A total of 11 leading Western Australian early career researchers have been awarded the inaugural Western Australian Health Translation Network (WAHTN) Early Career Fellowships in Translational Health Research.
The successful recipients were selected by a panel chaired by former Chief Scientist of Western Australia, Professor Lyn Beazley AO.
Translational health research ensures knowledge gained through research is translated into changes in policy, practice and innovation to benefit the health and wellbeing of all Western Australians.
The researchers will receive $1 million from the Commonwealth Government’s Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF). To be eligible to apply for the funding they had to secure their own grants to match the amount awarded by the MRFF.
The one-year fellowships are designed to support WA research and translation projects:
- Conducted by research-focused clinicians and other health care professionals;
- Which are collaborative and incorporate consumer involvement; and
- Improve health care, health systems, health policy and public health.
The Fellows will be mentored over the 12 months by some of WA’s leading senior researchers, and the innovative projects will be presented at the WAHTN Science on the Swan Conference held from June 5-7, 2019.
WAHTN is part funded by the McGowan Government and Lotterywest, and is one of seven Advance Health Research Translation Centres that are part of the Australian Health Research Alliance.
As noted by Health Minister Roger Cook:
“I congratulate these future leaders in research on their outstanding success in obtaining this fellowship, which will help translate research into practice and lead to health care improvements for all Western Australians.
“Through the State Government’s continued investment in research, our researchers are able to produce high calibre projects, worthy of attracting $1 million of additional national funding – with direct benefit for WA’s health system and community.
“These fellowships help to support our local clinicians and health care professionals to ensure WA retains and supports the best and brightest, up and coming research minds.”
The successful Fellows are:
| Early Career Fellow | Project Title | Organisation |
| Dr Gail Alvares | Establishing an autism phenomics platform for Western Australia | Telethon Kids Institute |
| Ms Jodie Armstrong | The Learn, Engage and Play (LEaP) Study: The Development and Evaluation of a Therapeutic Playgroup for Children with Developmental Delay | Child and Adolescent Health Service/Curtin University |
| Associate Professor Fenella Gill | Unifying systems for recognition and response to paediatric clinical deterioration in Western Australia | Child and Adolescent Health Service/Curtin University |
| Dr Ariel Mace | FeBRILe3 – Fever, Blood cultures and Readiness for discharge in infants less than three months old | Child and Adolescent Health Service/South Metropolitan Health Service |
| Dr Luke Marinovich | Impact of consensus guidelines on margins for breast conserving surgery: translation to clinical care in WA | Curtin University |
| Dr Ashleigh McEvoy | Translation of ‘Liquid Biopsy’ Research into Clinical Practice | Edith Cowan University |
| Ms Belinda McLean | Implementation of an evidence-based allied health intervention to improve functional outcomes of children with cerebral palsy | Child and Adolescent Health Service/Curtin University |
| Dr Jing Pang | Translational research for improving the care of familial hypercholesterolaemia: closing the gaps | The University of Western Australia |
| Dr Janessa Pickering | Developing laboratory diagnostics for Strep A carriage: an essential step to progress vaccine and acute rheumatic fever primary prevention | Telethon Kids Institute |
| Dr Roslyn Ward | B2: I Can Communicate | Child and Adolescent Health Service/Curtin University |
| Dr Yue Wu | Prospective evaluation of a clinical decision-support tool to guide antibiotic selection for empiric treatment of urinary infections in children | Telethon Kids Institute |
