I am a biomechanical engineer researching the effects of mechanical loads on the human body, both at physiological and injurious loading levels. This research leads to both fundamental data on tissue properties and the physiological response, and also to
Environmental And Metabolic Influences On Musculoskeletal And Other Diseases In A Cohort Of Elderly Women
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$840,575.00
Summary
Osteoporosis is a largely preventable disease yet 1 in 10 Australians have osteoporosis. Every year >64,000 osteoporotic fractures occur, which is one every 8.1 minutes and women are three times as likely to have the disease than men. The Bone and Calcium Research Group at the University of Western Australia, has been monitoring a cohort of elderly women for since 1998. This study is called the Calcium Intake Fracture Outcome Study or CAIFOS. 1,500 women were recruited to study whether a dail ....Osteoporosis is a largely preventable disease yet 1 in 10 Australians have osteoporosis. Every year >64,000 osteoporotic fractures occur, which is one every 8.1 minutes and women are three times as likely to have the disease than men. The Bone and Calcium Research Group at the University of Western Australia, has been monitoring a cohort of elderly women for since 1998. This study is called the Calcium Intake Fracture Outcome Study or CAIFOS. 1,500 women were recruited to study whether a daily calcium supplement for 5 years helps to prevent fractures compared to a diet without a supplement. Each year the study participants are reviewed and asked whether or not they have broken any bones and have other measurements to monitor their bone and cardiovascular health and cognitive function. The subjects will end the treatment phase in 2003 and they will find out the results of the study. More than 93% are interested in being followed for a further 5 years, where they will be contacted every 6 months and asked questions about their general health including information on fracture, hospital visits and changes in medication use. The subjects will have a clinic visits at 2 and 5 years post treatment. With the ongoing collection of adverse event data and metabolic and environmental data from the first phase of the study, we will be able to examine the metabolic and environmental factors that influence musculoskeletal, cardiovascular and mental health. This is important to determine how we can prevent disease to maintain the quality of life and independence in the elderly, a growing segment of the population.Read moreRead less
VITATOPS Study - A Randomised, Double-blind, Placebo-controlled Trial Of Vitamins To Prevent Stroke.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$1,477,963.00
Summary
Stroke is one of the most important causes of death and long-term disability in developed countries. Hardening of the arteries (atherosclerosis) is the major cause of stroke and heart attacks. High blood pressure, high blood concentrations of cholesterol, cigarette smoking and diabetes accelerate the formation of atherosclerosis, but they do not account for all strokes and heart attacks caused by atherosclerosis. There is now increasing evidence that high blood concentrations of homocysteine, a ....Stroke is one of the most important causes of death and long-term disability in developed countries. Hardening of the arteries (atherosclerosis) is the major cause of stroke and heart attacks. High blood pressure, high blood concentrations of cholesterol, cigarette smoking and diabetes accelerate the formation of atherosclerosis, but they do not account for all strokes and heart attacks caused by atherosclerosis. There is now increasing evidence that high blood concentrations of homocysteine, a normal protein in the blood, are another major causal risk factor for atherosclerosis (and stroke and heart attacks). Furthermore, blood concentrations of homocysteine can be lowered by about one quarter with simple, safe and inexpensive multivitamin therapy (folic acid, vitamin B12, and vitamin B6). However, despite the potentially massive public health benefits of such a strategy, it remains to be demonstrated in properly designed clinical trials that lowering homocysteine levels in the blood actually prevents stroke and heart attack. The VITATOPS trial is the only ongoing randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial in the world which aims to determine whether multivitamin therapy (folic acid 2 mg, vitamin B12 0.5 mg, and vitamin B6 25 mg) prevents recurrent stroke and heart attacks in patients who have suffered a recent stroke.Read moreRead less
VITATOPS Study - A Randomised, Double-blind, Placebo-controlled Trial Of Vitamins To Prevent Stroke.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$470,887.00
Summary
The VITAmins To Prevent Stroke (VITATOPS) trial is the only ongoing randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial in the world which aims to determine whether multivitamin therapy (folic acid 2 mg, vitamin B12 0.5 mg, and vitamin B6 25 mg) prevents recurrent stroke and heart attacks in patients who have suffered a recent stroke. To date more than 7,500 patients have been randomised. Ongoing support is requested to complete the follow-up of 8,000 patients by middle of 2009.
Does Traumatic Brain Injury Lead To Offending Behaviour?
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$275,401.00
Summary
Rates of reported traumatic brain injury (TBI) in offender and prisoner populations are extremely high (~80%). It has been suggested that TBI may be responsible for half the crimes leading to incarceration. Criminal behaviour is complex and the role of TBI in this conundrum is unclear. Our study will examine this question using data-linkage. Should we find a link between TBI and subsequent offending, this opens up the possibility of developing interventions aimed at preventing this trajectory.
Longitudinal Study Of Modifiable Influences For The Development Of Harmful Young Adult Alcohol Use And Related-problems.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$1,484,496.00
Summary
Young adulthood is a time of high vulnerability for alcohol use problems that are the major preventable contributor to death and injury in this age period. This 5-year project will identify modifiable influences in adolescence and young adulthood that contribute to harmful alcohol use. A cohort of almost 3,000 young people initially recruited in Victoria in 2002 (aged 11 to 15) will be followed for two further waves of data collection in 2010-11 (age 19 to 23) and 2012-13 (age 21 to 25).
Population Dynamic Modelling Of The Public Health And Health Care Cost Implications Of Intervention To Prevent Lifestyle-related Disease And Injury
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$381,789.00
Summary
There is growing interest in a more preventive model of health care in Australia. More than a third of poor health is attributable to risky behaviours, such as tobacco and alcohol use, obesity and poor nutrition, with lower socio-economic and Indigenous populations particularly affected. This research will develop new techniques to identify intervention strategies that should be given funding priority to achieve maximum improvement in population health and reduce the health inequalities.
An Evaluation Of How Well Brief Screening Instruments Can Classify Safe And Unsafe Older Drivers
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$877,030.00
Summary
This proposal seeks to evaluate a screening instrument that will assess the safety of older drivers. The assessment takes less than 10 minutes and involves measuring aspects of vision, reaction time, and balance. We will assess this instrument in persons who are potentially at risk of being unsafe drivers due to visual, cognitive or medical problems. The instrument will be evaluated against the results of an on-road driving assessment and compared to other methods of evaluating older drivers.