Graduate Research Colloquium 2024: A Celebration of Innovation in Health Sciences

The annual Melbourne School of Health Sciences (MSHS) Graduate Research Colloquium, held on Thursday, 31 October 2024, was spooky but a resounding success, bringing together graduate researchers, staff, and external collaborators for a day of networking, inspiration, and reflection on the year’s achievements.

This student-led event fostered collaboration across all disciplines within the School, allowing participants to engage with a diverse array of research topics. The Colloquium provided a platform for MSHS graduate researchers to showcase their work and hone their scientific presentation skills.

This year’s theme, 'Integrative Health Advancements: Bridging Expertise for Better Outcomes,' set the stage for insightful discussions and presentations. Attendees were treated to an opening address from Prof Justine Mintern (MDHS, Associate Dean Graduate Research) who provided insight on the importance of collaboration. This was followed an inspiring keynote address by A/Prof Jen Martin (Science Communications, Biosciences) providing practical tools for conveying interdisciplinary research findings to diverse audiences.

Another highlight was a panel discussion, featuring Sarah Large (Collaborative Practice Centre), A/Prof Karen Lamb (Co-head, Methods and Implementation Support for Clinical Health research (MISCH) Hub), Dr Marnie Graco (Physiotherapy, Implementation Science), Dr Chris Waterworth (Audiology and Speech Pathology) and brilliantly lead by our own PhD candidate John Thompson (Nursing). The panel provided examples of advancements made possible through integrative healthcare. But more importantly, they challenged us to apply the research capabilities available in our School to develop new ways of integrating healthcare, new ways of quantifying and implementing integrative health solutions and new ways of teaching integrative healthcare. Only through innovation can we hope to be agile enough to meet future healthcare needs.

Most importantly, the colloquium celebrated the amazing work of our graduate researchers, with a number of key strands emerging, including:

1. Interdisciplinary Collaboration: A strong emphasis on the need for collaboration across fields to address complex health issues.
2. Innovative Methods and Technologies: Many presentations showcased the use of advanced technologies and innovative methodologies to improve patient care and educational practices.
3. Patient-Centered Approaches: Focus on empowering patients through education, self-administration programs, and addressing psychosocial needs.
4. Cultural Sensitivity: Highlighting the importance of understanding cultural and social contexts in health care and social work practices.

Whilst all the presentations were excellent, a number of presentations were judged to be outstanding.

• Best 10 minute presentation: Kate Rawnsley (Agreement of the Alberta Infant Motor Scale delivered via telehealth compared with face-to-face assessment)
• Second place 10 minute presentation: Elena Gerstman (Exploring the characteristics, outcomes and clinician perspectives of complex general medicine patients – a cohort and survey)
• Best Short presentation: Sam Kayll (Can we go wrong telling adolescents with kneecap pain to get strong? A cross-sectional study comparing isometric strength between adolescents with and without kneecap pain)
• Second place short presentation: Hayley Beer (Developing a national roadmap for nurse-enabled, subcutaneous therapy self- administration programs for myeloma patients)
• Best Pecha Kucha presentation: Alisha da Silva (Environmental scan of intensive care unit (ICU) and post-ICU digital health resources)
• Second place Pecha Kucha presentations: Krista Watts (Understanding The Alliance Between Tuberculosis and Socio-economics for Public Health Advancement)
• Best poster: Dominic Truong (The clinical utility, barriers, and facilitators of skeletal and respiratory muscle ultrasound: an international survey)
• Second place poster: Lucy Shiels (The attention benefits of remote microphone technology for children with listening difficulties)

Awards were also presented to outstanding PhD research for 2024.

• Patrick Rowe, Department of Physiotherapy
• Dominic Truong, Department of Physiotherapy
• Georgina Whish-Wilson, Department of Physiotherapy
• Kate Alexander, Department of Social Work

The day concluded with a lively social event, providing an excellent opportunity for networking over drinks and canapés.

Congratulations to all participants and award winners for making this year’s Graduate Research Colloquium a memorable occasion that truly showcased the innovative and integrative spirit of our research community!