NHMRC Funding Successes
Congratulations to THRI members Dr Sarah Kennedy (SoHS, THRI) and Dr Rosalie Liwela Power (THRI), Professor Rebekah Grace (TeEACH, THRI), Associate Professor Gabriella Heruc (THRI) and their teams on receiving NHMRC funding:
Dr Sarah Kennedy
NHMRC Investigator Grants scheme: Developing muscle-strengthening activity competency in youth: Supporting community health through enhancing knowledge, skills, and behaviour - $688,405
The project will utilise the strong evidence-base for MSA implementation within schools and elite sport, to generate new evidence to inform MSA resources, training and implementation in community grassroots sport. This will provide the next generation of young people with the knowledge, skills and confidence to be stronger, more competent movers - able to tackle the current physical inactivity crisis.
Dr Rosalie Liwela Power
NHMRC Investigator Grants scheme: Transforming Sexual Health through co-design with LGBTQ+ People with Intellectual Disability - $688,405
The project focuses on the vital issue of access to sexual healthcare – including accurate, evidence-based information free from stigma and discrimination – for people with intellectual disability who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and queer (LGBTQ+) and who face intersecting, compounding disadvantages and inequities resulting in their sexual health being overlooked in research, policy, and practice. To address this urgent health priority, in collaboration with LGBTQ+ people with intellectual disability and other key stakeholders, this research program will establish a comprehensive and multi-faceted knowledge base of the sexual health and healthcare needs of LGBTQ+ people with intellectual disability, using arts-based qualitative methods; Address sexual health literacy and healthcare and support needs through translating the findings into actionable practice guidelines and accessible sexual health information resources for LGBTQ+ people with intellectual disability.
Professor Rebekah Grace
NHMRC Collaborations in Health Services Research Grant:
Health services in the spaces that matter most: Cross-sector collaborations in the provision of health services for young children and their families who experience disadvantage - $950,000
The research will focus on one of the most significant challenges within health services, the ‘inverse care law’, in which families who would most benefit from service engagement, those who experience disadvantage and marginalisation, are the least likely to engage with them. The project will explore five different initiatives, all delivered in home and community settings, and all working in integrated ways with other service systems. Collectively they will inform understanding of the best support place-based and integrated models of care.
Professor Grace’s research team includes Western’s Distinguished Professor Lynn Kemp (SoNM, THRI), Associate Professor Elise Baker (SoHS), Dr Nicole Peel (SoHS, THRI), Dr Betty Luu (TeEACH, THRI) and Dr Elisabeth Duursma (TeEACH, THRI).
Associate Professor Gabriella Heruc
NHMRC 2024 MRFF Early to Mid-Career Researchers Initiative: SHiNE - Supporting Healthful Initiatives in Nutrition Education - $990,000
Utilising knowledge translation and co-design principles, the project is set to develop urgently needed world-first guidelines on safe nutrition messaging for schools. Working in partnership with teachers, parents and young people, the project will deliver positive nutrition messages to support the wellbeing of young people.
Hosted by the School of Medicine and THRI, the project is led by A/Prof Gabriella Heruc and supported by a dedicated team of researchers, including Chief Investigators Dr. Catharine Fleming, Dr. Sarah Kennedy, Dr Lyza Norton, and Dr. Kirrilly Pursey, in collaboration with an incredible group of associate investigators (A/Prof Deb Mitchison, Prof Tracy Burrows, Dr Tetyana Rocks, Dr Zali Yager, A/Prof Deana Leahy, Prof Robert Gorkin, A/Prof Megan Warin, Kylie Burton, Julia Rossi, Alexi Cross) and partner organisations (University of Newcastle, Dietitians Australia, ACHPER Australia, The Embrace Collective, National Eating Disorders Collaboration, Eating Disorders Families Australia, Nutrition Australia, Life Ed). It is also the first successful grant attained by ENRG - The Eating disorders and Nutrition Research Group.
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