Deakin researchers receive over $3.7m in NHMRC funding

Over $3.7 million in funding has been awarded to Deakin researchers in the latest round of project grants and fellowships, announced today by the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC).

A total of eight NHMRC Fellowships and Awards – including three Project Grants, three Career Development Fellowships and two NHMRC - ARC Dementia Research Development Fellowships - have been awarded to Deakin researchers.

Project Grants have been awarded for the following projects:

• Determining the Best Outcome Measures for Assessing Cost-Effectiveness of Interventions for Childhood Mental Disorders. This three-year project will be led by Associate Professor Cathy Mihalopoulos, Deakin Population Health SRC.
• Tailoring a brief sleep intervention for autism: a randomised controlled trial. This four-year project will be led by Professor Nicole Rinehart, School of Psychology (SEED).
• Bone health in bipolar disorder. This three-year project will be led by Doctor Lana Williams, School of Medicine (IMPACT).

Career Development Fellowships have been awarded to three senior Deakin researchers:

• Associate Professor Felice Jacka, School of Medicine (Innovation in Mental and Physical Health and Clinical Treatment), has received a Level 2 Fellowship for her project Diet and mental health: translating new knowledge into innovative prevention and treatment strategies.
• Associate Professor Sarah McNaughton, School of Exercise and Nutrition Sciences (C-PAN) has received a Level 2 Fellowship for her project Building evidence to improve health through optimal diet.
• Doctor Sharon Brennan-Olsen, School of Medicine (IMPACT), has received a Level 1 Fellowship for her project Multidisciplinary translational research to address social disparities in osteoporosis: Understanding the social context of biological mechanisms.

NHMRC – ARC Dementia Research Development Fellowships have been awarded to two Deakin researchers:

• Doctor Helen Macpherson, School of Exercise and Nutrition Sciences (C-PAN) for her project A multi-faceted intervention to enhance cognition in older people at risk of cognitive decline.
• Doctor Joan Ostaszkiewicz, Faculty of Health (Quality and Patient Safety Research), for her project Develop, evaluate and disseminate a quality measure to manage incontinence in people with dementia in residential aged care facilities.

Dr Emma Sciberras, who recently joined the School of Psychology from the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, is also to be congratulated for her success in achieving a Project Grant. Dr Sciberras' project aims to examine whether treating anxiety in children with ADHD using an adapted cognitive behavioural therapy program improves child and family wellbeing.