Profiles
New appointments within the Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences.
Professor Michael Sullivan, Director of Recover Injury Research Centre
A world-renowned expert in the psychology of pain and disability has been appointed to lead Australian researchers in discovering better ways to help people recover after injury.
Professor Michael Sullivan began as Director of the Queensland-based Recover Injury Research Centre in January this year.
Professor Sullivan’s appointment was welcomed by Professor Bruce Abernethy, Executive Dean of Centre partner— UQ’s Faculty of Heath and Behavioural Sciences.
“Professor Sullivan has a depth of knowledge and experience that will be a tremendous asset to Recover,” Professor Abernethy said.
“His work on risk detection and disability prevention has had a major impact on theory and practice in post-injury rehabilitation around the world. “
Recover was formerly known as the Centre of National Research on Disability and Rehabilitation Medicine (CONROD) and is funded through a joint agreement between UQ, Griffith University and the Motor Accident Insurance Commission.
The Centre has produced world-class research focusing on injury rehabilitation and disability for almost 20 years, with a major focus on improving health outcomes after injury caused by road traffic crashes.
Previous to this appointment Professor Sullivan was a Professor of Medicine, Neurology and Neurosurgery for almost 10 years at the highly regarded McGill University in Quebec.
He also held cross-appointments in Physical and Occupational Therapy.
In 2011, Professor Sullivan received the Canadian Psychological Association (CPA) Award for Distinguished Contributions to Psychology as a Profession.
Professor Sullivan was ranked among the top 10 most productive and cited clinical psychologists in Canada in a recent research impact survey in Canadian Psychology.
The international appeal of Professor Sullivan’s work is reflected in the global scale of his speaking invitations, notably from several countries in North America, Europe, Africa, Asia and Australia.
The cross-disciplinary impact of his work is reflected in the wide range of disciplines he has been asked to address including psychology, psychiatry, anesthesiology, neurology, nursing, medicine, surgery, oncology, rehabilitation, physiotherapy, occupational therapy and palliative care.
Professor Sullivan has written five books, 185 scientific papers and 15 book chapters.
Professor Adam Ye, Professor and Discipline Lead of Orthodontics, School of Dentistry
An Australian, a Dutchman and a Chinese man all walk into a university at once.
Although it’s not a punchline, the arrival of well-travelled Professor Adam Ye to The University of Queensland School of Dentistry has brought a smile to many faces.
Born in Linhai, China and educated at Sichuan University, Professor Ye has since become a resident of both the Netherlands and Australia – giving him three nationalities.
He has also earned several honours in the United Kingdom.
Professor Ye began as Professor and Discipline Lead of Orthodontics at UQ in January this year.
He is also the new Chair of Research at UQ School of Dentistry.
Prior to this, Professor Ye’s most recent appointment was as head of the department in orthodontics at James Cook University in northern Queensland.
He boasts broad global experience and has been invited to speak in more than 20 countries on themes of orthodontics, regenerative dentistry and evidence-based medicine.
A Fellow of the World Federation of Orthodontists, he is also a fellow of the Royal Society of Medicine (UK) and Diplomat of Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh.
He holds a doctorate of both orthodontics and medical science, and is a member of orthodontic associations in America, Europe, Asia and New Zealand, as well as of the Australian Dental Association.
Professor Ye has over a decade’s teaching experience and has research interests in the cellular and molecular mechanisms of tooth movement, stem cells, and the reaction of tissue to foreign bodies.
His wide range of dental interests includes how to best use information technology to improve the efficiency of teaching.
Dr Roy Baumeister, Professor, School of Psychology
He gave the world an equation for passion – now one of the most intriguing and highly-cited psychology researchers in the world is preparing to call Australia home.
At the forefront of research on self-control, the need to belong, free will, and self-defeating behaviour, Dr Roy Baumeister is set to take up a professorship with UQ’s School of Psychology.
Currently employed at Florida State University, Dr Baumeister has authored more than 500 publications and been cited almost 100,000 times in research literature.
“Roy has conducted some of the field’s most clever and provocative experiments,” UQ School of Psychology’s Professor Bill von Hippel said.
“For example, he has shown us that willpower is like a muscle – we can fatigue it if we overuse it, but we can also strengthen it through time and practise.
“Roy has also provided important correctives when the field of psychology goes astray.
“For instance, he showed us that high self-esteem is not actually a panacea for society’s ills and often causes more problems than it solves.
Dr Baumeister has four decades’ of experience in psychology, beginning his career at Princeton and Duke Universities.
At Duke he was mentored by one of the 20th Century’s most prominent psychologists, Edward E Jones.
“Dr Baumeister’s research has been wide-ranging, and he has answered questions across the psychological spectrum,” Professor von Hippel said.
“He proposed the formula that passion equals change in intimacy, divided by time.
“This is still the best-known formula for explaining the role, and the decay, of passion in close relationships.
“He also conducted some of the most notable work on the difference between living a happy life and a meaningful life, and his work on the role of conscious thought is heavily cited in ongoing debates.”
The researcher also somewhat controversially concluded there is no such thing as a self-defeating urge.
Instead, he argues that self-defeating behaviours are symptomatic of trade-offs, backfiring strategies or escapism.
Dr Baumeister is an author on 25 publications alone in 2015, his most recent of which was Role of self-control in immoral and unethical actions.
He will commence his professorship with UQ midway through 2016.