The Southgate Institute recently received wonderful news of a successful application for a National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Centre of Research Excellence (CRE) grant of $2.4 m over 5 years. The Centre of Research Excellence on Social Determinants of Health Equity will commence in 2015. It aims to advance understanding of how the policies of Australian governments can effectively address social determinants of health to improve health equity. The ambitious program of research will examine policies in a diverse range of areas at national, state or local levels including Indigenous Australian’s health, trade, paid parental leave, health, digital technologies, land use planning, and inter-sectoral action within a region.

The CRE will be jointly led by Prof Fran Baum, Director of the Southgate Institute, and Prof Sharon Friel, Director of the Regulatory Institutions Network (RegNet) at the Australian National University (ANU). The research program will have a particular focus on policy issues in Indigenous peoples’ health, led by Prof Dennis McDermott and Dr Tamara Mckean from the Poche Centre for Indigenous Health and Wellbeing at Flinders, and will build close links with the Lowitja Institute.  A number of other senior researchers from Flinders (Assoc Prof Anna Ziersch and Dr Lareen Newman), ANU, University of Sydney , and University of Ottawa make up the team of chief investigators.