University of Newcastle researchers have secured a total of more than $4 million to support three projects across biomedical, clinical, public health and health services research.
The funding has been awarded through the National Health and Medical Research Council’s (NHMRC) Investigator Grants scheme, which provides Australia’s highest-performing health and medical researchers with five years of support to pursue ambitious, long-term scientific goals.
Ensuring child health programs go the distance
Associate Professor Nicole Nathan – $2.84m
Associate Professor Nicole Nathan has been awarded a $2.84 million grant to address one of the biggest gaps in public health: ensuring prevention programs last long enough to deliver meaningful benefits for children and young people.
Many school, early childhood and community‑based health programs support physical activity, healthy eating and wellbeing, but most end within a few years, reducing their impact and potentially wasting public investment.
Associate Professor Nathan’s five‑year research project will generate the evidence needed to help these programs continue and deliver sustained value. Her findings will guide policymakers, education leaders and practitioners across Australia.
The research will focus on places where prevention reaches the most children – schools, early childhood education and care services, and sporting clubs. Associate Professor Nathan and her team will identify factors that predict long‑term delivery, test strategies that help programs become part of everyday practice and examine why certain approaches work better in some place rather than others.
Associate Professor Nathan is a behavioural and implementation scientist in the School of Medicine and Public Health and Program Director of HMRI’s Population Health Program, where she collaborates with government and community partners to embed real‑world evidence into policy and practice.
Exploring how a father’s lifestyle affects fertility
Dr Natalie Trigg – $697,615
Reproductive biologist, Dr Natalie Trigg, has secured $697,615 in funding to examine how paternal health and environment factors influence fertility, pregnancy success, and the long-term health of children.
Using preclinical modelling and advanced reproductive technologies, Dr Trigg will assess the paternal epigenetic contribution to the embryo and determine how the father’s environment can influence pregnancy in mice.
The project builds on recent findings that show that sperm gain important biological information as they mature in the epididymis – a specialised part of the male reproductive tracts that prepares sperm for fertilisation.
Dr Trigg is a postdoctoral researcher in the School of Science and is a part of the Reproductive & Family Health Research Program at HMRI.
Advancing personalised nutrition for diabetes care
Dr Jordan Standford – $670,000
Dr Jordan Stanford has secured a $670,000 grant to empower individuals with type 2 diabetes to make informed, personalised nutrition choices that support long‑term health and help clinicians provide more tailored advice.
Her project will use personalised biological data, such as gut bacteria, blood and urine markers, and glucose monitoring, to better understand how individuals respond to food and nutrition interventions. The data will be used to support more precise, effective and realistic dietary advice for people living with diabetes.
Dr Stanford plans to co‑design tools with patients and health professionals that translate the complex scientific data into easy‑to‑understand guidance that fits everyday life.
The project aims to bridge the gap between advanced biological testing and real‑world nutrition care.
An Accredited Practising Dietitian and early career researcher in the School of Health Sciences and HMRI’s Nutrition and Metabolic Health Research Program, Dr Stanford specialises in precision and personalised nutrition.
* HMRI is a partnership between the University of Newcastle, Hunter New England Health and the community.
