From left: Nica Abrasado, Kim Lewis and Heidi Bowmast
Congratulations to Nica Abrasado, Kim Lewis and Heidi Bowmast from the Department of Anatomy and Medical Imaging on their awards.
The Medical Imaging (MI) team recently attended the New Zealand Institute of Medical Radiation Technology (NZIMRT) 2023 Conference, held in Queenstown, themed “Growing with the Flow.” The MI team presented 10 oral presentations, 1 poster presentation, and 1 workshop. The oral presentations included four presentations from honors students, two of which were presented by the students themselves, and the other two by staff on behalf of students, one presentation by the master’s student, and the rest were presentations from staff. It was great to see the MI team members receive awards for their presentations.
This is what Nica (honors student) said, “It was an honour to win the Best Student Medical Imaging Technologist (MIT) Presentation award at the NZIMRT conference. As an honours student coming into the conference presenting the research I had been working on to experienced professionals, it was a nerve-wracking experience, to say the least. I couldn’t have done it without the support of The University of Auckland Medical Imaging team and my research supervisor, Sibusiso. Overall, it was an amazing opportunity!”
This is what Kim (master’s student) said, “I received the Marilyn James award – from the handbook: the Marilyn James award is in memory of Marilyn James (also known as Monkey), who died in 2002, after a dedicated radiography career spanning almost 40 years. It is intended to reflect Marilyn’s enthusiasm for encouraging others in the field of general Diagnostic radiography”.
This is what Heidi (PTF) said, “the NZIMRT Conference theme was ‘Growing with the Flow’, and my poster described the addition of wide-angle digital breast tomosynthesis to guide breast biopsies, with patient-centred benefits of less time under compression, reduced radiation dose and less repeat biopsies due to increased accuracy. Very proud that the award for Best Poster MIT went to mammography – an under-represented modality at NZIMRT Conferences, and in an election year where all parties have agreed to an age extension for BreastScreen Aotearoa. I hope to inspire more MITs to train in mammography, with 2023 the first year of the redesigned PGCertHSc Mammography programme”.