Having just read through the content for this month’s newsletter I want to encourage you to read through each section. I have been extremely impressed by what is on offer for our members and the extent to which we are developing important research partnership and impact opportunities across our sector.
Special thanks to Merran Stewart who continues to inform and improve the offerings available to you all to build your capacity and competitiveness in your research endeavours. And welcome to Amy Brown who will be starting with us next week in a new role of IHT Strategic Programs Manager, to further support you in developing our large partnership work programs (details in the announcements section).
I would like to acknowledge National Reconciliation Week and National Sorry Day. As an ally it is important to me that we continue to improve our contribution to meaningful progress in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health. We are still working through the different and most appropriate ways to do this and I would like to shout out the recent article by one of the members of our Murnong Health Research Mob, Dr Mark Lock: Reflecting on Sorry Day and ‘Be Brave. Make Change.’
Congratulations to the winners of our EMCR awards, demonstrating yet again the depth and quality of talent from across the Institute. I would also like to acknowledge that two of our members, Catherine Bennett and myself, have been awarded the Deakin University accolade of Alfred Deakin Professor. This is an honour and a reflection of the esteem in which IHT is held.
I would like to congratulate Associate Professor Kathryn Backholer and Associate Professor Gary Sacks, who next week will commence their roles as co-directors of GLOBE, and once again thank Professor Steve Allender for his leadership of GLOBE over the past 6 years.
With a change of government at this month’s federal election I encourage you all to think about the opportunities for your research. The incoming government has expressed additional commitments to higher education, aged care, primary care, rural and regional health, climate, telehealth, urgent care and First Nations health outcomes. IHT Leadership will continue to scope opportunities for your research to inform these reforms. At the same time consider how our Partnership or Seed funding might help you build your work programs to inform these reforms.
Finally, it has been a great pleasure to see so many of you at our recent morning teas. We have decided to have a monthly morning tea, rotating between the IHT Hub at Burwood and the Waterfront campus. The next one will be in Geelong on Thursday 23 June. I hope to see many of you there!
New members
Welcome to our new honorary member, Lahiru Russell and associate members, Ramus McRae – PhD Student, DoH and Scott Richards-Jones – Research Fellow, DHE.
