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Accelerating the translation of Research findings into Action to ensure scientific evidence can positively Impact the health of South Australians.
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This last month seems to have flown by and I’ve really enjoyed the opportunity to connect with new people and organisations to progress some key pieces of work while our CEO, Wendy Keech, has been on some well-deserved leave overseas! There is so much happening across SA right now – with continued opportunities for clinicians, researchers, health services, community members and industry to come together to tackle significant health and medical issues and improve the health and wellbeing of our community. We look forward to featuring several projects that are doing just this in our June newsletter, so stay tuned.
We’ve had the privilege of hosting PhD candidate Namrata Nath (UniSA) as a ‘Technical Business Analyst’ Intern early this year through APRIntern. Our feature story this month explores the focus of Namrata’s internship in collaboration with Digital Health SA and provides some wonderful insights into her learnings. We wish Namrata all the best for the final stages of her PhD and look forward to seeing her career trajectory and real-world research impact unfold.
Based on the success of this industry placement internship, we are looking to progress several projects in 2022 that will assist the building and strengthening of a learning health system in SA.
Health Translation SA (HTSA) has also been connecting research teams with Digital Health SA to understand further how the generation of synthetic data may benefit researchers. Digital Health SA is currently piloting ‘synthetic data’ as one of their capabilities. This is an exciting initiative with huge potential to support health and medical research and improve turn-around times for access to medical data for hypothesis testing and generating preliminary data for grant applications. We will keep you updated on this over the coming months.
We congratulate many SA based research teams for their recent grant successes. It is particularly encouraging to see more and more researchers applying through the Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF) and mobilising ahead of time engage with consumers, health services and industry well ahead of the funding calls. In line with this, our next ‘Spotlight Series’ will be held in June and will provide an opportunity to learn from a range of expert speakers about how to increase your success in the MRFF scheme. Details about the webinar topics are outlined below and I would encourage you all to register now and join the conversations.
I would also like to take this opportunity to welcome back Dr Agustina Gancia who has returned from maternity leave this month. Agustina will continue to build on the achievements of Annelise Morris over the past 12 months and will be responsible for HTSA’s consumer engagement activities and research capacity building programs. We look forward to being able to develop and pilot a Research Translation Essentials course this year to further support research teams position themselves for successful research impact. It’s great to have you back Agustina!
On a personal note, I’d like to thank the HTSA team and Board of Partners for their fabulous support in Wendy’s absence. HTSA’s core value of collaboration and partnership to leverage our individual strengths to achieve the best outcomes for SA has been front and centre throughout.
We look forward to welcoming Wendy back at the helm as CEO at the end of May!
Dr Ecushla Linedale
Health Translation SA Acting CEO
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Internship program unlocks the potential of new health data technologies
A local industry placement internship with HTSA and Digital Health SA has delivered the first vital steps for clinicians to be able to leverage the benefits of a new open-source platform with huge potential for improving patient care and health outcomes.
Developed in the UK, CogStack uses natural language processing algorithms and artificial intelligence technology to analyse and extract data from the thousands and thousands of medical notes in health records and patient notes.
Project Lead in South Australia and Deputy CEO of HTSA, Dr Ecushla Linedale, says several Translation Centres have been exploring how CogStack technology can enhance service delivery in a range of areas including general practice, emergency departments and the aged care sector.
Together with Digital Health SA, HTSA is exploring how the platform might be used locally to support responses to health crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic and support medical research and improvements in the health system over the longer-term.
“Here in South Australia, we wanted to work with Digital Health SA to scope where such technology could be used to the best advantage and determine what its limitations and benefits might be,” Dr Linedale says.
“It became clear that what we really needed was someone with a unique set of technical skills and experience and who also had the collaborative skills to undertake the project.
“Finding a local internship candidate with the specific skillset to work in this complex space – someone with an understanding of natural language processing and IT systems, who could work with clinical, research and IT stakeholders – was a challenge in itself,” Dr Linedale says.
“Thankfully we found the perfect person through Australian Postgraduate Research Intern and the outcomes of the internship have been fantastic for us and for our intern, Namrata Nath.”
To read the full story, click here.
Photo: HTSA Intern Namrata Nath
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Four pillars of Health in all policies for sustainable multi-sectorial collaboration on social determinants of health, equity and well-being
On the 12 May, the Centre for Health in All Policies Research Translation (CHiAPRT) in collaboration with the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the Global Network for Health in All Policies (HiAP) held a successful webinar discussing the practical guidance on how to sustain multi-sectorial collaboration.
Multi-sectorial collaboration, the corner stone of the HiAP approach, involves collaboration between the health sector and other sectors of government to improve health outcomes for all. Multi-sectorial action engages cross ministry co-operation to facilitate interconnected policy making that addresses the social, economic, and political determinants that impact health, equity, and wellbeing.
The webinar provided an overview on the 4 thematic pillars for multi-sectorial action; the principles which underpin the forthcoming WHO guidance document titled, ‘Sustainable Multisectoral Collaboration for Addressing the Social Determinants of Health, Equity and Well-being’. The webinar also featured expert country panellists including a round table discussion of participants sharing their experience of testing the framework and applying HiAP in practice.
Led by the Associate Professor Carmel Williams (Director, CHiAPRT), the Centre for Health in All Policies Research Translation is honoured to have been involved in both guiding and authoring the ‘Sustainable Multisectoral Collaboration for Addressing the Social Determinants of Health, Equity and Well-being’ document.
The recording of the webinar will be accessible online on the CHiAPRT webpage in the coming weeks, as well as the final guidance document once it has been launched by WHO.
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We want to hear from you! Share your thoughts on Health Translation SA monthly newsletters
If you haven't already, we would love to hear your thoughts on what you currently like, or would like to see more of, in our monthly newsletter so we can make it as relevant and useful to you!
Completing the survey is anonymous and should only take 5-10 minutes.
Survey responses have been extended to Friday, 3 June 2022.
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Want to learn more about how to be successful in the Medical Research Future Fund scheme? Join us for our upcoming Spotlight Series!
During the month of June we will be sharing resources and webinars to raise awareness of the MRFF; what it is, funding pathways and how to submit successful applications!
Sign-up to our scheduled webinar's now and follow us on Twitter to learn more about the expert speakers that will be presenting over the month.
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Are you a female researcher, working in women's health research? Join the South Australian Women's Health Research Translation Network mailing list today!
The Women's Health Research Translation Network (WHRTN) seeks to empower and improve equity, health and quality of life for Australian women integrating prevention, healthcare, research and translation for community benefit.
HTSA is one of ten Advanced Health Research Translation Centres involved in the project, nationally.
If you would like to be added to the SA WHRTN mailing list, please subscribe here.
For further information about the SA WHRTN, contact Tamara Hooper via email tamara.hooper@healthtranslationsa.org.au.
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The search is on again for South Australia's top scientists, researchers, innovators and educators
Nominations are now open for the 2022 South Australian Science Excellence and Innovation Awards.
These Awards recognise outstanding achievements in the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering, Maths and Medicine (STEMM) including remarkable teachers who are inspiring and training the future STEMM workforce.
Nominations are now open for six award categories:
- South Australian Scientist of the Year
- South Australian Innovator of the Year
- STEMM Educator of the Year
- Primary or Secondary School Level
- University or Registered Training Organisation Level
- Excellence in Science and Industry Collaboration
- PhD Research Excellence.
The South Australian Scientist of the Year and Innovator of the Year will each receive a prize to the value of $25,000. Other category winners will receive a prize to the value of $10,000 to use towards their career development.
Nominations close 5pm Tuesday, 24 May 2022.
For more information, guidelines and to apply, visit scienceawards.sa.gov.au.
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Call for contributors for INSPIRE Magazine - Issue 24: Health and Medical Research in rural, regional and remote Australia
Have you got an interesting research story or discovery you’d like to share with the health and medical research sector? Would you like to profile your unique and topical research that is currently being carried and how it is benefiting people living in our more remote areas?
Research Australia want to hear stories from you about the research work your organisation is doing in – and for – the rural and regional areas of our country and the benefits you see as a result.
The next INSPIRE is due out in July and they are looking for 100 word abstracts by Friday, 28 May 2022. Please email: deirdre.campbell@researchaustralia.org.
For more information, or to discuss your idea, please contact Deirdre on 0414587348.
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SAVE THE DATE: Health Translation SA's next Stakeholder Forum
Please join HTSA to find out how we are designing and delivering rapid and impactful health research in South Australia.
The purpose of the Stakeholder Forum is to provide an engagement mechanism for key health and research sector stakeholders to partner together in creating better health through research.
Our next Forum will be held on Wednesday 10 August, 2022 between 3:00 - 5:00pm in the SAHMRI Auditorium. Keep an eye out for more details about the program in the next upcoming HTSA Newsletter!
To register for the event, click here.
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Other upcoming events & training
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New grant opportunities regularly available throughout the year!
National Health and Medical Research Institute (NHMRC)
Within Australia, the NHMRC is the major funding body for health and medical research. There are a range of funding schemes that have different focuses and purposes. To see all of the funding schemes available, click here.
MRFF
The MRFF provides grants of financial assistance to support health and medical research and innovation, with the objective of improving the health and wellbeing of Australians. The NHMRC works with the Department of Health to implement disbursements from the MRFF. To see what MRFF grant opportunities are currently open and their status, click here.
Many of our partner organisations have a dedicated person that can assist you in applying for MRFF grant opportunities. For a list of South Australian based MRFF Support Leads, click here.
Follow us on Linked In and Twitter to learn about other funding opportunities that become available throughout the year.
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Other grant opportunities
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Do you have an event or story you would like to share in our Newsletter?
We would love to hear from you!
Come and chat to the Health Translation SA team on Level 8 in the SAHMRI Building (left of the central staircase) or contact Alex Harris, our Strategic Communications Officer, via email: communications@healthtranslationsa.org.au.
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Connect with us in the links below
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