Highlights

October – November Highlights

Consumers leading the way in Cancer Consumer-led Research Program

Health Consumers Centre, in partnership with Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre is excited to announce that we will play an integral part in the Victorian government-funded statewide Cancer Consumer-led Research Program. The multi-faceted program aims to enhance the impact of integrating lived experience into cancer care, research and education in Victoria.

Our role will be to work with consumers and other key stakeholders to co-design the Consumer Leadership Masterclass; a unique education, placement and mentoring experience aimed at building consumers’ confidence and capability to serve as leaders, agents of change and research improvers. The program will be piloted in 2025.

We’ll be working alongside five key players in the cancer sector: a collaboration between VCCC Alliance, Monash Partners Comprehensive Cancer Consortium, Regional Trials Network – Victoria, Cancer Council Victoria and the University of Melbourne.

We were drawn to the program’s embedded ‘consumer-led’ approach, where consumers will not only be actively involved, but will be key decision-makers at every level of the program. The resulting Masterclass will no doubt be strengthened by having diverse consumer voices at its heart.

We look forward to sharing updates as the Consumer Leadership Masterclass Program takes shape.

For more information about the program visit the VCCC website.

Congratulations to Dr Eric Lau for being named in the top 0.1% of the world’s scientists and social scientists, in this year’s prestigious Clarivate Highly Cited Researcher List. Dr Lau is an expert in infectious disease epidemiology and surveillance. His impressive research focuses on understanding, monitoring, prevention and control of human and zoonotic diseases using quantitative methods. He has published over 200 peer reviewed publications and is a Fellow of the Royal Statistical Society.
Read the full article on the 10 Deakin researchers named in this year’s list: https://www.deakin.edu.au/research/research-news-and-publications/articles/ten-deakin-researchers-named-as-2024-highly-cited-researchers
Congratulations to Research Fellow Ben Wood named as one of 8 rising stars in The Australian’s 2025 Research Magazine. The article recognises early career researchers whose work is considered the best in their discipline. Read more: https://www.deakin.edu.au/about-deakin/news-and-media-releases/articles/deakin-named-a-2025-fast-mover
Congratulations to the Economics of Cancer stream, A/Prof. Nikki McCaffrey, Anita Lal, Ann Livingstone, Jess Bucholc and Clement Wong for highly commended and finalists at the Engagement Australia 2024 Excellence Awards for their submission for Economics of Cancer Collaboration in the Award for Outstanding Engagement for Research Impact category.
Research Australia Awards, 14 November 2024
– Prof Hanny Calache was honoured with a highly commended for the Research Australia Health & Medical Research Advocacy Award. His relentless passion for advocating oral health and disability has received the spotlight it deserves.

– A/Prof Jaithri Ananthapavan was a finalist for a Research Australia Health & Medical Research Award. Congratulations on another huge achievement.
PHAA Victorian Branch Awards, 18 November 2024.
Congratulations to:
– Tan Nguyen for being awarded the PHAA Vic Branch Advocacy Award
– Adyya Gupta for being awarded the PHAA Vic Branch Early Career Award.
Deakin Health Economics had two successful award recipients in the recent Deakin School of Health and Social Development Research Impact Awards:
– Vicki Brown was awarded the Head of School Award for Inspiring Leadership
– Phuong (Pam) Nguyen was awarded the Head of School Rising Star Award
Dr Natalie Winter, Research Fellow, has received ‘Best of the Best Oral Presentations: Equity’ at the Clinical Oncology Society of Australia Annual Scientific Meeting for a presentation titled ‘Efficacy of an online mindfulness program (MindOnLine) to reduce fear of cancer recurrence in people living with and beyond, breast, prostate or colorectal cancer: a randomized controlled trial’.
Prof Rochelle Wynne was awarded Best Oral Presentation at the Sigma European Region 7^thBiennial Conference in the U.K
Tendayi Bruce Dziruni has been awarded the Kathleen AB Smith Memorial Award for Best Publication 2024 and the Kathleen AB Smith Memorial Award for Best Early Career Researcher Publication 2024
Congratulations to the team led by Prof Kathryn Backholer for being awarded a Heart Foundation Vanguard grant. The research project aims to understand how (can) remove can digital marketing data be collected systematically, comprehensively and regularly, with minimal resources and in a way that emulates different internet-user profiles. The team includes Asim Bhatti, Navoda Liyanapathirana, Floretine Martino, Leo Saif, Bridget Kelly and Becky Freeman from IHT, Institute for Intelligent Systems Research (IISRI) and Innovation, University of Sydney and University of Wollongong.
RE-FRESH: Next Generation launches new website and LinkedIn: The Centre of Research Excellence in Food Retail Environments for Health: Next Generation (aka RE-FRESH: Next Generation), led by prof. Adrian Cameron, is excited to share that its new website (www.healthyfoodretail.com) is now live! With a fresh look and feel, the website offers a comprehensive and easily accessible portal into our research, projects and resources. The CRE is now also on LinkedIn!

RE-FRESH: Next Generation is working to improve diet and health at a population level by developing and translating the evidence needed to improve the retail food environments where people buy their food and drinks. The centre is funded by the NHMRC (2024-2019) and builds upon research conducted by the successful NHMRC-funded Centre of Research Excellence in Food Retail Environments for Health (2018-2023), led by Deakin Distinguished Prof. Anna Peeters AM.