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Queensland University of Technology (QUT) Senior Research Fellow Dr Michael Kimlin (pictured) has won a prestigious international award for his work in monitoring ozone depletion and UV radiation.
Dr Kimlin, 34, has devoted his life to finding out exactly how much sunlight is good for us. His passion has taken him around the world and last month saw him in Washington DC where US President George W. Bush presented him with the US Environmental Protection Agency’s Stratospheric Ozone Protection Award for his work in monitoring ground-level UV radiation.
“This award shows that the research we do at QUT is world class and that we are helping to solve global problems in a real way,” Dr Kimlin said.
After completing his PhD in Atmospheric Physics at the University of Southern Queensland, Michael was enticed to the USA in 2000 to become Scientific Director of the US EPA’s Ozone and UV Monitoring Network at the University of Georgia. In 2004, he was lured back to Queensland when awarded a Smart State Fellowship to do a detailed analysis of UV exposures of the Queensland population.
His three-year project involves collecting satellite data on ozone and cloud cover to track ultra-violet exposure throughout the state and see how it varies in different regions.
“I want to take those results and compare them to skin cancer rates and Vitamin D deficiencies in each of those areas,” he said.
His eventual aim is to develop maps of UV exposures of the Queensland population.
Although skin cancer is the overriding concern, Dr Kimlin said it was also important to investigate the sun’s role in maintaining good health.
“The more UV you get, the lower chance you have of developing colon, prostrate and breast cancers. But of course, the higher chance you have of developing skin cancer.
“My research is aimed at finding the hard data that will tell us exactly how much time in the sun we all need to remain healthy and how that time varies between, for example, Cairns and Coolangatta. We don’t want to ignore the 25 years of SunSmart messages, so we need to get careful data.”
Dr Kimlin’s own research shows low levels of Vitamin D in pregnant women may affect the development of the foetus and could possibly be linked to learning disorders in children.
“Living in Queensland can be good for your health but the challenge is to find the right balance between too much sun and not enough,” he said.
Last reviewed 24 June 2006