2024: Innovation and impact 

2024 was an outstanding year for research, marked by innovation, collaboration and impact. We launched our first research clusters, which bring together experts in Cancer Research, Healthy Ageing, Mental Health and Wellbeing, Motion, and Transformative Health Professions Education. These clusters will help to shape the future of health research by fostering interdisciplinary partnerships and driving real-world outcomes.

Funding success was a standout, with $7.7 million awarded across 47 projects – more than five times the amount secured in 2023. This included major grants from national and international bodies (such as the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research, Australian Research Council, 3M Health Care, Swimming Australia and the National Injury Insurance Scheme) as well as more than $1 million in philanthropic funding. These investments are helping us to tackle pressing health challenges across the lifespan, and to build stronger partnerships with industry, government, and community organisations.

Our researchers produced more than 320 research outputs, including journal articles, conference papers, book chapters and more, with 95.4 percent published in top-tier journals. We welcomed Professor Steven Neville as Discipline Lead, Nursing; Professor Belinda Parmenter as Discipline Lead, Sport and Exercise Science; and Professor Victoria Traynor as Healthy Ageing research cluster lead, along with a number of highly experienced researchers across our growing areas of expertise, including Urgent Care, Psychology and Occupational Therapy.

The school also now has 128 higher degree by research (HDR) students and saw strong growth in scholarship awards and industry-linked PhD programs.

Key highlights

• Associate Professor Libby Swanepoel received $2,962,884 in funding from the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research to explore the role of emerging oyster and seaweed mariculture enterprises in supporting resilient and equitable food systems in Fijian coastal communities.
• Associate Dean of Research Professor Robert Harvey was awarded more than $1.8 million through from the Australian Research Council (ARC) Discovery Projects Scheme to lead two studies: one on synaptic glycine receptors essential for brain function, and another on neurotransmitter receptors in Varroa mites to develop bee-safe pest control methods, in collaboration with Biomedical Science Associate Professor Kate Mounsey.
• Dr Alison Craswell was named the inaugural Chair of Digital Health and Ageing and leader of UniSC’s new Digital Health Productivity Lab, a three-year position jointly funded by the University and global technology company Cisco.
• Professor of Healthy Ageing Victoria Traynor and Nursing Discipline Lead Professor Steven Neville secured tenders with the Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care to secure the delivery of the Aged Care Transition to Practice Program and continued delivery of the Aged Care Nursing Clinical Placements Program in 2025-2027.
• Nutrition and Dietetics Discipline Lead Professor Fiona Pelly commenced a partnership with the Redcliffe Dolphins NRL team to investigate the health and performance of national rugby league players.
• Lecturer in Occupational Therapy Dr Laine Chilman received the UniSC Vice-Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Research Impact (Early Career Academic) for her extensive research outputs and collaborations with industry and government.

Making a difference: Our research in action

Supporting parents of picky eaters: A family-centred approach

Picky eating is a common challenge for many families with young children. It’s most prevalent between ages 2 to 6 (with higher rates for children with developmental conditions such as autism) and can lead to poor nutrition, low fruit and vegetable intake, and digestive issues like constipation. It also contributes to stress and conflict during mealtimes, which affects the whole household. Despite its widespread impact, few proven strategies exist to help parents manage picky eating.

In response to this, researchers from the School of Health launched a study to test a method called Occupational Performance Coaching (OPC): a family-centred approach that helps parents and caregivers set goals and develop strategies tailored to their child’s needs. Led by Lecturer in Occupational Therapy Dr Laine Chilman, the team partnered with researchers from The University of Queensland and drew on expertise across occupational therapy, dietetics, and speech pathology.

Eight maternal caregivers participated in three online OPC sessions focused on their concerns about picky eating. Researchers used standardised questionnaires before and after the sessions to measure changes in children’s eating habits and family dynamics. The results showed that OPC helped improve both the children’s behaviours and the parents’ experiences, offering a structured and supportive way to manage picky eating.

The study has gained significant attention, resulting in five peer-reviewed publications, including one in the top-ranked journal Appetite. It has been cited by researchers across multiple disciplines and inspired further research at UQ into feeding support services in South-East Queensland. Media coverage has been extensive, with features on MSN International, Medical Xpress, and Channel 7 Brisbane, reaching millions of viewers globally.

The research has also been widely shared through presentations at local, national, and international conferences, including events in New Zealand, Japan, and the upcoming World Federation of Occupational Therapists Congress in Thailand. It will be featured in a new edition of a key OPC training manual used worldwide.

Importantly, the findings are already influencing clinical practice. Therapists in Sunshine Coast and Brisbane feeding clinics are applying OPC strategies, and the research has led to new collaborations and funded projects focused on culturally appropriate support for First Nations families.

Helping babies sleep safely: The Pēpi-Pod® Program

Sudden Unexpected Death in Infancy (SUDI) remains the leading cause of death for babies after the first month of life in Australia. Tragically, over 90 percent of these deaths involve preventable risk factors, including many related to an infant’s sleeping environment. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander babies are nearly four times more likely to die from SUDI than non-Indigenous infants, highlighting a serious health inequality.

To address this, Professor Jeanine Young led a collaborative research initiative designed to help ‘close the gap’ in this priority area. Adapted from a New Zealand model inspired by Māori traditions, the Pēpi-Pod® Program provides families with a portable infant sleep space and safe sleep education, and encourages them to share these practices within their communities.

Launched in 2011, the program was developed in close partnership with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, ensuring it was culturally respectful and practical. After a successful pilot, it expanded to reach over 1,000 families across Queensland, supported by government and philanthropic funding.

The program was integrated into existing health services, particularly Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations (ACCHOs), and evaluated in collaboration with Queensland Health. The results were remarkable:

• A 22 percent reduction in Queensland’s overall infant mortality rate (ages 28 days to 6 months)
• A 46 percent reduction in infant mortality among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander babies
• A 75 percent reduction in infant deaths in areas with high program participation
• Estimated $85 million per year in societal value from lives saved (based on 15 infant lives saved annually).

The Pēpi-Pod® Program has since been adopted into Queensland’s health policies and clinical guidelines, and is now part of the government’s Putting Queensland Kids First strategy. It’s also influenced national resources, including emergency preparedness guides and safe sleep campaigns, and has been widely shared through parent networks and media. Healthcare workers report that the program has empowered them to have more meaningful conversations with families about safe sleep.

Recognised with national awards – including the HESTA Nursing Award for Team Innovation and Australian College of Nursing Trailblazer Finalist – the program’s success reflects the power of culturally informed, evidence-based care. Professor Young was awarded a Member of the Order of Australia for her work, and the program is now scaling up to support 6,000 families annually by 2028.

Frailty in older adults: The SCREENii revolution

Frailty and age-related muscle loss (known as sarcopenia) are serious health issues that affect millions of older adults, yet they often go unnoticed in routine medical care. Sarcopenia impacts about 20 percent of people over 60 and is even more common in those with chronic illnesses like cancer, leading to increased risk of falls, hospitalisation, and early death. Current screening methods are slow, impractical, and rarely used in digital health systems, which means that many older adults miss out on early interventions that could improve their strength, independence, and quality of life.

To tackle this problem, researchers from UniSC, led by Associate Professor Ross Clark, partnered with Singapore General Hospital – one of the world’s top hospitals – to develop a new screening device called SCREENii. Funded by Singapore’s National Medical Research Council, SCREENii is a compact, user-friendly tool that quickly measures grip strength and gait speed: two key indicators of frailty and sarcopenia. The device completes assessments in under a minute, making it fast, objective, and scalable.

The project involved designing and building both the hardware and software from scratch. Associate Professor Clark created the device’s mechanical components using 3D printing and developed the sensors, microcontroller, and touchscreen interface. The system uses machine learning to improve diagnostic accuracy and has been refined through years of research in both Australia and Singapore.

With support from a $300,000 innovation grant from the Singaporean Government, the team transformed SCREENii from a basic prototype into a commercially viable product. Despite producing only 11 units, the device is already being used in six major clinical trials across Singapore’s hospital network. The largest, a $3.6 million initiative called INFINITY-ICOPE, is testing SCREENii as a population-level diagnostic tool to identify frailty early and guide patients into targeted health programs.

Resources

Download the report (PDF)