Course A

November Series

Course organiser:Various

28 Oct:
Dr. Anna Sandiford, Director Forensic Science Consultant, Adj. Assoc. Prof., UC on 'Getting to the Truth of the Case.'The Forensic Group was established in 2008 by our speaker who has experience in NZ and overseas. She is an expert witness and an expert on experts. Expert witnesses provide evidence in court court cases to help the lawyers, judge and jury to understand what the science means in a particular case. Her expert witness expertise includes alcohol and toxicology, drugs, drug driving impairment the effect of pollen and many other aspects of the case. She has been involved in many well known cases such as The Bain retrial and the Lundy retrial. She will explain how she works and gets to the conclusions that are presented in the court. Organiser: Trevor Sennitt

4 Nov:
Simon Templeton, CEO, Age Concern Canterbury on 'Ageing.'We are all doing it but Simon will discuss some facts and figures and bust some myths. He'll also advise us on how to do it successfully and where and when to get support when needed. Organiser: David Sutherland.

11 Nov:
Nicola Fleming, Manager, Housing First Ōtautahi on 'Making Homelessness in Ōtautahi Rare, Brief and Non-recurring.'Housing First services are for chronically homeless people who have been homeless for 12 months or more. Housing First recognises it is easier for people to address issues such as mental health and substance abuse once they are housed. Organiser: Peter Moody

18 Nov:
Prof. Stephen Robertson, Curekids Prof. of Paediatric Genetics Dept. of Women’s and Children’s Health, Dunedin Sch. of Med., UO on 'New Tools to Understand Genetic Diseases in Humans.'Medicine is being transformed by new methods to understand the genetic basis for susceptibility and resilience to human diseases. This talk will discuss some examples of how genetic analysis can improve medical care and outcomes particularly for children. A future facing discussion will also be presented about how genetics and genomes might be positioned within healthcare in years to come, including some thoughts on the ethical and social implications of such practices. Organiser: Pat Braithwaite