Blog

The Annual Scientific Meeting of the Australasian Epidemiological Association (AEA)

Call for Abstract Submission and Half Day Workshops.

Please see the attached flyer

AEA Call for abstracts and Workshops

Attached is a summary from the Association of Australia Medical Research Institutes (AAMRI) of the 2018-19 Federal Budget.

The highlights are as follows:

A total of $275.4M will be invested over the forward estimates including:

o Mental health – $125M over 10 years from 2017-18 for a Million Minds  Mental Health Research Mission to support priorities under the fifth Mental  Health and Suicide Prevention Plan

o AHRTCs – $75M over 4 years from 2017-18 to extend the Rapid Applied  Research Translation program that supports Advanced Health Research  Translation Centres and Centres for Innovation in Regional Health

o Preventative health – $18.1M over four years from 2017-18 for a Keeping  Australians Out of Hospital program to support preventive health, behavioural  economics and reduce avoidable presentations to hospital

o Health systems research – $39.8M over four years from 2017-18 for a  Targeted Health System and Community Organisation Research program  with a focus on comparative effectiveness studies and consumer-driven  research

o Women’s Health – $17.5M over four years from 2017-18 for research into  Women’s Health and research into Maternal Health and First 2,000 Days to  address the underlying social determinants of health that impact on a child’s  early days in life.

AAMRI-summary-of-the-2018-19-Federal-Budget

Applications for the Premier’s Science Awards and nominations for the WA Science Hall of Fame close at 10.00am (AWST) on Monday 21 May 2018.

The Premier’s Science Awards recognise and celebrate the research and engagement achievements of the Western Australian science community, across all fields of science, including natural, medical, applied and technological science, engineering and mathematics. The four award categories are:

• Scientist of the Year ($50,000 prize)
• Woodside Early Career Scientist of the Year ($10,000 prize)
• ExxonMobil Student Scientist of the Year ($10,000 prize)
• Chevron Science Engagement Initiative of the Year ($10,000 prize).

Members of the community are also invited to nominate Western Australians who are pre-eminent in their field to be considered for induction into the WA Science Hall of Fame. The WA Science Hall of Fame was established in 2007 to recognise exceptional lifelong contributions from Western Australians to science, technology, engineering or mathematics. I invite you to take a look at our inductees to date, to see whether you think anyone is missing that you might wish to nominate.

Further information can be found in the attached flyer and on the Premier’s Science Awards and WA Science Hall of Fame webpages. We also encourage you to track and promote the Awards on Twitter using the #WASciAwards hashtag.

Applications close at 10.00am on Monday 21 May 2018.

The Premier’s Science Awards are proudly sponsored by Chevron, ExxonMobil and Woodside.

The Premier’s Science Awards are proudly supported by Curtin University, Edith Cowan University, Murdoch University, The University of Notre Dame, and The University of Western Australia.

PSA2018-Flyer

The Minister for Aged Care and Indigenous Health, Senator Ken Wyatt today announced $6.1 million in funding over three years from the Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF) to support the West Australian Health Translation Network (WAHTN) to improve healthcare for West Australians through innovation, education and training.

“The WA Health Translation Network will work with health professionals, including frontline doctors and nurses, to identify areas of need and collaborate with expert researchers to find solutions tailored to patients.” said Minister Wyatt.

The announcement came at the fourth annual Science on the Swan conference, an early initiative of the WAHTN. “This welcome funding will allow for meaningful and hopefully long standing initiatives that will benefit all West Australians,” said Professor Gary Geelhoed, the WAHTN Executive Director.

The funding is part of the Commonwealth Government’s investment to support Advanced Health Research and Translation Centres (AHRTC) and Centres for Innovation and Regional Health (CIRH) to conduct rapid transformation research that delivers real solutions to health service challenges.

The MRFF Medical Research and Innovation Strategies and Priorities emphasises the need for collaborative, practical solutions to challenges in health system services and systems, data and infrastructure and clinical trials and commercialisation among others.

Working within this broader approach the WAHTN, as with all members of the Australian Health Research Alliance (AHRA), have priorities to improve clinical pathways, to address variation in clinical care using data linkage and improving health outcomes in vulnerable groups including those with chronic conditions, those towards the end of life and Indigenous groups.

The funding is in keeping with the recent WA Health Department’s Sustainable Health Review Direction number 9: Harness and support health and medical research, collaboration and innovation.

In June 2017, the WAHTN was recognised as an ARHTC by the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC). The WAHTN brings together Western Australia’s major hospitals, private health care, medical research institutes and five universities to capitalise on recent investment in new facilities for health research, patient care and population well-being.

Since its inception WAHTN has created platforms that benefit the partners including a Clinical Trials and Data Centre (CTDC), the Research Education and Training Program (RETP), Consumer and Community Health Research Network (CCHRN) and the Australian National Phenome Centre (ANPC).

“This funding will accelerate WAHTN promoting collaboration in WA among its many partners to undertake original research as well as to accelerate the application of new treatments.” said Professor Geelhoed.

 

The Department of Health invites Applications for the twelfth round of the Research Translation Projects (RTP) funding program.

The RTP program seeks to support high-quality research projects that have the potential to be translated into policy and/or practice in WA Health, with the aim of investigating improved efficiencies that can be delivered whilst maintaining and/or improving patient outcomes.

The Department of Health’s closing date for Applications is 1:00pm, Monday 18 June 2018.  

 For this round a one-stage application process will apply.

The Guidelines for Applicants and Application Form can be downloaded from the Research Development website at:

http://ww2.health.wa.gov.au/Articles/S_T/SHRAC-Research-Translation-Projects

For assistance please contact the Research Development Unit via email to ResearchDevelopment@health.wa.gov.au or Phone (08) 9222 4415.

More information about the range of funding programs administered by the Department of Health through the Research Development Unit can be found at: http://ww2.health.wa.gov.au/Corporate/Articles/N_R/Research-funding-programs

An Information flyer is attached and can be distributed for promotion purposes. Please contact the Research Development Unit if you wish to organise an information session.

Flyer  Research Translation Projects 2018 (Round 12) – Open Announcement

Grand Challenges Explorations grant opportunities

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is inviting Grand Challenges Explorations (GCE) https://gcgh.grandchallenges.org/about proposals for the following three challenges (application deadline is May 2, 2018):

*   Innovations in Immunization Data Management, Use, and Improved Process Efficiency https://gcgh.grandchallenges.org/challenge/innovations-immunization-data-management-use-and-improved-process-efficiency-round-21

*   Affordable, Accessible, and Appealing: The Next Generation of Nutrition https://gcgh.grandchallenges.org/challenge/affordable-accessible-and-appealing-next-generation-nutrition-round-21  (also see the blog https://www.impatientoptimists.org/Posts/2018/03/Looking-for-Bold-New-Partners-to-Join-the-Fight-Against-Malnutrition#.Ws7xoFjrtPb )

*   Tools and Technologies for Broad-Scale Disease Surveillance of Crop Plants in Low-Income Countries https://gcgh.grandchallenges.org/challenge/tools-and-technologies-broad-scale-disease-surveillance-crop-plants-low-income-countries

GCE grants have already been awarded to more than 1300 researchers in more than 65 countries. Initial grants are for USD $100,000 and successful projects are eligible to receive follow-on funding of up to USD $1 million. Proposals are solicited twice a year for an expanding set of global health and development challenges. Applications are only two pages, and no preliminary data is required. Applicants can be at any experience level; in any discipline; and from any type of organization, including colleges and universities, government laboratories, research institutions, non-profit organizations and for-profit companies.

 

Grand Challenges grant opportunities

*   Grand Challenges India: New Approaches to Characterize the Global Burden of Antimicrobial Resistance https://gcgh.grandchallenges.org/challenge/grand-challenges-india-new-approaches-characterize-global-burden-antimicrobial-resistance . Application deadline is May 25, 2018.

*   Grand Challenges Explorations – Brazil: New Approaches to Characterize the Global Burden of Antimicrobial Resistance https://gcgh.grandchallenges.org/challenge/grand-challenges-brazil-new-approaches-characterize-global-burden-antimicrobial-resistance . Application deadline is May 28, 2018.

*   Grand Challenges Africa: New Approaches to Characterize the Global Burden of Antimicrobial Resistance https://gcgh.grandchallenges.org/challenge/grand-challenges-africa-new-approaches-characterize-global-burden-antimicrobial-resistance . Application deadline is May 16, 2018.

*   Grand Challenges South Africa: New Approaches to Characterize the Global Burden of Antimicrobial Resistance https://gcgh.grandchallenges.org/challenge/grand-challenges-south-africa-new-approaches-characterize-global-burden-antimicrobial . Application deadline is May 16, 2018.

*   Grand Challenges: Campylobacter spp. Transmission Dynamics in Low- and Middle-Income Countries https://gcgh.grandchallenges.org/challenge/campylobacter-spp-transmission-dynamics-low-and-middle-income-countries . Application deadline is May 2, 2018.

*   Grand Challenges Explorations – Brazil: Data Science Approaches to Improve Maternal and Child Health in Brazil https://gcgh.grandchallenges.org/challenge/grand-challenges-explorations-brazil-data-science-approaches-improve-maternal-and-child . Application deadline is May 2, 2018.

*   Misk Grand Challenges: Activating Global Citizenship: Building the Next Generation of Global Citizens for the Global Goals. https://gcgh.grandchallenges.org/challenge/activating-global-citizenship-building-next-generation-global-citizens-global-goals Application deadline is May 2, 2018.

*   Misk Grand Challenges: Reinventing Teaching and School Leadership: Preparing the Youth with the 21st Century Skills Needed for a Knowledge Economy. https://gcgh.grandchallenges.org/challenge/reinventing-teaching-and-school-leadership-preparing-youth-21st-century-skills-needed  Application deadline is May 2, 2018.

 

Additional global funder grant opportunities

*   The African Academy of Sciences (AAS), the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH), and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation are partnering under the auspices of the Coalition of African Research & Innovation (CARI) to establish a post-doctoral training fellowship program, the African Postdoctoral Training Initiative (APTI)<http://www.aasciences.ac.ke/aesa/en/programmes/the-african-postdoctoral-training-initiative-/>. Training will be at the intramural laboratories of NIH. Application deadline is May 11, 2018.

*   The Templeton World Charity Foundation announces Round 1 of its new Global Innovations for Character Development<https://www.globalcharacter.org/> initiative. Application deadline is June 15, 2018.

 

Blog series on innovation: Trevor Mundel, the Gates Foundation’s President of Global Health, recently published three new blogs in his series https://gcgh.grandchallenges.org/news?f%5B0%5D=type%3Aexternal_article&f%5B1%5D=field_blog_series%3A41 on innovation: one on metabolic markers for gestational age assessment https://www.impatientoptimists.org/Posts/2017/12/INNOVATION-HOW-A-50YEAROLD-DROP-OF-BLOOD-HELPS-SOLVE-AN-URGENT-GLOBAL-HEALTH-CHALLENGE#.WqBINW1uZPZ , one on surveying nutrient levels in breastmilk https://www.impatientoptimists.org/Posts/2018/03/Understanding-Global-Differences-in-Human-Milk-Nutrients#.WqBIdW1uZPZ , and one on new technology to assess intestinal health in babies  https://www.impatientoptimists.org/Posts/2018/02/Innovation-A-New-Lens-on-Child-Nutrition#.Wr6dyVjrtPa .

 

We look forward to receiving innovative ideas from around the world on the open grant opportunities listed above. If you have a great idea, please apply. If you know someone else who has a great idea, please forward this message. And we invite you to explore an interactive world map of ideas funded<https://grandchallenges.org/#/map> to date across the global Grand Challenges network.

 

Thank you for your commitment to solving the world’s greatest health and development challenges.

 

The Grand Challenges Team

__________________________________

 

Guided by the belief that every life has equal value, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation works to help all people lead healthy, productive lives.

 

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The 7th NHMRC Symposium on Research Translation will be held in Sydney on 27—28 November 2018. A call for abstracts is now open https://icmsaust.eventsair.com/nhmrc-2018/call-for-abstracts.

The theme this year is ‘Ensuring value in research’ with a particular focus on:

*   justifiable research priorities

*   robust research design, conduct and analysis

*   regulation and management of research conduct proportionate to risks

*   accessible research methods and findings and complete and usable research reports.

We encourage you to consider submitting an abstract, particularly in relation to the work of your Centres. Submissions close 11 May 2018.

Any enquiries, please contact: abstracts@nhmrc2018.com.au

 

Please see below a flyer and a note on the application process

Forrest Research Foundation Post-doctoral Fellowship flyer

Forrest Fellowship application details

Do you have a clinical, business, research or engineering background and a passion for solving unmet medical needs?  

We are seeking the next generation of biomedical entrepreneurs to join us on a journey of innovation in the 2018 Perth Biodesign course (run previously as SPARK Co-Lab Design). Based on Biodesign methodology at Stanford University, Perth Biodesign brings together people with a passion for design thinking and discovery in medicine.

Participants will form multidisciplinary teams, and over a 6 month period (11^th June – 5^th November), innovate and create their own novel solutions for unmet medical needs. The course is suited to clinicians, scientists, engineers and business professionals, from student, early career through to professional level.

 Find out more information by going to www.biodesignaustralia.com.

 APPLICATIONS CLOSE THIS SUNDAY 8^th APRIL

 So if you’re interested in applying please send an email to perth@biodesignaustralia.com ASAP to receive an application pack for submission.

 Perth Biodesign Flyer

 

One of WAHTN’s major successes over the course of the last year was to be awarded NHMRC accreditation as an Advanced Health Research and Translation Centre (AHRTC). This formal recognition places Western Australia amongst the world’s top centres performing translational research to directly improve patient care. WAHTN has now joined the other 6 accredited AHRTC’s and the 2 accredited CIRH’s to form the Australian Health Research Alliance (AHRA), with opportunity for linking partners and facilitating collaboration across the country in key areas, such as in clinical trials.

We take this opportunity to thank the outgoing Executive Director Professor John Challis for his valuable contribution to WAHTN and welcoming the new Executive Director Professor Gary Geelhoed from the 3rd of April 2018.

WAHTN are pleased to present the below Activity Report that summarises the substantial progress made by WAHTN during 2017.

WA Health Translation Network Activity Report January 2018