Re-imagining Environments For Connection And Engagement: Testing Actions For Social Prescribing In Natural Spaces
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$499,750.00
Summary
This project will evaluate whether and how nature-based social prescribing (NBSP) can address mental well-being. We will experimentally test the effectiveness of NBSP in promoting connection among populations experiencing social isolation and loneliness with socially oriented opportunities in safe, inclusive and accessible, green and blue outdoor urban spaces. The project will build the evidence base for the value of NBSP investments in improving mental health.
Urban Green Space And The Health Of Aboriginal People
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$92,541.00
Summary
This study will look at the effect of park land, gardens and other areas of publicly accessible natural environment on the health of Aboriginal children, specifically obesity and physical exercise, living in communities located in major cities and inner regional areas.
Transgenerational Impacts Of Paternal Stress On Offspring Mental Health: Epigenetic Mechanisms And Therapeutic Interventions
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$572,941.00
Summary
We are following up the extraordinary, almost ‘Lamarckian’, discovery that environmental influences on fathers can affect their offspring via ‘epigenetic’ changes to the sperm. We will explore mechanisms whereby increased levels of paternal stress can cause behavioural changes in the offspring, which are relevant to depression and anxiety disorders, and how positive environmental factors, including physical activity, may induce beneficial effects. This will have major public health implications.
AusPollen: Implementation Of A Standardized National Pollen Alert System For Better Management Of Allergic Respiratory Health
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$626,442.00
Summary
In Australia, grass pollen is the main outdoor trigger for hay fever and allergic asthma. This AusPollen project will build and evaluate our first standardised pollen monitoring network. Pollen alerts and healthcare information will be delivered to patients and doctors via websites and Apps. The AusPollen program was initiated with The Australasian Society for Clinical Immunology and Allergy, Asthma Australia, Stallergenes, the Bureau of Meteorology CSIRO and MeteoSwiss.
Circadian Rhythm Disruption And Metabolic Function
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$626,018.00
Summary
Shiftwork is an under-researched risk factor for obesity and diabetes. Because shiftwork disrupts hormonal and sleep rhythmicity, eating patterns and light exposure, abnormal rhythmicity may be a causal factor in metabolic disease. Direct evidence for the link is lacking and the underlying mechanisms responsible are unknown. This project aims to understand how shiftwork may lead to diabetes and obesity, knowledge essential for the design and testing of potential interventions.
Early Environmental Determinants Of Pancreatic Islet Autoimmunity: A Pregnancy To Early Life Cohort Study In Children At Risk Of Type 1 Diabetes
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$1,124,069.00
Summary
The doubling in incidence of type 1 diabetes in children over the last 20 years may be explained by our modern environment, including excessive weight gain in pregnancy and early life, inadequate dietary omega- 3 fatty acids or vitamin D, or viral infections. We therefore aim to study children with a family member with type 1 diabetes from the pregnancy and through early childhood to determine the effects of the environment on their risk of developing type 1 diabetes .This will lead to strategie ....The doubling in incidence of type 1 diabetes in children over the last 20 years may be explained by our modern environment, including excessive weight gain in pregnancy and early life, inadequate dietary omega- 3 fatty acids or vitamin D, or viral infections. We therefore aim to study children with a family member with type 1 diabetes from the pregnancy and through early childhood to determine the effects of the environment on their risk of developing type 1 diabetes .This will lead to strategies to prevent type 1 diabetes.Read moreRead less
Centre Of Research Excellence For The Protection Of Pancreatic Beta Cells
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$2,607,110.00
Summary
Type 1 diabetes (T1D) is an autoimmune disorder that results in the destruction of the pancreatic beta cells. The overall aim of the CRE is to elucidate the gene-environment interactions and modifiable environmental exposures that are driving the development of islet autoimmunity and progression to T1D. The CRE will unify and add value to new and established collaborations with multi-disciplinary input from genomics, bioinformatics and systems biology into the investigation of T1D.
Built Environments And Child Health In WalEs And AuStralia (BEACHES)
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$797,256.00
Summary
A better understanding of how the built environment drives obesity in children will inform evidence-based planning policy and practice strategies to prevent the rise in non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in future generations. We will bring together five large UK and Australian cohort studies to understand how complex and interacting built environment factors influence modifiable risk factors (physical inactivity, sedentary time, unhealthy diet) for NCD’s across childhood.
The Darwin Prospective Melioidosis Study: Years 27-31
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$1,281,718.00
Summary
The Darwin Prospective Melioidosis Study has documented 914 cases since 1989, with 115 fatalities. A surge in Darwin melioidosis cases over the past 5 years has been linked to urban development and the discovery of a new bacterial strain. Whole genome sequencing of our unique 25+ year set of bacteria and their linked patient data will unravel the changing epidemiology and identify important virulence factors, forming a foundation for future diagnostics, therapeutics, and vaccines.
Dietary And Environmental Risk Factors For Breast Cancer: Role Of Epigenetics
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$339,839.00
Summary
As part of our western diet, Australians are exposed to a high level of dietary fats. Through our heavy use of plastics, the chemical BPA used in its manufacture is also highly present in the population. This research seeks to understand the effects these factors have on the breast cancer risk in our future generations. This knowledge will help lower the number of breast cancer cases through greater public awareness of risks associated with their lifestyle choices.