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Mental Disorders And The Social Transitions Of Adulthood: A 20-year Follow-up Of The Victorian Adolescent Health Cohort Study
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$441,224.00
Summary
This study aims to understand how transitions to parenthood, marriage and employment might be affected by the experience of a mental disorder or problems with alcohol or other drugs. It will also look at a question of whether making a good transition (e.g. a satisfying marriage) can help recovery from a mental or substance use disorder.
Follow Up Of The 1985 Australian Schools Health And Fitness Survey Cohort
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$2,309,456.00
Summary
This study provides a unique opportunity to follow up a cohort of children on which an extensive range of physical and lifestyle measures were made in 1985. This study has the capacity to find out whether childhood lifestyle and physical measures are related to the risk of heart disease, diabetes and other common health problems in adulthood.
Dental Service Utilisation In Young Adults: A Function Of Need, Health Behaviours Or Socio-demographic Variables?
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$58,190.00
Summary
Over the past 20 years there have been significant gains made in the oral health of children, with the majority of 12 year olds in Australia in 1996 having no dental decay. There are however some indications that young adulthood may have become a period of increased risk of dental disease, as young adults leave home, become increasingly independent, have financial pressures whilst establishing themselves and change their diet and other habits. In 1998-99 a baseline study was conducted on a sampl ....Over the past 20 years there have been significant gains made in the oral health of children, with the majority of 12 year olds in Australia in 1996 having no dental decay. There are however some indications that young adulthood may have become a period of increased risk of dental disease, as young adults leave home, become increasingly independent, have financial pressures whilst establishing themselves and change their diet and other habits. In 1998-99 a baseline study was conducted on a sample of Adelaide young adults 20-24 years using telephone interviews and oral examinations. Data was obtained on dental visiting patterns, socio-economic status, living arrangements, and health behaviours such as smoking and playing sport, as well as oral health. This study seeks to follow-up the sample of 1265 young adults who were interviewed in 1998-99 to ascertain any changes in oral health and utilisation of dental services. Data on socio-economic status, living arrangements and health behaviours will also be collected to determine whether any changes in those factors may explain changes in visiting behaviour and oral health. In addition participants will be asked to complete a questionnaire on satisfaction with dental care. Permission will be sought to gain access to participants School Dental Service records to determine whether any relationship exists between childhood visiting patterns and those in adulthood. This study will enable identification of the factors which affect oral health and dental utilisation in young adults to assist in the development of oral health promotion strategies to encourage timely, effective and appropriate dental service utilisation and preventive behaviours. To improve the oral health of Australians the maintenance of gains made in childhood is essential.Read moreRead less
Molecular Profiling Of Sarcomas To Enable Clinical Prediction And Elucidate Molecular Pathogenesis
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$441,000.00
Summary
Sarcomas are uncommon cancers which affect the young, with a 50% mortality. Treatment involves an expert multidisciplinary approach, and even when effective often entails long-term loss of quality of life. Most sarcomas are treated with a combination of radiotherapy and surgery, which improves survival significantly compared to surgery alone. Radiotherapy does not help all patients, has side-effects and is expensive and time consuming. It would be useful to be able to identify patients who will ....Sarcomas are uncommon cancers which affect the young, with a 50% mortality. Treatment involves an expert multidisciplinary approach, and even when effective often entails long-term loss of quality of life. Most sarcomas are treated with a combination of radiotherapy and surgery, which improves survival significantly compared to surgery alone. Radiotherapy does not help all patients, has side-effects and is expensive and time consuming. It would be useful to be able to identify patients who will not benefit from radiotherapy, to minimise unnecessary harm from treatment and offer alternate more effective therapies. Unfortunately, we cannot yet distinguish which tumours will respond and which will not. Moreover, the uderlying causes of sarcoma are poorly understood. This project has two aims: first to make our current therapies more effective by targeting those who will not benefit from standard treatment; and second to better understand the causes of sarcoma, in order to develop better treatment. Microarrays enable the simultaneous study of thousands of genes, which when combined form a unique portrait of each tumour. Our unit, one of the largest sarcoma sevices in Australia, has access to large numbers of tumour samples, with excellent basic science support. It is now possible to ask what the molecular 'portrait' is of sarcomas which are responsive to radiotherapy, using tiny amounts of tumour material which can be obtained before treatment starts. We also hope to identify the molecular basis of sarcomas by finding the key genes whose inactivation is central to the development of this form of cancer. Such genes can then form the basis of targeted therapy. This approach will lay a solid foundation for future research into sarcomas, and has the potential to reduce unnecessary cost and suffering patients experience from treatments which are unlikely to be effective.Read moreRead less
Adolescent And Young Adult Parental Antecedent Of Health And Development In The First Year Of Life
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$566,331.00
Summary
In the past 50 years the gap between reproductive maturity at puberty and first childbirth has extended to around 2 decades. This coincides with a rise in mental disorders and substance use that has the potential to affect the health of babies and their mothers. This study will build on 20 years of work to test in a 1000 offspring the extent to which problems such as prematurity, post-natal depression and early mother-child relationships may be affected by earlier mental health and behaviour.
Comparison Of Health And Development Of Young Adults Born With And Without Assisted Conception.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$473,674.00
Summary
Since 1983, a large number of children have been conceived with IVF and use of this technology is increasing. Few studies have examined the longer term health and development of these young people as they progress into adulthood. The proposed study will investigate outcomes for IVF conceived young adults as compared to their spontaneously conceived peers. The study will provide new information on the long term safety of IVF.
A Randomised Control Trial Of Treatments For Children With Different Types Of Reading Difficulty
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$752,319.00
Summary
This randomise control trial will test treatments for children with different types of reading difficulty. The outcomes will reveal how struggling readers should be supported in classrooms and by the Reading Assistance Voucher programme. This will reduce the number of struggling readers who attempt suicide, drop out of school, or abuse drugs to try and escape their sense of failure. This will suport the Government's efforts to ensure that Australians have A Healthy Start to Life.
Antecedents Of Renal Disease In Aboriginal Children And Young Adults - 12 Year Follow-up
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$1,845,061.00
Summary
Aboriginal Australians have 2 to 10 times the rate of chronic kidney disease and premature death from cardiovascular disease compared with non-Aboriginal Australians. Our 6 year follow-up of Aboriginal children from diverse NSW areas has shown no increase in risk for these diseases when compared with non-Aboriginal children. The ARDAC Second Phase Study will follow the participants for another 6 years to determine whether these health disparities start to manifest in young Aboriginal adults.
Investigating The Role Of The UPF3B Gene And Nonsense Mediated RNA Decay (NMD) Process In Mental Retardation.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$572,710.00
Summary
Intellectual disability is a frequent and important medical problem. Genetic and environmental factors contribute about equally to the aetiology of intellectual disability. Estimated 1-3% of population suffer from a form of intellectual disability. Among the genetic factors contributing to intellectual disability are genes, and their mutations, on one of the human chromosomes, chromosome X. We have been studying human X-chromosome genes for many years and discovered in excess of 20 novel genes c ....Intellectual disability is a frequent and important medical problem. Genetic and environmental factors contribute about equally to the aetiology of intellectual disability. Estimated 1-3% of population suffer from a form of intellectual disability. Among the genetic factors contributing to intellectual disability are genes, and their mutations, on one of the human chromosomes, chromosome X. We have been studying human X-chromosome genes for many years and discovered in excess of 20 novel genes causing various forms of intellectual disability. Surprisingly the number of genes, in which mutations cause various forms of intellectual disability is unexpectedly high. Just on the human X-chromosome we expect in excess of 200 such genes, which is nearly 30% of the gene content of this chromosome. We propose to study a novel gene, UPF3B, we recently identified to be mutated in a form of intellectual disability. The normal function of this gene and its protein is known to a certain extent. The UPF3B protein plays a role of a guardian of other genes in human (and also other species) cells. The role of the UPF3B protein is to prevent erroneous genetic information to be used for the building of proteins with potentially toxic effects to the organism. In our patients this process clearly malfunctions as a consequence of the damaged UPF3B gene. We propose to shed some more light in to the molecular intricacies of this process with the aim to better understand the mechanics of the process. Families, which participate in our studies and have this gene involved will benefit from the availability of direct test. Multiple other families around the world are also likely to benefit, now or in the future.Read moreRead less