Fellow, Literary Studies, The University of Melbourne Dr. George Mouratidis is an Honorary Fellow in Literary Studies at the University of Melbourne. His research focuses on the 20th century literary avant-garde, particularly the Beat Generation and post-war Counterculture, with publications on Jack Kerouac, among others. He has taught Cultural Studies and American literature, and, at present, Beat poetics and creative writing. His translation of Greek-language poet Nikos Nomikos, Noted Transparancies, was published in 2016 by Owl Press and first poetry collection, Angel Frankenstein, was published in 2018 by Soul Bay Press. Mouratidis is also the co-founder and Director of the online literary journal Kalliope X which focuses on culturally and lingistically diverse writers.
Associate Professor of Public Health Epidemiology, Lund University I am currently the Head of the Genetic and Molecular Epidemiology (GAME) unit at Lund University Diabetes Centre, Sweden, currently busy with several IMI/EU-funded projects, whose focus are on type 2 diabetes and obesity research. In parallel to my non-communicable diseases research, I maintain links with Political and Social Sciences, and Public Health. As such, I am currently investigating the genetic underpinnings of (dis)trusting personality traits and their links to cardiovascular health outcomes. I am a relative latecomer to academia, having practised dentistry in the UK and Australia for 14 years, prior to defending my PhD at Lund University Medical Faculty, in May, 2012.
Associate Professor of Environmental Science, Rhodes University Gladman Thondhlana is an associate professor in the Department of Environmental Science at Rhodes University in South Africa, where he teaches both undergraduate and postgraduate students. He completed his PhD in environmental science in 2011 at Rhodes University. He was previously a PhD fellow in the Department of International Environment and Development Studies (Noragric), at the Norwegian University of Life Sciences. His work centres broadly on society and conservation. He has a particular interest in the links between wild natural resource access, use and household welfare, governance of protected landscapes, conservation conflicts and urban sustainability. In his work on urban sustainability, he has focused on questions of energy use behaviour and waste management. His work is guided by efforts aimed at addressing inequality, marginalisation and social injustice within the context of sustainable natural resource management. Glad’s research and practice has been supported by the National Research Foundation (South Africa), Centre for Environmental Economics and Policy in Africa (South Africa), Economic Research Southern Africa (South Africa), International Foundation for Science (Sweden), the Social Science Research Council (USA), the Centre for International Governance Innovation (Canada) and International Science Council (France). Associate Professor Thondhlana is an avid educator and a Teaching Advancements in Universities (TAU) fellow. He is a recipient of the Vice Chancellor’s Distinguished Teaching Award (2016) and Vice Chancellor’s Distinguished Research Award (2019). Recent Publications Ngalo, N. & Thondhlana, G. 2023. Illegal solid-waste dumping in a low-income neighbourhood in South Africa: Prevalence and perceptions. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 20(18). doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20186750 Thondhlana, G., Amaka-Otchere, A.B.K. & Ruwanza, S. 2023. Encouraging household energy conservation through transdisciplinary approaches in Ghana and South Africa: Assumptions, challenges, and guidelines. International Journal of Urban Sustainable Development, 15(1): 201-214. doi.org/10.1080/19463138.2023.2223531 Yose, P., Thondhlana, G., & Fraser, G. 2023. Conceptualizing the socio-cultural impacts of marine plastic pollution on human well-being: A perspective. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 194. doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2023.115285 Mutumbi, U., Thondhlana, G. & Ruwanza, S. 2022. Co-designed interventions yield significant electricity savings among low-income households in Makhanda, South Africa. Energies, 15, 2320. https://doi.org/10.3390/en15072320 Thondhlana, G., Yose, P., Cockburn, J. & Shackleton, C. 2022. Livestock ecosystem services and disservices in a medium-sized South African town. Ecosystems & People, 18(1): 31-43. Ruwanza, S. & Thondhlana, G. 2022. People's perceptions and uses of invasive plant Psidium guajava in Vhembe Biosphere Reserve, Limpopo province of South Africa. Ecosystems & People, 18(1): 64-75. Ruwanza, S., Thondhlana, G. & Falayi, M. 2022. Research progress and conceptual insights on drought impacts and responses among smallholder farmers in South Africa: a review. Land, 11, 159. Williams, S.P., Thondhlana, G. & Wei Kua, H. 2021. Behavioural interventions yield electricity savings among high-income households in Johannesburg, South Africa. Engery & Environment, 1-16. Mutumbi, U., Thondhlana, G. & Ruwanza, S. 2021. The distribution of selected woody invasive alien species in small towns in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. Southern African Journal of Botany, 141: 290-295. Pullanikkatil, D., Thondhlana, G. & Shackleton, C.M. 2021. The cultural significance of plant-fibre crafts in southern Africa: A comparative study of Eswatini, Malawi and Zimbabwe. Forests, Trees & Livelihoods, DOI: 10.1080/14728028.2021.1998797. Thondhlana, G., Mubaya, C.P., McClure, A., Amaka-Otchere, A.B.K. & Ruwanza, S. 2021. Facilitating urban sustainability through transdisciplinary (TD) research: Lessons from Ghana, South Africa, and Zimbabwe. Sustainability, 13, 6205. Pamla, A., Thondhlana, G. & Ruwanza, S. 2021. Persistent droughts and water scarcity: Households' perceptions and practices in Makhanda, South Africa. Land, 10, 593. Belluigi, D.Z. & Thondhlana, G. 2020. Your skin has to be elastic: The politics of belonging as a selected black academic at a ‘transforming’ South African university. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education. https://doi.org/10.1080/09518398.2020.1783469 Cockburn, J., M. Schoon, G. Cundill, C. Robinson, J. A. Aburto, S. M. Alexander, J. A. Baggio, C. Barnaud, M. Chapman, M. Garcia Llorente, G. A. García-López, R. Hill, C. Ifejika Speranza, J. Lee, C. L. Meek, E. Rosenberg, L. Schultz & Thondhlana, G. 2020. Understanding the context of multifaceted collaborations for social-ecological sustainability: A methodology for cross-case analysis. Ecology and Society, 25 (3): 7 https://www.ecologyandsociety.org/vol25/iss3/art7/ Du-Point, T., Vilakazi, M., Thondhlana, G. & Vedeld, P. 2020. Livestock income and household welfare for communities adjacent to the Great Fish River Nature Reserve, South Africa. Environmental Development, 33: 100508. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envdev.2020.100508 Thondhlana, G., Redpath, S., Vedeld, P., van Eeden, L., Pascual, U., Sherren, K. & Murata, C. 2020. Non-material costs of wildlife conservation to local communities and implications for conservation interventions. Biological Conservation, 246: 108578. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2020.108578 Thondhlana, G., Shackleton, C & Pullanikkatil, D. 2020. Plant fibre-products production, trade and income in Eswatini, Malawi and Zimbabwe. Forests, 11, 832. https://doi:10.3390/f11080832 Williams, S.P., Thondhlana, G. & Kua, H.W. 2020. Electricity use behaviour in a high-income neighbourhood in Johannesburg, South Africa. Sustainability, 12, 4571. https://doi:10.3390/su12114571 O’Brien, J. & Thondhlana, G. 2019. Plastic bag use in South Africa: Perceptions, practices and potential intervention strategies. Waste Management, 84: 320.328. Olagunju, A., Thondhlana, G., Chilima, J.S., Sene-Harper, A., Compaore, W.R. & Ohiozebau, E. 2019. Water governance research in Africa: progress, challenges and an agenda for research and action. Water International, doi.org/10.1080/02508060.2019.1594576. Books and Book chapters Linnell, J.D.C., Thondhlana, G. & Simon Hedges 2023. Assessing the impacts of conflicts. IUCN SSC guidelines on human-wildlife conflict and coexistence (First Edition). Gland, Switzerland: IUCN. McQuinn, B., Zimmermann, A., Stevens, J. & Thondhlana, G. 2023. Dialogue: a process for conflict resolution. IUCN SSC guidelines on human-wildlife conflict and coexistence (First Edition). Gland, Switzerland: IUCN. Roe, D., Thondhlana, G., Hill, C. & Roy, S. 2023. Livelihoods, poverty and well-being. IUCN SSC guidelines on human-wildlife conflict and coexistence (First Edition). Gland, Switzerland: IUCN.
Associate Professor, Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences, The University of Queensland Dr. Gary Chan is a NHMRC Emerging Leadership Fellow at the National Centre for Youth Substance Use Research. His principal research interest lies in the field of substance misuse prevention and the application of cutting-edge statistical method for longitudinal analysis and causal inference. His recent publications have been focused on polysubstance use (including alcohol, tobacco and cannabis) profiles in adolescent populations, examinations of urban-rural differences in substance use, and the epidemiology of alcohol, tobacco and cannabis use.
Family Physician, Toronto; Associate Professor, University of Toronto, University of Toronto Gary Bloch is a family physician and Physician Lead, Equity and Social Interventions with St. Michael’s Hospital Academic Family health Team and an Associate Professor at the University of Toronto. His internationally recognized clinical, education, research, advocacy and innovative program development work focuses on the role of health providers in addressing social risks to health. He is a founding member of Inner City Health Associates and the advocacy group Health Providers Against Poverty. He served on an Ontario government panel tasked with developing a ten year road map to end poverty, as a senior fellow with the Wellesley Institute and as an AMS Phoenix Fellow.
Assistant Professor of English Education, Arizona State University Gabriel T. Acevedo Velázquez has been a dancer, actor, podcaster, film critic, researcher, academic, and educator for over ten years. He holds degrees from the University of Puerto Rico and The Pennsylvania State University. He has taught every grade from kindergarten to college-level courses. He resides in Arizona, where he is an Assistant Professor of English Education at Arizona State University. He holds his identity as a Puerto Rican, born and raised, and a gay man close to his heart. This allows him to view the world through such prisms and enables those lenses to to elevate his work to bring those experiences to the forefront. Engaging with literature, pop culture, teaching methods, and queer and Latinx identities, he wishes to close gaps within critical pedagogy.
