DIT Grant Report Library

Institution: University of Oxford
Location: Oxford, UK
 
The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine is a world leader in providing advanced training and interdisciplinary research for clinicians, future academics, policy makers and researchers worldwide. Dr Maeve Barlow spent three months studying a full-time intensive university course aimed at developing professional competence in not only tropical medicine, infectious diseases and public health, but also extended to equipping clinicians with the skills and knowledge to work effectively in lower and middle income countries and poorly resourced settings.

Final Report

Institution: University of Oxford
Location: Oxford, UK
 
Dr Kelly is undertaking a Doctor of Philosophy in Population Health at the University of Oxford investigating the relationship between diet and CVD. Poor diet is now responsible for more deaths worldwide than tobacco. The largest proportion of diet-related deaths are from cardiovascular disease (CVD), which includes ischaemic heart disease and stroke. CVD remains a leading cause of death and disability in Australia, with poor diet attributed to 41.1% of all CVD. Despite advances in our understanding and treatment of CVD, there is still uncertainty regarding what constitutes the best diet to prevent these diseases.

Preliminary Report

Institution: University of New South Wales
Location: Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Dr Enriquez enrolled in a Master of Medicine degree through the University of New South Wales in 2015, with the aim of studying genetic defects that may affect the development of the heart and spine. Specifically, Dr Enriquez wanted to utilise the latest advances in gene technology in hopes of finding answers for the families she sees each day.

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Final Report

Institution: London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
Location: Moshi, Tanzania and Kampala, Uganda
 
In 2016, Dr Langham undertook the East African Diploma of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, looking at the unrecognised and growing epidemic of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in developing communities. NCDs are leading causes of death in Australia, and indeed around the world: of the 56 million deaths worldwide in 2012, 68% have been attributed to NCDs. Of these deaths, three-quarters occurred in low- and middle-income countries. So there is now a growing body of evidence that these diseases, classically attributed to Western lifestyles and excess, are an increasing problem in sub-Saharan Africa as well.

Preliminary Report

Final Report

Institution: University of Melbourne
Location: Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Dr Osti is based at the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute within the Tropical Diseases Group, undertaking research on the skin condition scabies. The Global Burden of Disease Study estimates that scabies affects 140 million people at any one time. Focussed in the Solomon Islands, her project aims to improve scabies diagnosis and treatment, but also create awareness and build capacity of local healthcare staff in skin examinations. In addition to experience in a very low resource setting, Dr Osti’s research enables the development of skills in research design, implementation, data management, leadership, writing for publications and presentation of research findings.

Preliminary Report

Institution: University of Melbourne
Location: Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
 
Pregnancy and childbirth is a time of great joy and excitement for most women.  Unfortunately, not every woman gets to experience the delight of taking home a healthy baby.  Dr Pritchard is completing a PhD through the University of Melbourne focussing on novel approaches to treat pregnancy complications, particularly preeclampsia.

Preliminary Report
 

Institution: Department of Global Health and Social Change, Harvard Medical School
Location: Boston, USA, Coimbatore, India and Phnom Penh, Cambodia
 
Dr Sandler has chosen to punctuate her clinical training in Australia as a Research Associate in the Harvard Program in Global Surgery and Social Change (PGSSC), in the Department of Global Health and Social Medicine at Harvard Medical School. The headquarters for the PGSSC are in Boston, but much of the research takes place in developing countries, where most of the population cannot access life-saving surgical care, including appendicectomy, caesarean section, open-fracture repair, neurosurgical burr-holes and burns treatment. This deficiency results in massive avoidable global disability and death. The PGSSC aims to improve surgical capacity in developing countries through research, advocacy and capacity building.

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Final Report

Institution: University of Sydney
Location: Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
 
Dr Thillainadesan's passion for the care of older patients began as a medical student, sparked by clinical interactions with this resilient population who have borne life's hardships and so often shared with her their remarkable experiences.  Her PhD is exploring the care of older patients under the care of surgical teams and the role of geriatric medicine in optimising their care.

Preliminary Report

Institution: University of Melbourne and Melbourne Health
Location: Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
 
As part of Dr Zhao’s PhD, he is intimately involved as the clinical coordinator of Melbourne’s first Mobile Stroke Unit. This is a specialised ambulance fitted out with a portable CT scanner and carries a multidisciplinary team able to assess and immediately start treatment at the patient’s doorstep. When every minute counts in saving patients from a life of disability, starting treatment on board the Mobile Stroke Unit will buy precious time and minimise irreversible brain damage from stroke.

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Final Report

Organisation: Montreal Children's Hospital / McGill University
Location: Montreal, Quebec, Canada

Dr Whiteman is completing a specialised fellowship at McGill University/Montreal Childrens’ Hospital, Montreal, Canada. Incorporating training in foetal cardiology, cardiac MRI and advanced echocardiography along with completing a research study reviewing cases of foetuses diagnosed with dilated ascending aortas during foetal life, over a ten-year period, it is hoped this work will contribute to the management of this condition globally. 

Preliminary Report

Organisation: Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Location: Liverpool, United Kingdom

Dr Colby is completing his cornea fellowship at Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. During his time so far, he already has gained a wealth of knowledge and experience in the field of corneal transplantation, including performing complex corneal transplant surgeries and managing anterior segment disease. Additionally, he has had the opportunity to collaborate and working alongside some of the world's leading anterior segment clinicians and engaging in cutting-edge research in ophthalmology.

Preliminary Report

Final Report

Organisation: Royal Papworth Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
Location: Cambridge, United Kingdom

In February 2022 Dr Nick Barton commenced a 12-month clinical fellowship in Cardiothoracic Anaesthesia and Intensive Care at Royal Papworth Hospital NHS Foundation Trust in Cambridge, United Kingdom (UK).
 
The 12-month fellowship at Papworth offered him an unrivalled opportunity to participate in the perioperative management of high-volume, complex cardiac and respiratory patients, both intra-operatively in theatres and cardiac catheter laboratories, and post-operatively in the ICU.

Preliminary Report

Organisation: Royal Brompton Hospital & Hammersmith Hospital
Location: London, United Kingdom
 

Dr Kai’En Leong is completing his Fellowship of Advanced Cardiac Imaging at Hammersmith Hospital in London. Dr Leong is undertaking cardiac MRI research looking at the clinical utility of a trial strain in the pulmonary hypertension, as well as the relationship between right ventricular exercise contractile reserve in pulmonary hypertension and diffuse myocardial fibroses quantified by native T1 parametric mapping.

Preliminary Report

Final Report

Organisation: The Queen Elizabeth Hospital
Location: Adelaide, South Australia
 
Dr Thomas Goodsall completed a Fellowship in Inflammatory Bowel Disease & Gastrointestinal Ultrasound at The Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Adelaide, Australia. The skillset Dr Goodsall gained from the Fellowship allows him to offer high quality service to remote patients in Adelaide and Alice Springs and take these skills back to NSW where he will continue to perform intestinal ultrasound and train local specialists to ultimately enhance the experience of IBD patients.

Final Report

Organisation: St John's Institute of Dermatology
Location: London, United Kingdom
 
St John’s Institute of Dermatology in London is a specialist tertiary dermatology service, receiving referrals from General Practitioners, medical and surgical specialists, and other renowned dermatology services throughout the whole UK. Dr William Cranwell has described the experience as ‘incredibly stimulating’ and has allowed him to see and manage many conditions that are extremely rare.

Final Report

Organisation: University of Toronto, Toronto Western Hospital and Hospital for Sick Children
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
 
Dr Bhatia’s training program provides significant exposure to both adult and paediatric neurovascular as well as spinal vascular disorders, including endovascular management of acute ischaemic stroke, cerebral aneurysms, dural arterio-venous fistulae, and arterio-venous malformations. In particular Dr Bhatia is learning about the management of Vein of Galen malformations, paediatric stroke, and Moya-Moya disease. In addition to working with renowned experts in this field, he is increasing his leadership training and research experience.

Preliminary Report

Hospital: Princess Alexandra Hospital
Location: Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
 
Through his research, Dr Cheng is trying to establish a new method of breast reconstruction after breast cancer surgery using tissue engineering and regenerative medicine to stimulate the body to grow new breast tissue. Specifically, his team are using 3-dimensional printed breast scaffolds and implanting them after breast cancer surgery. They then fill them with fat from the patient and allow the fat to grow and populate the scaffold to regenerate breasts.

Preliminary Report

Final Report

Hospital: National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, University College London
Location: London, United Kingdom

Through her fellowship at the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, Dr Concha Blamey has been exposed to a huge volume of practice, with a reported total caseload exceeding 5,400 cases in 2015. Unsurprisingly this has expanded Dr Concha Blamey’s logbook as she has had the opportunity to be involved in the perioperative management of many patients presenting for various neurosurgical procedures, including but not limited to transphenoidal surgery, neuro-oncology, transoral and skull base surgery, vascular neurosurgery, epilepsy surgery, surgery for Parkinson’s disease and other movement disorders, complex spine surgery, and interventional neuroradiology. Dr Concha Blamey has also been fortunate to be involved in the management of 10 awake craniotomy cases within just a three month period.

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Final Report

Hospital: Royal Hallamshire Hospital
Location: Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England

Commencing in 2017, Dr Lindsay McGrath's Fellowship in Ocular Oncology and Oculoplastics will provide her with extensive experience in all aspects of ophthalmic oncology including diagnosing and managing adult intraocular, ocular surface, periocular and orbital tumours. Originally inspired by the significant burden of ultraviolent-exposure related eye and adnexal disease in Queensland, Dr McGrath looks forward to bringing back knowledge to better utilise the radiation services in the state for the treatment of eye cancer.

Preliminary Report

Hospital: Hospital Nacional Guido Valadares
Location: Dili, Timor-Leste

In early 2018, Dr Brophy-Williams began a Paediatric Training Program at the Hospital Nacional Guido Valadares in Dili, Timor-Leste. With his time divided between a teaching position, and clinical work on the on-call paediatrician roster, he has found the hospital to be an international melting pot, with local Timorese staff the backbone.
 
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Final Report

Company: Médecins Sans Frontières
Location: Peshawar, Khyberpakthankwa, Frontier Region, Pakistan
 
Dr Volkman undertook a neonatology mission at MSF’s Peshawar Women’s Hospital in 2016. Established in 2011, the hospital is responsible for the maternal and child health of the internally displaced people from tribal Pakistan and the 2.7 million Afghan refugees on this side of the ‘border’. It is a small operation and is only chipping away at a tiny piece of the problem.

Preliminary Report

Final Report

Hospital: Kings College
Location: London, UK
 
The Section of Women's Mental Health aims to conduct research into the gendered determinants of mental health problems, the needs of women with mental health problems using epidemiological and qualitative methods, and to develop and evaluate interventions to meet those needs and inform health policy. Dr Storch saw this as an incredible opportunity to network internationally, develop her knowledge and research skills and ultimately contribute to a career in women’s mental health.

Preliminary Report

Hospital: Massachusetts General Hospital
Location: Boston, Massachusetts, USA
 
Neurological complications, such as seizures, encephalopathy, ischaemic and haemorrhagic strokes, intracranial infections, and peripheral neuropathies remain a devastating source of morbidity and mortality amongst bone marrow transplant patients. The focus of Dr Dowling’s research project is a retrospective review of all consecutive allogeneic transplants performed at MGH between 2000 and 2010. His role is to collect the relevant data from electronic medical records, analyse the data with the help of a statistician, and to write up the results for journal publication and conference presentation.

Preliminary Report

Final Report