INNOVATE WORKSHOPS
INvesting in NOVel Academic Training
The Centre held two INNOVATE workshops in the last few months. The purpose of the INNOVATE workshops is to build capacity in research for early-mid career researchers, to facilitate the development of collaborations and to promote research excellence through the development of inter and multidisciplinary research teams.
Two selected researchers were tasked with proposing a clinically important research question and develop a project that will address the research question. Audience members included researchers with a range of expertise from a range of disciplines, including mentors, expert clinicians, biostatisticians, health economists, methodologists and discovery scientists.
The audience members participated in the discussion to help support the researchers in developing their ideas. The discussion that ensued within the workshops enables further development of the proposed project and will facilitate the assembly of a collaborative team who will work with and support the researcher in the execution of the proposed research.
Breathlessness INNOVATE Workshop
The first workshop focused on breathlessness. Hayley Lewthwaite presented her pitch titled “Lab vs life: Understanding the multidimensional breathlessness experience of people with severe asthma during physical exertion in different contexts”. Janet Bondarenko pitched her research idea titled “Targeted treatment for dysfunctional breathing in difficult asthma”. Both proposals were successful and awarded $20,000 toward their proposed budgets.
Indigenous Health INNOVATE Workshop
The second workshop was focused on Indigenous health. Dr Elissa Elvidge (pictured, right) presented “Breathe for Bub: A culturally safe framework for the clinical care of Aboriginal women with asthma during pregnancy” Alongside Donna-Marie Palakiko (pictured, left) whose research idea was titled “Addressing asthma inequities among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples”. Once again both ideas were awarded $20,000 in support toward their prospective proposals.
