Category: News

Applications are invited for the Future Health Research and Innovation (FHRI) Fund Innovation Challenge 2021:

Child and Youth Mental Health (the Challenge)

The Challenge seeks to stimulate innovation, and the development and delivery of a solution to a significant unmet need identified by the Challenge ‘winner’ in the area of child and youth (0 – 24 years) mental health in Western Australia. Funding will be provided on a competitive basis to innovation proposals which demonstrate potential to develop and implement novel (new) processes, products and/or services relevant to this area. The proposed solution must result in transformative/disruptive change.

The Challenge will be open to legally constituted entities that may be based in Western Australia, Australia or internationally.

Up to 10 applicants may each be awarded up to $50,000 to undertake feasibility studies and/or build prototypes around their proposed solution to the problem that they have identified.  Following this, one proposed solution (the ‘winner’ of the Challenge), will be awarded up to $1.5 million to fully develop and implement the solution in Western Australia. The Challenge is funded by the FHRI Fund.

The application period closes 1:00pm (AWST), Tuesday 1 February 2022.

The Guidelines and Conditions and Application Form can be accessed from the FHRI Fund website.

For further information please email the Research and Innovation Office, Department of Health via RIO.DOH@health.wa.gov.au.

Information on other FHRI Fund programs can be accessed by subscribing to updates or checking the Current Opportunities page on the FHRI Fund website.

WAHTN warmly congratulates the Western Australian recipients of grants in the latest round of NHMRC funding, announced on 14 September 2021.

Investigator Grants

• Prof Stephen Stick, UWA: Priority driven childhood respiratory research
• Dr Gianina Ravenscroft, UWA: The missing genetics of rare diseases
• Prof Anna Nowak, UWA: Leading the way in mesothelioma – a program of immunotherapy translational research nested within novel clinical trials
• Prof Britta Regli-von Ungern-Sternberg, UWA: Safer anaesthesia for children – optimizing perioperative outcomes by advancing and translating knowledge into clinical practice using an international, interdisciplinary approach
• A/Prof Ashleigh Lin, UWA: Improving the mental health of trans and gender diverse young people

Partnership Projects

• A/Prof Julia Marley, UWA: Be Healthy: Implementing culturally secure programs for obesity and chronic disease prevention with remote Aboriginal communities and families

Targeted Call for Research

• A/Prof Glenn Arendts, UWA: A randomised trial of a Carer End of Life Planning Intervention (CELPI) in people dying with dementia

Subscribe to keep up-to-date with WAHTN news, events, and funding opportunities.

WAHTN Media and Communications  – Hannah Vu (08 6151 0919)

Get an introduction to what consumer and community involvement in research is, and what it brings to best practice health and medical research, via our latest online training course.

A collaboration between WAHTN’s RETProgram and CCIProgram, the Consumer and Community Involvement in Health Research course is designed as an introductory course for consumers, community members, researchers, administrators, policy makers and organisations involved in health research.

“We’re thrilled to be offering the first e-course on CCI in Australia,” said Deb Langridge, CCIProgram Head. “It’s a free 30-minute course available to everyone who is interested.”

In the first two weeks following its launch, the course was completed by 23 people and received 100% positive feedback, such as:

• “The information was concise and relevant. The material challenged and extended my thinking around the topic.”
• “[The best aspect was] understanding the difference between participation, engagement and involvement.”
• “Simple, easily accessible format. Short and sharp (I can fit it easily in at the end of my work day).”

Following on from this course, participants may choose to deepen their knowledge through live training workshops and other resources offered by the CCIProgram.

Register and start learning here!

Applications are now open for the Raine Medical Research Foundation 2021 Publication Prizes.

The purpose of the Prizes is to acknowledge the achievements of early-career researchers in Western Australia who have the best published scientific papers.

• Raine Research Prize – This Prize is awarded for the best scientific paper arising from research undertaken by an early-career medical researcher in Western Australia. The successful applicant will receive a medallion and $5,000 to go towards collaborative research activities.

• Strachan Memorial Prize – This Prize is awarded to a Western Australian early-career clinical scientist for the most outstanding scientific paper that may translate clinical research into better health outcomes. The successful applicant will receive a medallion and $5,000 to go towards collaborative research activities.

• BrightSpark Raine Research Prize – This Prize is awarded for the best scientific paper arising from child health research undertaken by an early-career medical researcher in Western Australia. The successful applicant will receive a medallion and $5,000 to go towards collaborative research activities.

Applications close 1pm Monday 13 September. Visit the Raine Medical Research Foundation website for details.

Applications are now open for the Raine Medical Research Foundation 2021 Research Collaboration Awards.

The purpose of the Awards is to encourage medical researchers in Western Australia to establish and develop research collaborations, both nationally and internationally, to seek a better understanding of the nature, origin, and cause of human diseases, and their prevention and treatment.

• Healy Research Collaboration Awards – These Awards are for early-career researchers in Western Australia, across all medical research disciplines, to develop research collaborations. A maximum of $30,000 shall be available for each Award.

• BrightSpark Raine Research Collaboration Awards – These Awards are for early-career researchers in Western Australia, to develop research collaborations in the field of child health. A maximum of $30,000 shall be available for each Award.

• Cockell Research Collaboration Awards – These Awards are for early-career, mid-career, and senior researchers in Western Australia, to develop research collaborations in the field of mental health. A maximum of $30,000 shall be available for each Award.

Applications close 1pm Monday 13 September. Visit the Raine Medical Research Foundation website for details.

Several members of the WAHTN Executive Board have recently come to the conclusion of their two-year appointment terms. As per the Board Terms of Reference, representation for the Private Health, University and Medical Research Institute sectors has been rotated to representatives from other organisations within each sector.

We are delighted to announce that the following prominent members have recently been appointed to the WAHTN Executive Board:

• Dr Terry Bayliss representing the Private Health sector (endorsed at the WAHTN Executive Board meeting held 14 April 2021)
• Professor Bill Morgan representing the Medical Research Institute sector (endorsed at the WAHTN Executive Board meeting held 14 April 2021)
• Professor Harlene Hayne representing the University sector (endorsed at the WAHTN Executive Board meeting held 21 July 2021)

View the full list of current Executive Board members.

We thank the departing members of the board – Professor Shirley Bowen, Professor Peter Leedman and Professor Eeva Leinonen – for their valuable contributions during their terms.

It has recently been announced that the Animal Resources Centre (currently based at Murdoch University) will close by the end of 2022 – which will create a huge gap for the medical research sector.

A reliable supply of small animals is critical to the sector’s important work.

As a network of organisations conducting medical research, WAHTN is very concerned about the WA Government’s decision to close the Centre.

The Centre provides a high-quality and affordable supply of small animals for medical research. It is relied upon by universities and institutes nationwide as the country’s only major facility of its kind.

Its closure will have a significant negative impact on the medical research sector: it will impact on the quality of animals available, lead to more in-house breeding (with increased costs and potential for animal wastage), and make it very difficult – or even impossible – to source certain strains. This will all reduce the sector’s capacity to continue delivering world-class and life-saving research.

We urge the WA Government to reconsider its decision to close the Centre within such a tight timeframe and to work with stakeholders to find a solution to ensure the continued availability of small animals for medical research in WA and beyond.

We’ll also be working closely with our partners in WA and our fellow Australian Health Research Alliance members to advocate for the sector on this issue.

Applications are invited for the following Future Health Research and Innovation Fund programs:

Implementation Science Fellowships 2021
Implementation science seeks to understand the system-level facilitators and barriers to implementing evidence into practice and identify evidence-based approaches to promote translation.  The Implementation Science Fellowships program seeks to identify potential pathways and strategies, using implementation science, for the successful implementation of research findings into policy and practice.

Translation Fellowships 2021
The Translation Fellowships program seeks to support translational research to increase translational research expertise and capacity in WA and facilitate the translation of research findings into policy and/or practice.

These Fellowships will support high-quality fellows and research programs that address a contemporary challenge or need faced by the WA public health system, through collaboration and partnership with WA Health Service Providers, in the following two streams:

• Aboriginal health issues
• Country and regional WA health issues.

One Implementation Science Fellowship and one Translation Fellowship will be made available in each of the above streams. The value of each Fellowship is $200,000 per annum for three years, which may be used for salary and research costs. These programs are funded by the Future Health Research and Innovation (FHRI) Fund.

The application period for each program closes 1:00pm, Tuesday 31 August 2021.  

The Guidelines and Conditions and Application Form can be accessed from the FHRI Fund website:

• Implementation Science Fellowships
• Translation Fellowships

For further information please email the Research and Innovation Office via RIO.DOH@health.wa.gov.au

Information on other FHRI Fund programs can be accessed by subscribing to updates or checking the Current Opportunities page on the FHRI Fund website.

Congratulations to the three Western Australian recipients of Early and Mid-Career Awards from the new AHRA Women’s Health Research, Translation and Impact Network (WHRTN):

• Ms Kristie Harper (Occupational Therapist, Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital and Research Associate, Curtin University)
• Associate Professor Georgia Halkett (Curtin University)
• Dr Anne-Marie Eades (Senior Research Fellow, Curtin University)

They are among 36 award recipients nationwide announced today.

Ms Harper’s award will assist her to continue her work to improve the health outcomes of older women. The burden of frailty is greater in women yet remains preventable. This grant will support consumer engagement and explore the feasibility of a frailty intervention team (FIT) program for women.

“This generous funding supports career advancement through completion of foundational research and ongoing networking with Australian and international research mentors and is much appreciated,” she said.

A/Prof Halkett’s project will develop online communication skills training for radiation therapists nationally and pilot an intervention called RT-ePrepare with breast cancer patients in different locations. It is recommended that 83% of women diagnosed with breast cancer should receive radiotherapy. However, up to 50% of women experience anxiety and distress before treatment. Inadequate communication and information provision increase patient anxiety and may lead to people declining treatment.

Dr Eades’ research seeks to address some of the harms caused by the systematic removal of Aboriginal children from their mothers as part of the Stolen Generations policies, which continue to impact on Aboriginal families today. It will involve co-designing a larger research project to reduce the risk of infant removal for Aboriginal women with vulnerabilities during their first pregnancy, with the longer-term aim of identifying and implementing strategies that prevent infant removal and, where possible, support reunification.

Additionally, WAHTN has received a grant of $50,000 from the WHRTN to establish a Western Australian women’s health research collaborative.

The Western Australian Health Translation Network has received a $50,000 establishment grant from the Australian Health Research Alliance (AHRA) for a collaborative to promote women researchers and women’s health research.

This initiative will build a sustainable network across a diverse group of women researchers with a focus on the key nine priority areas identified by the AHRA Women’s Health Research, Translation and Impact Network:

1. Preconception, pregnancy, postpartum and intrapartum health of women and babies
2. Mental health
3. Reproductive health
4. Chronic disease and preventative health including cancer and heart disease
5. Healthy lifestyle, nutrition, physical activity and the prevention of obesity
6. Violence and abuse
7. Indigenous health
8. Healthy ageing
9. Sexual health

The establishment of this WA network, to be led by Dr Jacqueline Frayne and A/Prof Jennifer Stone, will allow for identification of priority research areas that are important to the local WA community, development of collaborative research ideas, and organisation of networking and mentorship opportunities.

Over the course of the two-year grant, the network’s activities will include a mentorship program for early- to mid-career researchers and a women’s health research conference.

One of the first steps in this initiative will be to identify lead researchers in the fields of all nine priority areas within WA, who will be invited to form a research network.

Consumer representation will be sought through WAHTN’s Consumer and Community Involvement Program (CCIProgram).

Look out for updates on this exciting initiative via our website, newsletter and social media channels.

In related news, three Western Australian women have received Early and Mid-Career Researcher Awards from the WHRTN.