the Clinical Trial Team at the Gastroenterology Unit.
Along with this role, Aroha also works at the Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Development Research Study.
The Dunedin Study is a longitudinal study looking at human health, development and behaviour which was
founded in 1972. Aroha works in the Next Generation Study which is a sub-study of the Dunedin Study
And like all Dunedin-ites, they love their chocolate!!!!
Sara Metcalf—Research Development Manager from Auckland University of Technology. “The Value Proposition
of a Research Manager”.
“If we knew what we were doing, it wouldn’t be called research, would it?”
Sara talked about the role of the Research Manager, Friend or foe? Bureaucrat or Business Manager? Sara’s
presentation discussed the definition of a research manager.
Issue 5 Newsletter
Page 3
NZACRes Conference Review continued
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
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The research manager’s role is intended to
stimulate, motivate and facilitate
Provide conditions and the means to conducting good research
Provide efficiency, promote engagement and minimise risk
To profile research groups and their activities.
I found this presentation very informative and gave me a new prospective on the role of our research managers and
the sometimes difficult job they have.
Friday 15th August
Dayle Matthews—President of NZACRes opened the Friday sessions with a welcome to all delegates
Friday presenters were many and varied from topics talking about Christchurch’s
new Health Precinct to making Research Work for Decision Makers. The theme for the day was Tin Tin and each
presentation was MC-ed by the ‘dynamic duo” Dr Stewart Jessaiine and Dr Chris Wynne who throughout the day
dressed as the Thompsons Twins from the Tin Tin Series. This made the day a delight, full of light-hearted banter
and humour. Each presentation was given a character from the Tin Tin books.
The Research Administrators Network Presentation
My presentation was scheduled for 4pm and I must say, my nerves were taking over the world but once I got on
stage and start to speak, my nerves almost disappeared and I felt quite comfortable with it all. I tried to make it
light-hearted with a bit of humour thrown in but also to talk about the network and promote, promote, promote. I
have received some positive comments about my presentation which of course makes it easier the next time!
Review written by Maria Carney—Research Administrators Network Coordinator & Research Administrator
RAN Newsletter
Page 4
Research Administrators Network Mini Meeting at NZACRes
A big thank you to those members who attended the Research Administrators mini meeting on the Friday morning
at the NZACres conference. The discussion focused on developing the network, our future and opportunities. We
agreed to form a working group/committee and raising the profile of the network.
Discussion included

Workshops and the RADMAN Group— Research & Development Management Pty Limited

Salary and wage recognition for Research Administrators and their specific role in health research

Acknowledging Competency for Research Administrators

Job Descriptions

Developing relationships with other research organisations including NZACRes and overseas.
RAN Mini meeting attendees pictured from left: Janine Murphy—Southern Clinical Trials Christchurch; Amelia Turnwald—Waitemata
DHB Auckland; Maria Carney—Canterbury DHB Christchurch; Boa Kim— Waitemata DHB Auckland; Natalie Young— Auckland DHB
Auckland; Mary-Anne Woodnorth—Auckland DHB Auckland; Linda Pattison— BOP Clinical School Charitable Trust Tauranga; MarieMichelle Sullivan—Health Research South Dunedin
Mini Meeting Feedback
“It was really good to catch up with everyone in the RAN group, sharing ideas. I am happy to hear that we are growing now and networking with other groups, eg. Australia. I really like the idea of having the Radman WorkshopsResearch and Development. I believe it will definitely help our skills. Thank you for all the effort to make the meeting
happen”. Boa Kim Research Assistant, Waitemata DHB
“I found it very interesting and valuable to meet with other RAN members. I was particularly intrigued by the fact
that so many of us there had such varied roles in relation to each other. Despite our roles being quite disparate and
our various trial units being set up quite differently, the overall themes were fairly unanimous. The lack of recognition by DHBs, staffing career pathways, lack of research software, job descriptions, peer recognition—to name a
few. It would be so valuable to have a longer workshop to explore some of our ‘home-grown’ solutions to the issues
we have in common. I really look forward to developing a collegial relationship with other members”.
Linda Pattison Research Assistant, Bay of Plenty Clinical School Charitable Trust
Issue 5 Newsletter
Page 5
Research Administrators Network Mini Meeting at NZACRes
“ The main incentive this year to attend the NZACRes conference was the RAN mini meeting. It was good to know
there was something at the conference aimed at administrators. I went with no expectations and came away feeling
very excited for RAN. During the course of the meeting, it was great to hear each other’s job descriptions, it certainly
shows that research administrators have very diverse roles. Sharing the positives and frustrations of our jobs confirms that RAN will be very helpful to those associated with it. It was nice to put faces to names and I look forward
to the next meeting. Kia ora”. Janine Murphy Research Administrator—Southern Clinical Trials
“Attending the RAN mini meeting as part of my very first NZACRes conference, was all in all a great experience. I
didn’t quite know what to expect going in, but came away from the meeting with a much clearer understanding of
some of the challenges my fellow administrators experience in their research units and how a network such as this
could support them. The meeting was so valuable, even just as an opportunity to finally put some “names to faces”
and get to know each other a little better. Full credit to Maria for organising this first RAN meeting—I’ve no doubt
the network will use it as a platform to go from strength to strength”. Natalie Young Clinical Research Assistant,
Cancer & Blood Research, ADHB
“What an amazing opportunity to meet new colleagues at the inaugural RAN meeting. I say ‘colleagues’ because I
discovered how much we have in common professionally and how much we need to be recognised as a professional
body. I cam to the meeting with an open mind and left with budding ideas, a feeling of career validation and an inspiring network of wonderful people.” Amelia Turnwald Research Assistant/Data Coordinator, Waitemata DHB
CONFERENCE ORGANISERS
The Conference Organisers WORK4U Conference and Events Management. As a guest speaker I found the
Work4U staff on the registration desk, Donna Clapham, Sasha Kelly and Lesley Gladwell helpful, friendly and professional.
They were able to answer questions and point people in the right direction. A big thank you also for organising
the room for the RAN Mini Meeting. It was a great success
For further information on the WORK4U team please visit their website at www.w4u.co.nz
Issue 5 Newsletter
Page 6
SRA International Conference—San Diego 18—22 October 2014
18—22 October 2014
Hotel Del Coronado
San Diego, CA
Maria Carney and Marie-Michelle Sullivan have the great privilege in being able to attend this conference
and promise to bring back a wealth of information and knowledge for RAN members as well as fly the flag
for New Zealand.
The programme offers a wide range of workshops over the weekend of Saturday and Sunday.
The workshop programme is attached with this newsletter.
Maria and Marie-Michelle will attend the all day Saturday workshop session of “Fundamentals of Research Administration”.
On Sunday Marie-Michelle will attend the “Post Award Management” Session and Maria will attend the
“Building an Effective Research Office” session.
Monday and Tuesday covers the keynote speakers and general sessions with the closing session on
Wednesday. The concurrent sessions also run these days with around 40 sessions over the 4 days (too
many to mention) but they can be viewed at http://2014.srainternational.org/sessions/concurrentsessions
The Opening General Session will be with keynote speaker, Kristen Koch, deputy Science and Research Director of the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Southwest Fisheries Science Centre (SWFSC)
In keeping with the meeting’s theme of “Inspire. Engage. Innovate” the keynote address will highlight some of the SWFSC many interesting research programmes as well
as ways that the SWFSC collaborates with a myriad of partners to carry out these programmes and the opportunities and challenges to these collaborations.
About SRA International
The Society of Research Administrators is the premier global research management society providing education, professional development and the latest comprehensive information about research management
to 4500 members from over 40 countries.
In this time od increasing international research collaborations, SRA Intl maintains the largest network of
research managers in the world. Being part of this growing vibrant network gives you access to the
changing research management landscape and foster relationships among collaborating institutions.
RAN Newsletter
Page 7
CTNZ Annual Scientific Meeting—Tauranga
21 October 2014
The Provisional Programme for
the upcoming ASM in October
is attached. The final version
will be sent a week before the
meeting.
The Annual meeting is free to
attend and if you wish to
attend please contact Kasturi
Naicker by email
k.naicker@auckland.ac.nz
NZSO Conference Tauranga
21—23 October 2014
The New Zealand Society for Oncology Conference 2014 is to held at the Sebel Trinity Wharf in Tauranga from the
21st to the 23rs October.
The theme for this years conference is Oncology in New Zealand: current and future challenges.
The draft programme as below. Details to be confirmed
Tuesday 21 October
10.30am—4.30pm
CTNZ Annual Scientific meeting
Wednesday 22 October
8.45am—4.30pm
Cancer Nurse Education Day
9.00am—5.00pm
NZSO Conference Day One
5.00pm—6.00pm
NZSO AGM
7.30pm—12.00am
Gala Dinner at the Mills Reef Winery
Thursday 23rd October
9.00am—4.00pm
NZSO Conference Day Two including the Clinical Trials Coordinators meeting—time TBA
Page 8
Issue 5 Newsletter
ARMS 2014 Canberra
17—19 September
The ARMS 2014 Conference themes of impact and influence will be explored in presentations from keynote speakers, invited speakers and theme leaders in a variety of plenary sessions, workshops and within
six conference streams.
There will be topics of interest to the ARMS Special Interest groups (Ethics and Research Integrity, Research Office Directors, Higher Degree Research Directors, International Research Collaborations and Research Development) together with the health and Medical Research management community.
The six streams listed below will provide the opportunity for both concurrent sessions and interactive
workshops.

Influence

Impact

Change

Translation

Data

Health
Conference Themes are within the broad themes of Impact and Influence and consist of the following

Research and research management/administration in the context of Indigenous Peoples

Data collection, collation, storage, sharing and analysis and how this informs change

Managing outreach in order to stimulate change within the broader community—communication,
marketing, knowledge transfer and commercialisation

Developing best practice systems and technology for streamlining administrative processes

Responding to demands of risk management, research integrity and compliance
For further information on the keynote speakers and theme speakers as well the full programme please
visit their website at http://www.arms2014.org.au/
Australasian Research Management Society
PO Box 576
Crows Nest NSW 1585
Australia
Phone +61 2 9431 8680
Fax +61 2 9431 8677
Email ARMS@researchmanagement.org.au
RAN Newsletter
AEA Annual Scientific Meeting
Page 9
8—10 October 2014
The internet has transformed our lives over the last two decades, and the way we conduct our personal
and professional activities. Epidemiology has many natural synergies with the internet, which have already been integrated into the work of epidemiologists; and there is still huge potential for the internet
to further develop and transform how we practice.
The 2014 scientific meeting in Auckland will be an opportunity to hear from international researchers,
who are at the cutting of edge of using the internet and its related technologies, about harnessing this
exciting new potential to integrate and analyse large data sets, collect new data, manage studies and
teach epidemiology. This will be the first time the AEA annual scientific meeting has been held in Auckland, home to the largest Polynesian community in the world. We promise you an exciting scientific
meeting and unique cultural experience.
There will be a stellar cast of international and local speakers at this year's AEA meeting. Confirmed
speakers are listed below.




The first day features plenary sessions from Kirk Smith, University of California Berkeley
(Epidemiology, public health and the afterlife) and Shiriki Kumanyika, University of Pennsylvania
(Nutrition: science to policy). They bookend ten master classes that include those led by Boyd Swinburn (Obesogenic environments), Rod Jackson (Better population health through smarter technology) and Alistair Woodward and Tony Blakely (The history of life and death).
Day 2 is opened by Frank Sullivan, Universities of Toronto and Dundee (Big data, the internet and
health gain). There will be concurrent sessions led by Linda Slack-Smith and Miriam Rosen (Oral
health), Tony Blakely (Epidemiology and cost-effectiveness) and Gita Mishra (Recruitment to longitudinal studies). Robert Beaglehole will be delivering the Ian Prior Oration (Epidemiology and politics: lessons from Ian Prior's battles).
Nigel French, Massey University will open day 3 with a plenary on Controlling Zoonoses: the Increasing Role Played by Molecular and Genomic Epidemiology. Concurrent sessions include those
led by Thomas Lumley (Large scale genetic epidemiology), Robyn Whittaker (Social and digital media), Cord Heuer (One Health: the intersection of veterinary and medical epidemiology) and Rachel
Huxley (New developments in NCDs).
The final plenary will be a block-buster. Privacy, data access and the public good: the future of big
data and epidemiological research is the topic, and it will be tackled by Louisa Jorm, John Mathews,
Lianne Parkin and Frank Sullivan
RAN Newsletter
Page 10
ANZBCTG Annual Scientific Meeting Review
ANZBCTG Annual Scientific Meeting held 16 July 2014 in Wellington New Zealand
I was given the opportunity to attend the Trial Coordination Forum as part of the 36th Annual Scientific
Meeting of Australia and New Zealand Breast Cancer Trials Group (ANZBCTG) on the 16th July 2014 in
Wellington. Topics covered, included role of biopsies in clinical trials, new targeted therapies in clinical
trials, fundraising activities of ANZBCTG and a workshop on neo-adjuvant consent processes.
The two talks that stood out regarding translational research were presented by Dr W. Fraser Symmans
and Dr Nicholas Zdenkowski.
The increasing role of translational research in the development of clinical trials was well explained in the
context of research biopsy-driven protocols by Dr W. Fraser Symmans. Dr W. Fraser Symmans is the Director of Research Operations for the Pathology Department at MD Anderson cancer Centre. He emphasised
the importance of high-quality and timely biological samples for translational research. A lot of questions
regarding standardisation of obtaining research samples, especially research biopsy, in a hospital setting
were raised. Interestingly, in an academic setting where they trialled this, patients were willing to do one
to two extra biopsies solely for research purpose, but willingness dropped off after that. Obviously, the
success rates of obtaining research biopsy will depend on a doctor-patient, nurse-patient relationship and
how effective the communication is. The logistics of research biopsy were addressed which included resourcing , costs, risks, benefits, ethical issues, bio-banking and so forth.
Dr Nicholas Zdenlowski, who is the ANZBCTG clinical fellow, talked about the relevance of tissue requirements in clinical trials and how the various diagnostic, pharmacodynamics, prognostic and predictive biomarkers play an important role towards personalised medicine. Personalised medicine is the future and
to make it a reality we need high quality genomic and clinical data integrated in a way that will allow expeditious and efficient translation of laboratory discoveries to the clinic. Inadequate biomarker testing is a
risk to the development of new drugs as well as to the patients since there will be no actionable information. Good specimen handling, appropriate storage and effective training will ensure high-quality samples which will in turn produce good results and facilitate future bio-banking as well.
Reviewed by Archana Nair, Data Manager (Oncology) from Waikato Hospital
RAN Newsletter
Page 11
Introduce Yourself Feature—This Issue: Kate and Janine
Kate Sloane
Janine Murphy
Issue 5 Newsletter
Page 12
The Back Page
Thank You to this Issue’s Contributors
Aroha Bolton—Study Coordinator, Gastroenterology Research Unit—Dunedin
Boa Kim—Research Assistant, Waitemata District Health Board
Linda Pattison—Research Assistant, Bay of Plenty Clinical School Charitable Trust
Donna Clapham—Even Manager, WORK4U Conference Management
Kasturi Naicker— PA/Administrator Cancer Trials New Zealand
Archana Nair—Data Manager (Oncology) Waikato Hospital
Kate Sloane—Research Manager University of Otago Dunedin
Janine Murphy—Research Administrator Southern Clinical Trials
Michelle-Marie Sullivan - Research Administrative Assistant—Health Research South & SDHB
A network for non-clinical
administrative professionals working
within the health / medical research
field in New Zealand
Maria Carney
Research Administrator / RAN Coordinator
Canterbury Regional Cancer & Haematology Service
Christchurch Hospital
Private Bag 4710
Christchurch
New Zealand
Phone: + 64 03 378-6282
Fax: + 64 03 364-0759
E-mail: maria.carney@cdhb.health.nz
Mobile: 021 0715723