RESEARCH NEWS
NMHRC Health Professional Research Early Career Fellowship: Dr Stephanie Mathieson in particular prescription opioid analgesic medicine for pain management. I was one of the lucky 24 applicants successful in receiving an NMHRC Health Professional Research Early Career Fellowship (ECF). Only one in four of these are successful. I chose to apply for the Health Professional Research ECF as it allows me to continue to work part-time in clinical practice.
Congratulations to Dr Stephanie Mathieson for successfully gaining a NMHRC grant!! Wow!! An amazing achievement and we wish her all the best and look forward to seeing the results of her research. Stephanie was kind enough to take some time to discuss this with us. My research and fellowship focuses on reducing inappropriate use of medicines,
Applying for NHMRC funding is an intensive process, no matter what scheme you are applying for. The NHMRC funding schemes have been updated (https://nhmrc.gov.au/ funding/new-grant-program/overview) and this year marks the first year with new rules and structure for applications. One of the most notable changes is that the investigator grant scheme will now include some project grant funds in addition to salary and runs for five years (not four years). Additionally, the
proportion of funds allowed to investigator grants has increased to 40% of the entire NHMRC funding budget whereas previously fellowships and scholarship accounted for only 16% of the funding budget. This year investigator grant applications are due to NHMRC by 6th February for funding to commence in 2020. For anyone considering applying for any NHMRC funding, whether for an investigator grant or project related funding, my recommendation is to start early and allow for plenty of time. Don’t underestimate the number of edits and revisions needed in this highly competitive scheme. It is not something you can do overnight. Identify a key evidence gap or problem in healthcare and set about with high methodological quality to find solutions.
Launch of The Institute for Musculoskeletal Health By: Dr Michael Swain BChiroSc, MChiro, ICSSD (FICS), MPhil, PhD, FRCC
The Institute for Musculoskeletal Health (IMH) is a new and innovative research group that was launched last month. It is a revolutionary partnership between the Sydney Local Health District and the University of Sydney, which aims to better musculoskeletal health through physically active lifestyles and better healthcare for musculoskeletal conditions. The IMH, based at the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital (Sydney) provides a platform to strengthen clinician-researcher alliances and improve translation of research into the community. Collaboration with real-world health services provides an unprecedented opportunity for musculoskeletal education and mentorship in Australia. World-leading researchers at IMH target the national health priority area of musculoskeletal research via new ideas that are cost-effective and implementable into policy and practice. The IMH Director, Prof. Chris Maher, leads a group of 110 staff and affiliates (40% clinician-researchers) including 11 externallyfunded research fellows, who in the last
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12-months have produced an astounding 181 peer-reviewed publications (including 5 Lancet publications) and $35mil in NHMRC grant funding. Underpinning the group’s productive culture are core values of integrity, openness, and inclusivity. The multidisciplinary group includes researchers and clinicians from diverse backgrounds such as public health (incl. clinical epidemiology, health economics, and biostatistics), medicine (incl. rheumatology, orthopaedics, emergency medicine, and general practice) and allied health (incl. physiotherapy, pharmacology, exercise physiology, and chiropractic). On behalf of Chiropractic Australia, President Prof. Rod Bonello sent Prof. Maher and his team congratulatory wishes on their stellar launch and important work in the field. Through a PhD scholarship administered by the Chiropractic Australia Research Foundation (CARF), Chiropractic Australia is supporting a chiropractic researcher (Dr. Laura Montgomery) to undertake a much-needed program of
study in adolescent musculoskeletal health at the IMH, commencing later this year. For more information on the Institute for Musculoskeletal Health visit their website imh.org.au and follow them on Twitter @ msk_health
