Announcing the 2023 recipients of Western Alliance STaRR emerging researcher grants

Western Alliance is committed to building research in western Victoria and supporting the translation of research findings into healthcare.

Central to this commitment is the Western Alliance Supporting Translation of Research in Rural and Regional setting (STaRR) Program, which builds health practitioners’ research and research translation skills, and supports STaRR participants to put their research skills into practice in a translation-focused research project.

 

This year, we are delighted to announce that after a tight and competitive process, emerging health practitioner researchers from Grampians Health, East Grampians Health Service and Barwon Health have received STaRR Emerging Researcher Grants. 

Two types of grants were on offer in 2023:

  • Emerging Researcher Seed Grants of up to $5,000 for past STaRR participants to conduct a research project to generate new evidence, and
  • Emerging Researcher Translation grants of up to $10,000, for past STaRR participants and past Emerging Researcher grant recipients, to translate research evidence into practice

Our congratulations to these emerging researchers.

STaRR Emerging Researcher Seed Grant recipients

  • April Chiu, Physiotherapist, Barwon Health:  Barriers and Enablers to Prehabilitation prior to Breast Cancer Surgery in a Regional Health Service. Funded amount: $5000
  • Jessica Wynn, Unaccredited Urology Registrar, Barwon Health: Why patients have chosen Botox injections as their preferred treatment for overactive bladder symptoms. Funded amount: $4800
  • Maree Fraser, Registered Nurse and Clinical Governance Coordinator (Aged Care), East Grampians Health Service: A community-based strategy to increase the completion of Advance Care Directives in a local medical practice. Funded amount: $5000

STaRR Emerging Researcher Translation Grant recipients

  • Nicole O’Shea, Pharmacist, Grampians Health: Weighing Liquid Drugs of Dependence to Manage Unaccounted Losses: A Pharmacy Initiative in a Large Regional Health Service. Funded amount: $9575
  • Rhiannon Beggs and Cara Hill, Speech Pathologists, Barwon Health: Improving the provision of prescribed food, fluid, and mealtime supervisions requirements in inpatient aged care settings. Funded amount: $9990
  • Jake Romein, Exercise Physiologist, East Grampians Health Service: Developing a toolkit to support the scaling of a modified sport program for older adults in rural areas. Funded amount: $5000
  • About the author: Western Alliance

If you would like to write an article for our Talking Points newsletter or In Brief blog, email Cassandra Hamilton (cassandrahamilton@westernalliance.org.au) or call 0450 921 324.