USQ solar radiation research presented at international conferences

David Turnbull, Alfio Parisi, Nathan Downs and Peter Schouten (USQ Photography)

University of Southern Queensland (USQ) Centre for Rural and Remote Area Health Research Fellow Dr David Turnbull recently returned from conferences in the United Kingdom (UK) and Switzerland where he presented early findings from his research into solar radiation.

Dr Turnbull addressed delegates at the 12th Congress of the European Society for Photobiology in Bath, UK and was joined by USQ colleagues Alfio Parisi, Nathan Downs and Peter Schouten at A UV Conference celebrating One century of UV Radiation Research in Davos, Switzerland.

'It was great exposure for the University and the research I'm doing,' Dr Turnbull said.

'The Cancer Council Queensland every year runs a grant round. This year they gave me $3000 to go to the two conferences and present my research at the conferences.

'No one has ever done this research before so it did receive a lot of interest.'

Currently in the initial stage of field research Dr Turnbull is looking at how people can get optimum levels of UV radiation.

'I'm looking at ways to optimise UV exposure. You need some UV exposure but too much will do damage, so I'm researching how to get an optimum level.'

Dr Turnbull has been collecting data from instruments at the University for the past three years which measure the solar radiation and cloud cover.

'The instruments measure incoming radiation, so I can take measurements and say how quickly people will get sunburnt for example.'

"People are constantly saying don't expose yourself to the sun too much and don't go outside between 8am and 5pm. The current guidelines suggest you need to expose to a bit before 10am and after 3pm.

'My research says the best time is in the middle of the day, if you sit in the shade.'

People are able to still absorb UV radiation in the shade due to atmospheric scattering, Dr Turnbull said.

'UV radiation is needed for vitamin D. In the middle of the day you get more radiation for vitamin D because the sun is directly overhead and has less atmosphere to pass through. In the early morning and late afternoon there is more atmosphere to pass through.'

Sitting in the shade also reduces UVA rays which do not contribute to vitamin D absorption and cause harmful effects to humans, Dr Turnbull said.

Widely-known effects include skin cancer, DNA damage, immune suppression, erythema and sun-related eye disorders.

Less publicised however are the effects from not getting enough sun exposure.

'In the US between 50 000 and 60 000 people die each year because of issues related to not getting enough sun exposure,' Dr Turnbull said.

Studies have indicated a lack of vitamin D can contribute to breast cancer, prostate cancer, colorectal cancer, multiple sclerosis, diabetes, bacterial infections, inflammatory bowel disease, elevated cholesterol and rheumatoid arthritis.

Currently Australia is lagging behind other countries in dedicating resources to research into solar radiation, Dr Turnbull said.

'Thousands of people are working on this area overseas. There would be less than 20 working on it in Australia. We need to catch up. It is so hard to get funding.'

Through his research Dr Turnbull aims to reduce the knowledge gap in maximising vitamin D absorption while minimising harmful UVA wavelengths to improve recommendations about sun exposure.

Media Contact: Jane Urquhart USQ Media +61 7 4631 2559