New NHMRC Fellows
by Michèle Nardelli
Three researchers at UniSA will share in more than $800,000 in
funding for new Fellowships from the National Health and Medical
Research Council over the next four years to support their research
into the impact of exercise on older people with low blood pressure,
the early origins of obesity, and the safe use of medicines for
sufferers of arthritis and diabetes.
Already making a big impact with her research into the pre-natal factors that may influence the development of obesity in adults, Dr Beverly Muhlhausler (pictured) from UniSA’s Sansom Institute has been awarded a Biomedical (Peter Doherty) Fellowship to broaden her research. The Fellowship will support Muhlhausler’s study of a cluster family cohort in Adelaide’s north-west in conjunction with the Children, Youth and Women’s Health Service, to collect a detailed assessment of paternal and maternal weight, height, and other physical and sociological factors of families preparing for the arrival of a new baby.
Winner of the Public Health Fellowship and also from the Sansom Institute, Christine Yi-Ju Lu will work on a project designed to achieve safer and more effective use of medicines in patients with diabetes and rheumatoid arthritis, leading to better health outcomes. The project will examine how people using medications for diabetes, mellitus and rheumatoid arthritis are currently using medications and will aim to develop guidelines to reduce medication-related problems and better address patient preference in how the conditions are managed.
Diana Gentilcore has won an Australian Clinical Research Fellowship for a project that will study the effects of exercise on gastrointestinal function in healthy older people. It is common for older people to suffer hypotension after eating (known as postprandial hypotension) with 40 per cent of nursing home residents and about 30 per cent of healthy older people suffering from the problem. Postprandial hypotension increases the risk of stroke, fainting and falls and related hospitalisation. Gentilcore hopes to develop a simple regime for older people that will reduce falls and fainting and may decrease the risk of stroke.
Congratulating the new Fellows, UniSA’s Pro Vice Chancellor, Research and Innovation at UniSA, Professor Caroline McMillen said the prestigious awards provided an excellent opportunity for the researchers to realise their potential and develop careers at the forefront of health and medical research.
"This success reflects UniSA’s commitment to nurturing research leaders for the future," Prof McMillen said.