Excessive sitting and population health: strengthening the science and the relevance to policy and practice. The majority of Australian adults spend most of their waking hours sitting; this increases the likelihood of developing diseases of inactivity, including diabetes, heart disease and some cancers. New research will investigate what factors encourage excessive sitting and what the health benefits are for people who deliberately do less sitting.
Mental health, job quality and workforce participation: evidence from population health research to address complex problems and conflicting policies. Mental disorders such as depression are a major cause of disability. Improving mental health can increase productivity and workforce participation. However, the psychosocial quality of work is a factor that overlays the relationship between work and health. Poor quality work (for example, unreasonable time pressure, insecurity) increases the risk ....Mental health, job quality and workforce participation: evidence from population health research to address complex problems and conflicting policies. Mental disorders such as depression are a major cause of disability. Improving mental health can increase productivity and workforce participation. However, the psychosocial quality of work is a factor that overlays the relationship between work and health. Poor quality work (for example, unreasonable time pressure, insecurity) increases the risk of poor mental health, absenteeism, and exit from the workforce. This project will analyse data following people over time to investigate the long-term health and employment consequences of poor psychosocial job quality, and consider the special case of mature age workers. It will identify those individuals at greatest risk, and factors that can buffer against the adverse effects of poor quality work.Read moreRead less
Urban spaces and active ageing: understanding person-environment interactions to inform activity-friendly community design. The proportion of older adults in urban areas is rapidly growing, leading to increases in health-care costs that are associated with chronic diseases. This can be offset by creating urban environments that support an active lifestyle across mid-to-late adulthood. How urban community designs shape the physical activity of this understudied age group is unclear. Using a suite ....Urban spaces and active ageing: understanding person-environment interactions to inform activity-friendly community design. The proportion of older adults in urban areas is rapidly growing, leading to increases in health-care costs that are associated with chronic diseases. This can be offset by creating urban environments that support an active lifestyle across mid-to-late adulthood. How urban community designs shape the physical activity of this understudied age group is unclear. Using a suite of national and international epidemiological studies, This project aims to identify the optimal mix and spatial distribution of destinations (facilities and places to visit) for active ageing, while taking into account factors that define one’s ability and willingness to visit these destinations. This will inform public policy and activity-friendly community design.Read moreRead less
What's in the music? A lifespan model of emotional and musical creativity in therapeutic song writing. Composing songs as a form of therapy is a recent innovation in music therapy practice. This study examines the health benefits of original song writing for people with varying debilitating health conditions and those adjusting to injury, trauma or pending death. The results of this study will improve health service and delivery by music therapists.
Enhancing wellbeing over the family life course. This project aims to investigate the impact of family life transitions, such as relationship formation and dissolution or births, on wellbeing over the life course. It will do this by analysing data following people over time and will provide information about the negative and positive effects of family transitions for wellbeing, track changes in wellbeing before, during and after transitions, and highlight the intersections of the family life cou ....Enhancing wellbeing over the family life course. This project aims to investigate the impact of family life transitions, such as relationship formation and dissolution or births, on wellbeing over the life course. It will do this by analysing data following people over time and will provide information about the negative and positive effects of family transitions for wellbeing, track changes in wellbeing before, during and after transitions, and highlight the intersections of the family life course with gender, age and socioeconomic status. This will considerably enhance understandings of wellbeing over the family life course, providing insights for targeted policies and interventions to improve health and wellbeing.Read moreRead less
Ethical frameworks for responsible innovation of neurotechnology. This project aims to ensure the ethical and efficient innovation of emerging neurotechnologies, including implantable brain devices, synthetic drugs and direct-to-consumer brain devices. This project expects to generate Australian’s first responsible innovation framework through extensive community engagement. Expected outcomes of this project include: guidelines for the development of neurotechnologies; a national framework for r ....Ethical frameworks for responsible innovation of neurotechnology. This project aims to ensure the ethical and efficient innovation of emerging neurotechnologies, including implantable brain devices, synthetic drugs and direct-to-consumer brain devices. This project expects to generate Australian’s first responsible innovation framework through extensive community engagement. Expected outcomes of this project include: guidelines for the development of neurotechnologies; a national framework for responsible innovation; partnerships with international brain initiatives; and enhanced interdisciplinary capacity. The proposed research should provide significant benefits: innovation of technologies that meet Australians' needs, reduced misuse and harm, and greater social support for innovation in neuroscience.Read moreRead less
Bioactive Peptides as Pharmacological Tools and Novel Drug Leads. Bioactive peptides are produced by all organisms and play numerous critical physiological roles, including in cellular communication, host defence and capture of prey. Peptides have huge potential as tools for studying roles of signalling pathways and as novel drugs due to their high affinity and selectivity for various therapeutically relevant targets. However their use has been limited by poor in vivo stability. This project is ....Bioactive Peptides as Pharmacological Tools and Novel Drug Leads. Bioactive peptides are produced by all organisms and play numerous critical physiological roles, including in cellular communication, host defence and capture of prey. Peptides have huge potential as tools for studying roles of signalling pathways and as novel drugs due to their high affinity and selectivity for various therapeutically relevant targets. However their use has been limited by poor in vivo stability. This project is focused on studying structural features of a range of peptides and their contributions to both activity and to resistance against degradation, with the aim to develop stabilised bioactive peptide sequences for in vivo applications, allowing the full potential of peptides as drugs to be realised.Read moreRead less
Investigating the role of the innate immune complement system in the abnormal development of the central nervous system. Past research has discovered a surprising link between the immune system, dietary folate deficiency and the development of the embryonic brain. This project will investigate the immune system in the developing brain, in order to understand the causes of developmental defects such as neural tube defects, and the role dietary folate plays in this process.