Congratulations to three of the latest Flinders University NHMRC grant recipients, Professor Danny Eckert, Associate Professor Simon Conn and Dr Monica Cations.

Their projects in sleep health, cancer treatment and better aged care have been awarded more than $4.67 million in Australian Government health and medical research grants announced last week.

The National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) grants – to chief investigators Professor Danny Eckert (Adelaide Institute for Sleep Health) and cancer researcher Associate Professor Simon Conn – add to a ‘mental health in aged care’ grant to Dr Monica Cations through the Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF) Priority Round.

“The latest projects add to the rich stream of high-quality research coming from the Flinders Health and Medical Research Institute,” says Professor Robert Saint, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research) at Flinders University.

“Together, the strength of our University’s research is making vital inroads into a wide range of health and medical priorities affecting millions of Australians, and people everywhere, at a time when our community is acutely aware of the critical importance of health and medical research.”

COVID-19 Research Grant Scheme at Flinders University 

Meanwhile, the six colleges have announced 35 new COVID-19 research grant scheme projects at Flinders University – some in collaboration with external partners.

The multidisciplinary efforts at Flinders University, targeting important research on COVID-19 and the SARS-CoV-2 virus, cover wide-ranging potential solutions and information for future pandemics.

The projects range from finding a bacterial link to respiratory failure to tracing the virus in South Australia’s sewage systems (see details of 11 of the projects in the College of Science and Engineering, and College of Medicine and Public Health at the link).

The 24 projects in the four other colleges include:

College of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences:

• ‘It’s just like that big flu in ‘69, but this time we’ve gotta be more careful’: Remote Aboriginal community understandings of and responses to the COVID-19 Pandemic (led by Professor Amanda Kearney)
• A public health system response to abortion provision during the COVID-19 pandemic (Associate Professor Catherine Kevin)
• Cultural understandings of COVID-19 in remote Aboriginal communities (Professor Claire Smith)
• The Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on wellbeing of individuals and households in South Australia (Associate Professor Udoy Saikia)
• Zoonotic diseases and the biopolitics of COVID-19 (Professor Vanessa Lemm)

Caring Futures Institute – College of Nursing and Health Sciences:

•  Examining the strengths and needs of three cohorts of marginalised community members affected by COVID-19 isolation measures (Professor Sally Robinson)
• Effective use of physical activity during COVID-19 (Dr Ivanka Prichard)
• Assessing general population preferences for caring and wellbeing post pandemic (Dr Rachel Milte)
• Effects of remote participation on retention and experiences of students with intellectual disabilities and peer mentor (Dr Fiona Rillotta)
• Evaluation of a home telemonitoring program for patients with chronic conditions during isolation (Professor Robyn Clark)
• Study of how parents manage family life during COVID-19 and impacts on parents’ self-care behaviours (Professor Rebecca Golley)
• Evaluating rapid changes in allied health and nursing practice in acute care setting (Associate Professor Belinda Lange)
• Co-design and test an enhanced FAME intervention for community dwelling older people (Professor Julie Ratcliffe)
• Literacy challenges related to interrupted school attendance, including parent literacy support for children with developmental disabilities (Professor Jo Arciuli)
• Interprofessional collaborative practice, using fast-tracked telehealth (Dr Stacey George)

Education, Psychology and Social Work:

• Evaluating telehealth guidelines for delivery of eating disorder therapy (led by Professor Tracey Wade)
• Cognitive Bias Correction program as a psychological ‘vaccine’ (Dr Ryan Balzan)
• Enhancing wellbeing among front-line health workers (Dr Dan Fassnacht)
• Understanding mental health implications of prolonged digital media involvement (Dr Daniel King)
• The COVID-19 pandemic as a past, present and future traumatic stressor (Dr Mel Takaringi)
• Youth sport and COVID-19: A potential generation lost (Professor Murray Drummond)

Business, Government and Law:

•  Impacts of COVID-19 on illicit drug trafficking and supply in Australia (Professor Caitlin Hughes)
• COVID-29 and young people’s wellbeing (Professor Gerry Redmond)
• Self-reported risk assessment and coping strategies of CALD older South Australians (Associate Professor Noore Siddiquee)