Dr Paul Mason

BBiomedSci(Hons)Sci, GradCertArts(Anth), PhD
Honorary Lecturer
Phone
+61 2 9978 4616
Fax
+61 2 9969 7515
Building/Room
A35 / 307
The University of Sydney

Paul Mason teaches conservation science, education and leadership at the Taronga Conservation Society Australia. A heterodox thinker and critical, interpretive analyst, Paul has contributed to theory and knowledge in diverse fields from animal communication to complex systems theory. At the centre of his research interests is a deep fascination with biological and cultural diversity and a passion for making the world a happier, healthier place for more than just humans. He has conducted community-based fieldwork in Brazil, India, and Indonesia, behaviour change research in Vietnam, Papua New Guinea, and Australia, and laboratory research on Phodopus sungorus, Cavia porcellus and Apis mellifera.

His research on tuberculosis in Vietnam led to the development of an educational book for children that has been translated into over thirty languages thanks largely to the efforts of GYA members. His capacity to bring anthropological perspectives and apply systems thinking to a variety of problems has led to fruitful and fulfilling cross-disciplinary collaborations. With a strong belief in social integration and a desire to live in a sustainable world rich in biodiversity and free of preventable diseases, Paul continues to conduct teaching and research as an Honorary Affiliate in the Department of Anthropology at Macquarie University, and at the Woolcock Institute of Medical Research and the School of Education and Social Work, University of Sydney.

President’s Choice Award, Public Anthropology Competition, Australian Anthropology Society
Centenary Institute Medical Innovation Awards, People's Choice Award
Macquarie University ranking of 3rd, Unijobs Lecturer of the Year
National ranking of 3rd, Unijobs Lecturer of the Year
Macquarie University Outstanding Alumnus Award, Global Leadership Program 
Macquarie University ranking of 2nd, Unijobs Lecturer of the Year
National ranking of 12th, Unijobs Lecturer of the Year
Macquarie University Postgraduate Global Leadership Excellence Award

  • Lecturer, Taronga Institute of Science and Learning
  • Honorary Lecturer, Department of Anthropology, Macquarie University
  • Honorary Affiliate, Woolcock Institute of Medical Research
  • Member, Australasian Association of Bioethics and Health Law
  • Fellow, Australian Anthropology Society
  • Member, Amicale des Anciens des Centres lnternationaux Francophones

Books
  • Mason P.H.(2016) Educational children's book about tuberculosis published by Enculture Press in 30 languages. This book won the Centenary Institute Medical Innovation Awards People's Choice Award in its year of publication

Selected book chapters

Selected journal articles
  • Guthridge, M., Mason, P.H., Penovic, T., Giummarra, M.J. (2020) "A critical review of interdisciplinary perspectives on the paradox of prosocial compared to antisocial manifestations of empathy.," Social Science Information.
  • Lisboa, M., Fronteira, I., Mason, P.H., Martins, M.R. (2020) "Using hospital auxiliary worker and 24-h TB services as potential tools to overcome in hospital TB delays: a quasi-experimental study." Human Resources for Health, https://doi.org/10.1186/s12960-020-0457-2
  • Lisboa, M., Fronteira, I., Mason, P.H. (2020). "National TB program shortages as potential factor for poor-quality TB care cascade: Healthcare workers’ perspective from Beira, Mozambique." PLoS One, https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0228927
  • Fox, G.J., Nguyen C.B., Nguyen, T.A., Tran, P.T., Marais, B.J., Graham, S.M., Nguyen, B.H., Velen, K., Dowdy, D.W., Mason, P.H., et al. (2020) "Levofloxacin versus placebo for the treatment of latent tuberculosis among contacts of patients with multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (the VQUIN MDR trial): a protocol for a randomised controlled trial." BMJ Open, 10:e033945. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2019-033945
  • Dive, L., Critchley, C., Otlowski, M., Mason, P.H., et al. (2019) "Public trust and global biobank networks," BMC Medical Ethics, DOI: 10.21203/rs.2.15231/v1
  • Marks, G. B., Nguyen, N. V., Nguyen, P. T., Nguyen, T. A., Nguyen, H. B., Tran, K. H., Nguyen, S.V., Luu, K.B., Tran, D.T.T., Vo, Q.T.N., Le, O.T.T., Nguyen, Y.H., Do, V.Q., Mason, P.H., et al. "Community-wide screening for tuberculosis in a high-prevalence setting." New England Journal of Medicine, 381(14), 1347-1357.
  • Mason, P.H., Lyttleton, C., Marks, G., Fox, G. (2019) "The technological imperative in tuberculosis care and prevention in Vietnam." Global Public Health.
  • Gardner, J., Warren, N., Mason, P.H. and Dominguez D, J.F. (2018). "Neurosocialities: anthropological engagements with the neurosciences." Medical Anthropology, 37(3), pp. 189-193. https://doi.org/10.1080/01459740.2018.1439488
  • Mason, P.H., Fox, G., Ho, J., Degeling, C. (2018) "Cures, tuberculosis, and de-territorialized biomedical narratives." Public Culture, 30(2), 269-276.
  • Mason, P.H., Lipworth, W., Kerridge, I. (Guest Editors), (2017), Journal Symposium on Ethics and Epistemology of Big Data, Journal of Bioethical Inquiry, Special Issue. 14(4).
  • Dive, L., Mason, P.H., Light, E., Kerridge, I., Lipworth. W. (2017) "Globalisation and the ethics of transnational biobank networks", Asian Bioethics Review, 9(4), 301-310. https://doi.org/10.1007 /s41649-017-0034-8
  • Mason, P. H., Roy, A., & Singh, P. (2017). "Reciprocity-building and the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration in tuberculosis research." Journal of Biosocial Science, 49(4), 559-562.
  • Neergheen-Bhujun, V., Awan, A.T., Baran, Y., Bunnefeld, N., Cha, K., dela Cruz, T.E., Egamberdieva, D., Elsasser, S., Johnson, M.V., Komai, S., Konevega, A.L., Malone,
    J.H., Mason P.H. et al. (2017) "Biodiversity, drug discovery, and the future of global health: Introducing the biodiversity to biomedicine consortium a call to action." Journal of Global Health, 7(2), 1-5. (020304]. https:/doi.org/10.7189/jogh.07.020304
  • Lipworth, W., Kerridge, I., Ioannidis, J.P., Mason, P.H. (2017) "Ethics and epistemology in big data research", Journal of Bioethical Inquiry, doi: 10.1007/s11673-017-9771-3.
    Mason, P.H., Lipworth, W., Kerridge, I. (2016) "More than one way to be global: globalization of research and the contest of ideas." American Journal of Bioethics, 16(10), 48-49. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/15265161.2016.1214312
  • Hebets, E., Barron, A., Balakrishnan, C., Hauber, M., Mason, P.H., Hoke, K. (2016) "A systems approach to animal communication." Proceedings of the Royal Society B, 283: 20152889. DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2015.2889
  • Mason, P.H. (2015) "Degeneracy: demystifying and destigmatising a core concept in systems biology." Complexity, 20(3), 12-21. doi: 10.1002/cplx.21534
  • Mason, P.H., Dominguez, J.F., Winter, B., Grignolio, A. (2015) "Hidden in plain view: degeneracy in complex systems." Biosystems, 128, 1-8. doi: 10.1016/j.biosystems.2014.12.003
  • Maleszka, R., Mason, P.H., Barron, AB. (2014) "Epigenomics and the concept of degeneracy in biological systems." Briefings in Functional Genomics. 13(3), 291-202. doi: 10.1093/bfgp/elt050
  • Mason, P.H. & Short, R.V. (2011) "Neanderthal-human hybrids." Hypothesis, 9(1), 1-5
  • Mason, P.H. (2010) "Degeneracy at multiple levels of complexity." Biological Theory: Integrating Development, Evolution and Cognition, 5(3), 277-288. doi: 10.1162/BIOT _a_00041
  • Rasri, K., Mason, P.H., Govitrapong, P., Pevet, P., Klasen, P. (2008) "Testosterone-driven seasonal regulation of vasopressin and galanin in the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis of the Djungarian hamster (Phodopus sungorus)." Neuroscience, 157:174-187. doi: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2008.08.058

The V-QUIN Trial: A randomized controlled trial of TB prevention among household contacts of patients with MOR-TB, Steering Committee member, Hanoi, Vietnam.
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