Small project grants

Overview

The proposed research must be of potential benefit to Alfred Health patients.

The primary aims of the Small Project Grants scheme are to:

• Encourage individuals and groups that have not previously been involved in research activities
• Assist graduates in the Health Sciences to initiate research studies or complete research projects which form part of higher qualification requirements (these grants are not intended for PhD students)
• Fund a study that is complete in itself and not merely part of a major study

Grants of up to $15,000 are offered to fund projects of up to two year's duration.

Eligibility

To be eligible to apply for a Small Project Grant, all of the following criteria must be met:

• The applicant must have an Alfred Health appointment
• The applicant must have received no more than $10,000 in total research funding during the previous 5 years
• The applicant's proposed research project must take place on the Alfred campus under the direction of an experienced researcher who is a staff member of Alfred Health
• All Associate Investigators must have Alfred Health appointments
• Previous recipients of Alfred Research Trusts Small Project Grants or the Henry O'Hara Surgical Award are not eligible

Submission requirements and deadline

Applications for this scheme are currently closed

Note: Applicants should avoid submitting projects that are:

• Purely of a quality control nature
• Determination of normative data only without an hypothesis-driven research question
• Development of work without a research component, e.g. a new assay
• Evaluation of new or proposed equipment
• Accumulation or acquisition of descriptive data without an outcome

Enquiries can be directed to Rebecca Erlich
Senior Research Administrator, Research Office, The Alfred
r.erlich@alfred.org.au | (03) 8532 1772.

Reporting

Reporting requirements for Small Project Grant holders are outlined in award letters.  All award holders are expected to provide annual scientific reports and/or a final scientific report on project completion. 

For grants awarded from 1 January 2017, six-monthly financial reporting is also required.

Recently awarded Small Project Grants

2021

• Genomic characterisation of the virulence and resistance profile of Aspergillus fumigatus in lung transplant recipients at Alfred Health (Tanveer Ahmed, Infectious Diseases)
• The impact of exclusive enteral nutrition on intestinal physiology and microbiology in healthy controls (Sarah Melton, Nutrition / Gastroenterology)
• Barriers and enablers to physiotherapy interventions in people with bronchiectasis (Elizabeth Webb, Physiotherapy)
• Understanding the current management of post-traumatic epilepsy from the patient and clinician perspective – a qualitative evaluation (Loretta Piccenna, Neurology)
• Point-of-Care Ultrasound (POCUS) by a physiotherapist to assess anterior talo-fibular ligament injury in patients with isolated ankle pain: A pilot study (Kate de Bruyn, Physiotherapy)

2019

• Klebsiella oxytoca – Genomic analysis of population structure, virulence, and antimicrobial resistance at Alfred Health (Jim Stewart, Infectious Diseases)
• Adolescent perspectives on life after lung transplantation  (Miranda Paraskeva, Respiratory Medicine)
• Improving access to evidence based psychological therapies for patients with psychosis/schizophrenia spectrum disorders in adult mental health  (Ellie Newman, Alfred Psychiatry Community and Mental Health Addiction)
• Can the Pain Detect Questionnaire predict outcomes for patients following total joint arthroplasty (TJA), (Nikki Littlewood, Physiotherapy)
• Characterising dysfunctional breathing in patients with difficult asthma (Janet Bondarenko, Physiotherapy)
• Measuring energy expenditure in patients receiving veno-arterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) (Arne Diehl, Intensive Care Unit)
• Does a social skills small group program with a concurrent parent group improve child and family functioning for a child with social communication and emotion regulation challenges compared to standard care? (Marcella van Mourik, Alfred Child and Youth Mental Health Service)
• Can motivational enhancement improve the functional gains with cognitive remediation therapy in serious mental illness (Alfred Mental and Addiction Health)

2018

• Role of clavicle osteotomy for the management of intraoperative subclavian vein injury during clavicle fracture fixation (Aziz Rawal, Orthopaedic Surgery)
• Treatment of vocal cord dysfunction; A randomised controlled trial comparing a combination Speech Pathology intervention and Pregabalin to Speech Pathology intervention (Janine Mahoney, Speech Pathology)
• Biomarkers in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and blood in severe traumatic brain injury (sTBI) patients [The BIOCaB Study]. (Annie Carter, National Trauma Research Institute)
• What is the optimal instrument to measure mobility and physical function for patients in the acute hospital setting following traumatic injury? (Sara Calthorpe, Trauma Service and Physiotherapy)
• Validation of the Surgical Apgar Score for predicting risk of major complication and death within 30 days of surgery at an Australian tertiary hospital (Jennifer Reilly, Anaesthesia and Perioperative Medicine)
• Paramedic-initiated Hospital Triage (PiHT): A prospective cohort study to identify whether paramedics can conduct the in-hospital triage process currently performed by nurses (Alexander Olaussen, National Trauma research Institute)
• Determining the neurobiology of mindfulness: investigating alterations in neural excitation/inhibition balance following regular mindfulness meditation (Neil Bailey, Monash Alfred Psychiatry Research Centre)
• Validation of the newly developed incremental maximal Alfred step test exercise protocol (A-Stepmax) with COSMED K5 measuring maximal exercise capacity in adults with cystic fibrosis across the spectrum of lung disease (Lisa Wilson, Physiotherapy)

2017

• Investigating intermittent theta-burst stimulation (iTBS) for the treatment of cognitive dysfunction in Parkinson's Disease: A pilot study (Aaron Hill, Neurology)
• Understanding early upper limb rehabilitation after acute stroke: A qualitative evaluation (Laura Joliffe, Occupational Therapy)
• Does group education and phone coaching reduce post-lung transplant weight gain compared with standard care? (Christie Emsley, Nutrition and Dietetics)
• The Vitamin C, Hydrocortisone and Thiamine in patients with septic shock trial (The VITAMIN trial) (Judit Orosz, Intensive Care)
• Anti-Xa levels in trauma patients receiving enoxaparin VTE prophylaxis: Is standard dosing adequate? (The ATLANTIC study) (Sandeep Rakhra, Intensive Care)
• Acute skeletal muscle wasting and its impact on physical function in patients requiring extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) (Kathryn Hayes, Physiotherapy)
• Investigating malnutrition in an outpatient IBD clinic with the use of a self screening malnutrition screening tool and body composition analysis (Jessica Fitzpatrick, Nutrition and Dietetics)
• What are the risk factors impacting on halo complication rates? (Karly Wheeler, Orthotic and Prosthetics)
• A pilot study to explore the possible interactions between azole antifungals and lumacaftor/ivacaftor (LUM/IVA) in cystic fibrosis patients (Louise Lord, Pharmacy/AIRMed)
• Factors associated with discharge destination from the acute hospital following fixation of a hip fracture in patients from high level care (HLC) (Lara Anderson, Physiotherapy)