Unveiling the Inaugural MRFF Catalyst Grant Scheme Recipients

Last week we hosted our annual Health Translation SA (HTSA) Stakeholder Forum where we presented a strategic overview of HTSA's key activities in 2023 and also announced the recipients of the inaugural HTSA Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF) Catalyst Grant Scheme (the Scheme). 

The Scheme aimed to incentivise collaboration across health services, academic research organisations and the community, as well as address health service and system challenges, and was financially supported by The Hospital Research Foundation Group and the Women's and Children's Hospital Foundation.

We were impressed with the calibre of the applications and would like to extend our congratulations to the six successful projects:

• Empowering carer and older people dyads: Characteristics and impacts on quality of care and unplanned hospitalisations (Lead: Dr Tesfahun Eshetie)

• Development of a prototype for automated clinical case note generation (Lead: Associate Professor Johan Verjans)

• AI enhanced referral system to improve patient and provider agency in rural mental health (Lead: Professor Paul Worley)

• Developing a roadmap for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander mental health and wellbeing in South Australia (Lead: Dr Tina Brodie)

• Caring for caregivers: Implementing an evidence-informed program to support caregiver wellbeing (Lead: Dr Sarah Hunter)

• Online family-based group treatment for parents of children with an eating disorder as first line treatment: An economic evaluation (Lead: Professor Tracey Wade)

During the Forum the project leads engaged in a panel discussion, reflecting on how the requirements of the Scheme had very positively impacted their applications. While the key indicator of success is submitting a MRFF (or other) collaborative research proposal in 12 months’ time, it was really pleasing to hear that two of the project teams are already preparing proposals to external funding schemes based on the new collaborations and projects they have formed.

We are proud of the Scheme’s development, recognising that its success is attributed to the support, guidance, and input from numerous contributors. A big thank you to all involved.

It is great news that both of the Foundations have committed to further funding in 2024 and we are looking for other funders to join this collaborative funding model. 

If you are interested, please get in touch with our Executive Director, Wendy Keech wendy.keech@healthtranslationsa.org.au or download a copy of the information flyer. 

The 2024 Scheme will launch in May 2024.

Consumer Engagement Summit panel recording now live!

HTSA co-hosted the annual Consumer Engagement Summit with the Australia and New Zealand Dialysis and Transplant Registry (ANZDATA) and welcomed 60+ consumers, researchers and clinicians to SAHMRI where attendees learnt from exemplary examples of collaborative projects.

The event concluded with a panel session on ‘How to evaluate your consumer engagement activities’. For the full recording, please head to HTSA’s YouTube channel.

Photo: Panel members, Consumer Engagement Summit 2023

Annual PRMs Symposium sparks a day of dynamic dialogue!

On Monday 30 October, HTSA partnered with the Commission on Excellence and Innovation in Health to hold the annual Patient Reported Measures (PRMs) Symposium and welcomed a diverse group of attendees, including consumers, clinicians, and researchers.

Over 60 individuals gathered for a day of discussion and knowledge exchange, delving into the practicalities of implementing and utilising PRMs.

Would you like to join in the discussions at future events? Join the Research Collaborative today!

Photo: Presenter Megan Scott

National symposium explores advancements in health research data sharing

As part of the Australian Research Data Commons (ARDC)’s Health Studies Australian National Data Asset (HeSANDA) Program, HTSA recently co-hosted a national research symposium titled: Advancing Health Research Through Data Sharing.

This event was made possible thanks to a collaboration with HeSANDA project teams from across Australia, including the National Cancer Cooperative Trials Group Node administered by the Australian Leukaemia and Lymphoma Group, the Mental Health Node administered by Deakin University, and the Melbourne Academic Centre for Health Clinical Trials Consortium Node administered by The University of Melbourne. 

The national symposium was attended by over 170 attendees in person and online. Attendees heard from experts on topics such as FAIR data sharing principles, the future of secondary research and health outcomes, followed by a demonstration of the Health Data Australia platform, and a panel discussion led by HTSA Executive Director, Wendy Keech. To find out more, please view the event recordings or download the HeSANDA flyer. 

Have your say: Acknowledging the contributions of people with lived experience in research outputs

At last year’s Community Engagement Summit, the audience was asked a question:

“Is it important to ask about preferences of how the expertise of people with lived experience (sometimes called patients, consumers, community members) who contribute to research projects, are acknowledged in research papers and presentation?’

Attendees said yes!

In response to support for this idea, a 5-10 minute survey has been created and approved by Flinders University Human Research Ethics Committee (Approval number 6228).

If you’re a consumer who has contributed to a research project or your a researcher who has worked with someone with lived experience, the project team would love to hear from you!  

Photo: Panel members, Consumer Engagement Summit 2022

Funding community supported rural primary care trials - Expansion of the IMOC Program (Round 5)

This grant opportunity is to enable the implementation of new innovative primary care service delivery models and determine whether these models improve the attractiveness of rural practice and lead to better delivery of health service to communities in rural and remote Australia, Modified Monash Model 3-7 locations. Further details can be found via the department’s health workforce locator map.

A webinar is being held today at 2:30pm that will provide further information on this grant opportunity.

SA WHRTN’s Year-End Celebration: Inspiring Journey’s of Women in Health Research

November 21, 5:00-8:00pm SAHMRI Auditorium

Mark your calendars, invite your colleagues, & prepare for an inspiring evening with esteemed speakers, including Professor Maria Makrides, Mrs Karen Glover, Associate Professor Shilpa Jesudason & Professor Helena Teede

Register now →

Implementation Science Meeting

November 23, 2:00pm, SAHMRI Auditorium

Join us to discuss ‘what’s next’ for implementation science in SA, learn about new frameworks and combinations of frameworks from two speakers, and another brave network member will pour their implementation heart out for audience feedback.

More →

Learn about addressing MRFF priorities in grant applications

November 23, 2:00pm (AEDT), Online

Join the MRFF webinar to learn about the development of MRFF research priorities, how to address research priorities when applying for grants and the benefits of priority-led research for Australians.  

More →

2023 National HREC Conference

November 29 - December 1, Online

More →

HTSA’s Research Translation Essentials Course

December 11 - 12, SAHMRI

Are you eager to make a real impact in the world? We invite you to join our two-day Research Translation Essentials Course to learn essential skills for research translation, implementation, and health service improvement.

More →