The Department of Nutrition, Dietetics and Food celebrates NHMRC funding
We are proud to share the successes of our researchers attracting over $2.2M in National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) funding across four areas: one project grant, two Translating Research Into Practice (TRIP) Fellowships and one PhD Scholarship.
“The recent successes are testament to the focus of the Department Research areas in metabolism, public health and clinical nutrition. These awards put us at the forefront of nutrition and dietetics research in Australia and globally” said Professor Gary Williamson, Head of the Department of Nutrition, Dietetics and Food.
The NHMRC funding will help address the health concerns of shift workers, remote community store food environments, environmentally sustainable diets, and nutritional care for upper gastrointestinal cancer patients.
Learn more:
Project Grant
Shifting Weight using Intermittent Fasting in night shift workers (SWIFt Study): A novel weight loss intervention in shift workers with obesity
Principle Investigator: A/Professor Maxine Bonham
Monash Nutrition Research Team: Dr. Kate Huggins and Dr. Nicole Kellow
Project Description: Globally, nearly 0.7 billion workers are engaged in shift work. Eating at night is associated with weight gain and the circadian disruption experienced by shift workers is associated with higher rates of cardiovascular disease and type two diabetes when compared with day workers. Weight loss strategies in shift workers need to consider both energy restriction and meal timing. This study will investigate a novel weight loss regime in overweight shift workers that combines energy restriction and meal timing.
Notes: This project is being undertaken in collaboration with the Monash University Institute of Cognitive and Clinical Neurosciences and the University of South Australia.
Translating Research Into Practice (TRIP) Fellowship
Implementation of earlier evidence-based nutrition care for people with upper gastrointestinal cancer
Principle Investigator: Dr Kate Huggins
Project Description: Cancer patients are frequently malnourished prior to treatment, with prevalence as high as 90% for people with cancer of the gastrointestinal tract. Malnutrition reduces the patient’s ability to respond to treatment and quality of life. Individualised nutrition care commencing prior to cancer treatment is best-practice, yet Health services lack affordable resources to deliver this service. In this project, we will discover how to implement this much-needed service into practice.
Notes: This project is being undertaken in collaboration with Monash Health Dietetics Department, Upper Gastrointestinal and Hepatobiliary Surgery, Monash Medical Centre Clayton, Cabrini Health and Monash University School of Primary and Allied Health Care
Translating Research Into Practice (TRIP) Fellowship
Reducing the burden of disease and inequity through building a food system that supports healthy eating in remote Indigenous Australian communities
Principle Investigator: A/Prof Julie Brimblecombe
Project Description: Co-design, monitoring and evaluation of evidence-informed strategies with retailers can lead to lasting changes in food environments. Public health nutritionists are best placed to support these changes but can feel poorly equipped to do so. This translation program will train and coach public health nutritionists in the use of decision-support tools to engage with remote retailers in the co-development of strategies that are contextually relevant and economically viable for retailers, while also effective in improving population diet. We will investigate the impact of this training on store practice and the dietary quality of purchased food and drinks. This project builds on a decade of research and is in response to the increasing openness of retailers to align their practice with their goal of improving health in their communities, thus making it highly feasible.
Notes: This project is being undertaken in collaboration with the University of Queensland and Menzies School of Health Research and the Centre for Research Excellence in Food Retail Environments for Health (RE-FRESH), lead by Deakin University
PhD Scholarship
Protecting our planet and our population: the local government policy response to support an environmentally sustainable diet
Principle Investigator: Liza Barbour
Supervisor Team: A/Prof Julie Brimblecombe (Monash University) & Dr Julie Woods (Deakin University)
Project Description: Our planet’s natural resources are diminishing, along with its ability to produce enough food for a growing population. Healthy diets have a lower environmental impact than unhealthy diets, therefore efforts to support population health can also protect our planet. Sustainable eating behaviours include reducing over-consumption, eating less processed foods, reducing meat intake, minimising food waste, eating seasonally and favouring local foods. This study will describe local policy interventions which support environmentally sustainable diets and will explore contextual factors that facilitate or impede evidence-based policy development. By exploring feasible policy options, this research will fill a gap in the evidence to inform effective, contextually relevant policy interventions in the future. This study addresses a major global issue: preserving our planet’s life-support system by shifting individual dietary behaviours.
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