RESEARCH FUNDING

Mental Health Research Grants

Mental Health Research Grants are important for Australian researchers to continue their important work. Australian Rotary Health provides these highly competitive grants every year in areas focusing on the mental health of young Australians between 0-25.

Each year we receive around 400 expressions of interest, which are narrowed down to about 40. These researchers are then asked to submit a full application and the number is narrowed down again. Usually, with the funding we have, we can only award about 10-15 Mental Health Research Grants and these projects can go up to three years.

In 2020-2021, Australian Rotary Health funded 27 Mental Health Research Grants, totalling $1,252,847.82

ARH Mental Health Research Grant recipient Dr Michelle Tye has been previously recognised for her work in suicide prevention. Pictured here with the Hon Greg Hunt MP.

2020-2021 Grant recipients

Associate Professor Allison Waters Mental Health in Sports Research ‘Improving the mental health of young Australians in sport: A partnership project with the National Rugby League’ Griffith University, QLD $26,142.00

Dr Amy Finlay-Jones Mental Health and Chronic Illness Research ‘Improving mental health of young Australians with chronic illness: A pilot randomised controlled trial of online selfcompassion training’ Curtin University, WA $37,381.82

Dr Angela Clapperton Suicide & Self Harm Research ‘An investigation of suicide & increasing episodes of non-fatal intentional self-harm among young women in Victoria. A case of method-escalation?’ Monash University/University of Melbourne, VIC $39,400.00

Associate Professor Ashleigh Lin LGBTIQ Mental Health Research ‘Mindful Self-Compassion for LGBTIQ youth: A multi-site randomized controlled trial’ University of Western Australia, WA $69,690.00 Dr Carly Johnco Youth Anxiety Research ‘Translating experimental neuroscience into clinical treatment: Preventing the return of fear in youth with anxiety disorders using memory reconsolidation mechanisms’ Macquarie University, NSW $33,504.00

Associate Professor Caroline Donovan Children’s Sleep Research ‘Treating Sleep Problems in Preschoolers: Improving Mental Health, the Transition to School, and Academic Outcomes’ Griffith University, QLD $34,094.00

Dr David Hallford Depression Research ‘Enhancing Treatment for Depression: A Randomised Trial of Adjunct Memory Specificity Training’ Deakin University, VIC $27,938.00

Dr Delyse Hutchinson Children’s Mental Health Research ‘Breaking the intergenerational cycle of mental disorder: A longitudinal study of the social determinants of childhood psychosocial adjustment problems’ Deakin University, VIC $32,648.00 Professor Elizabeth Elliott Indigenous Youth Wellbeing Research ‘Longitudinal study of wellbeing and quality of life in remote Indigenous youth: the Biswun Kid Project’ University of Sydney, NSW $25,998.00

Dr Erin Kelly Adolescent Mental Illness & Substance Use Research ‘Preventing adolescent mental illness & substance use through teacher-delivered interventions targeting personality risk factors’ University of Sydney, NSW $65,372.00

Dr Jeneva Ohan Parent Intervention Research ‘Engaging Parents in Online Interventions for their Child's Behaviour Problems by Using Action Planning’ University of Western Australia, WA $50,852.00

Professor Justin Kenardy Child Mental Health Research ‘Effectiveness trial of the CARE screen andtreat early intervention for improving physical and mental health outcomes in young injured children and their parents’ University of Queensland, QLD $32,444.00

Dr Kylie King Young Men Mental Health & Suicide Prevention Research ‘Testing the Impact of 'Breaking the Man Code' workshops on teenage boys' helpseeking, masculinity and suicide risk factors: A cluster randomised controlled trial’ Monash University, VIC $65,838.00

Dr Lauren McLellan Youth Anxiety Research ‘Getting ready for implementation: Investigating the optimal amount of therapist guidance for online treatments for Australian children with anxiety’ Macquarie University, NSW $69,984.00

Professor Leanne Hides Substance Use Research ‘A pilot randomised control trial of a telephone delivered transdiagnostic intervention for comorbid substance & mental health problems in young people’ University of Queensland, QLD $44,149.00

Dr Louise Farrer Mental Health Research ‘Randomised controlled trial of a transdiagnostic online program to reduce the symptoms of mental illness in Australian tertiary students’ Australian National University, ACT $68,208.00

Dr Louise Mewton Anxiety, Depression and Substance Use Research ‘The long term effectiveness of a combined prevention model for anxiety, depression and substance use in adolescents’ University of New South Wales, NSW $34,972.00

Dr Kylie King is conducting research to help prevent suicide in boys and men. Her funding from Australian Rotary Health has led to further funding from the Australian Government.

Dr Marie Yap Depression and Anxiety Prevention Research ‘Evaluating a personalised online parenting program to reduce children's risk of depression and anxiety: 12- and 24-month follow-up of a pilot randomised controlled trial’ Monash University, VIC $14,846.00

Professor Mark Dadds Autism Spectrum Disorder Research ‘A randomized controlled trial of the feasibility of a brief, integrated parent medicated intervention for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder’ University of Sydney, NSW $30,613.00

Dr Mark Larsen Suicide Prevention Research ‘Optimising caring contact: Using text messages to support people after a suicide attempt’ University of New South Wales, NSW $63,976.00

Dr Michelle Tye Suicide Prevention Research ‘The LifeBuoy App: A randomised controlled trial of a mHealth intervention to help young people manage suicidal thoughts’ University of New South Wales, NSW $69,404.00 Dr Natalie Peach PTSD & Substance Use Research ‘Treating traumatic stress and substance use in emerging adults’ University of Sydney, NSW $68,424.00

Dr Peter Baldwin Intellectual Disability Research ‘Healthy Mind: A Novel e-Mental Health Tool for Young Australians with an Intellectual Disability (ID)’ University of New South Wales, NSW $16,699.00

Dr Sally Fitzpatrick Child Mental Health Research ‘Reducing the Impact of Bullying Victimisation on Children's Mental Health Outcomes’ Macquarie University, NSW $32,574.00

Associate Professor Tim Slade Substance Use & Mental Health Research ‘The SuperLearner project: Fast-tracking our understanding of risk and protective factors for substance use and mental health problems’ University of Sydney, NSW $69,320.00

Professor Tracey Wade Eating Disorder Research ‘Expanding the reach & delivery of Media Smart-Targeted: An online intervention found to both reduce eating disorder onset & increase eating disorder remission’ Flinders University, SA $58,389.00

Professor Zachary Steel Asylum Seeker Mental Health Research ‘The mental health trajectories of asylum seeking children & parents facing insecure residency & immigration restrictions across 2.5 years of residency’ University of New South Wales, NSW $69,988.00

Ian Scott PHD Scholarships

Since 2000, Australian Rotary Health has awarded the Ian Scott PhD Scholarship, created and named in honour of founder of Australian Rotary Health, the late Ian Scott (1933-2001).

Each scholarship is valued up to $30,000 per year, for a period of up to 3.5 years.

In 2020-2021, 7 Ian Scott PhD Scholarships were funded.

This scholarship was named after Ian Scott, the founder of Australian Rotary Health.

2020-2021 Scholarship Recipients

Anna Horton Methamphetamine Research ‘Investigating the role of Prefrontal Cortex interneurons in Methamphetamine induced plasticity in the Nucleus Accumbens’ Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, VIC

Anna Ross Severe Mental Illness Research ‘Mitigating the impact of the media on stigmatizing attitudes towards people with severe mental illness’ University of Melbourne, VIC

Annai Charlton Alcohol Use Disorder Research ‘Investigating potential interventions to aid recover from alcohol use disorder’ Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, VIC Ilaria Pozzato Motor Vehicle Crash Mental Health Research ‘Preventing mental health problems following motor vehicle crash, by early detection of high risk survivors (The IMPRINT Study)’ University of Sydney, NSW

Kelly Tow Emergency Services Mental Health Research ‘Help for the helpers: The Impact of roleidentity and educational training on mental health help-seeking in paramedics’ University of Wollongong, NSW Meghan Hockey Food and Mood Research ‘The association between dairy consumption and mood and cognition’ Deakin University, VIC

Rebecca Blackmore Perinatal Mental Health Research ‘Perinatal Mental Health in Women of Refugee Background’ Monash University, VIC

Post Doctoral Fellowships

Australian Rotary Health offers Postdoctoral Fellowships every year to assist early career researchers with their research projects. They are named after the first four Chairman of ARH – Royce Abbey, Geoffrey Betts, Colin Dodds, and Bruce Edwards.

In 2020-2021, Australian Rotary Health funded 4 Postdoctoral Fellowships.

Dr Breanne Hobden Colin Dodds Postdoctoral Fellowship Indigenous Mental Health Prevention Research ‘Examining the comorbidity of mental health problems and alcohol and other drug use within Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People: A neglected area’ University of Newcastle, NSW

Dr Katrina Prior Royce Abbey Postdoctoral Fellowship Anxiety and Alcohol Use Prevention Research ‘Preventing the exacerbation of anxiety and alcohol use comorbidity through cognitive re-training’ University of Sydney, NSW

Dr Louise Birrell Bruce Edwards Postdoctoral Fellowship Adolescent Mental Health Prevention Research ‘Mind Your Mate: An Online peer intervention to prevent mental health and substance use problems in adolescence University of Sydney, NSW

Dr Nicole Reilly Geoffrey Betts Postdoctoral Fellowship Maternal Mental Illness Prevention Research ‘Prevention and early intervention for maternal mental illness: a research program that will inform policy and clinical practice’ University of Newcastle, NSW

Royce Abbey Postdoctoral Fellowship recipient Dr Katrina Prior is currently running a study to examine whether an online brain training program can successfully re-train spontaneous and sometimes unconscious mental habits that contribute to the development and maintenance of anxiety and alcohol use disorders. Find out more here: https://retrainyourbrainonline.com/

Dr Katrina Prior recently won an Early Career Research Award for her work on research programs, including Re-train Your Brain.

Funding Partner PHD Scholarships

Australian Rotary Health Funding Partner PhD Scholarships have been awarded to scholars since 2002, to research a wide variety of general health areas.

The Funding Partner PhD Scholarship is funded by three parties: A Rotary Club or District, a University and Australian Rotary Health. Scholars have received up to $30,000 annually, as a tax-free stipend, to investigate areas such as cancer, heart disease, neurological disorders and children’s health.

In 2020-2021, Australian Rotary Health contributed funding to 48 Funding Partner PhD Scholarships.

Sophie Russell is co-funded by Josephine Margaret Redfern & Ross Edward Redfern (RC of Granville), NSW to conduct research on family mental health and associations with parent-child conversations.

2020-2021 Scholarship Recipients

Aaron Alejandro Co-funded by the Rotary Club of Applecross, WA Drug Resistant Infections Research ‘Research to inform and evaluate a community level campaign to increase awareness and change behaviours in relation to antimicrobial use’ Murdoch University, WA Anjan Bhattarai Co-funded by the Rotary Club of Spring Bay, TAS Motor Neuron Disease Research ‘Advanced Diffusion Weighted Imaging Techniques and Quantitative Susceptibility Mapping in the Assessment of Motor Neuron Disease’ Monash University, VIC

Ali Kodsi Co-funded by Lorraine & Bruce McKenzie, VIC Mental Health of Young Australians Research ‘Sleep Problems in Young People: Assessing Impact on Mental Health, Behaviour and Educational Outcomes’ Swinburne University of Technology, VIC Ankur Kohar Co-funded by the Rotary Club of Blacktown City, NSW, with D 9790 & D 9830 Prostate Cancer Research ‘Geographical and Temporal Distribution of Prostate Specific Antigen Testing Across Australia’ University of Sydney, NSW

Amelia McGuinness Co-funded by the Ten Islands Tassie Tag Along Tour 2016 Mental Health Research ‘MICRO-'SCOPE: a study of diet, gut microbiota and mental health in communitydwelling adults’ Deakin University, VIC Anna te Velde Co-funded by the Rotary Club of Blacktown City, NSW, with D 9790 & D 9830 Cerebral Palsy Research ‘Early natural history and clinical markers of motor severity, motor type and topography in infants with cerebral palsy’ University of Sydney, NSW

Amy Coe Co-funded by the Kaiyu Scholarship, NSW Mental Health Research ‘Investigation and determination of the needs and expectations of patients and general practitioners to optimise an eHealth intervention for antidepressant cessation.’ University of Melbourne, VIC Atandrila Das Co-funded by the Judith Annette Thompson Scholarship, VIC Bowel Cancer Research ‘Characterisng Colerectal Metastases and Optimising their Management’ Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, VIC Charlotte Blacklock Co-funded by the Rotary Clubs of Mackay Mental Health Research ‘Exploring the mental health and gender affirming needs of young people with a nonbinary gender identity’ Murdoch Childrens Research Institute, VIC

Daphne Foong Co-funded by the Rotary Club of Devonport, TAS Gastroparesis Research ‘Characterising the role of interstitial cells of Cajal (ICC) in human stem cell-derived gut organoids’ Western Sydney University, NSW

Dennis Chan Co-funded by the Yaxley Family Neuroendocrine Tumours Research ‘The evaluation of functional imaging in the management of neuroendocrine tumours’ University of Sydney, NSW

Emma Laird Co-funded by the Rotary Club of Terrigal, NSW Hearing Loss Research ‘Development of an audiologistadministered psychologically-informed intervention to improve mental health and wellbeing in adults with hearing loss’ University of Melbourne, VIC

Erin Lawrence Co-funded by Rotary District 9650, NSW Cancer Research ‘Investigating novel genes and mutations in haematological malignancies’ University of Melbourne, VIC

Erin Dolan Co-funded by the Rotary Club of Balwyn, VIC Mental Health Research ‘Secondary Trauma and Rural Youth: Understanding relationships, peer support and vulnerabilities of young people in rural environments’ University of Melbourne, VIC

Frank Mobilio Co-funded by Rotary District 9790/RSL PTSD in Service Personnel and their Families Research ‘Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Traumatic Brain Injury: role of neuroinflammation’ University of Melbourne, VIC

Gabriela Visini Co-funded by David Henning Memorial Foundation Schizophrenia Research ‘Cannabidol: a new preventative treatment for schizophrenia?’ Western Sydney University, NSW

Grace Forsyth Co-funded by Rotary Club of Noosa Daybreak, QLD PTSD Research ‘Oral Ketamine Trial on Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (OKTOP)’ University of Sunshine Coast, QLD

Hannah Suddull Co-funded by Rotary District 9650 'Alaine Davidson' PhD Scholarship Motor Neuron Disease Research ‘Proteomic and molecular investigations into the diagnosis and progression of Motor Neuron Disease by the identification of biomarkers found in plasma’ Macquarie University, NSW Hyo Jeong (Minnie) Kim Co-funded by Rotary Club of Sandy Bay 'Michael Chivers', TAS Bile Duct Cancer Research ‘Synthesis and Evaluation of Sialyltransferase Inhibitors’ Bond University, QLD

Ivana Kihas Co-funded by Rotary District 9685, NSW PTSD Research ‘The relationship between traumatic stress, problematic substance use and disordered eating behaviours among Australian adolescents’ University of Sydney, NSW

Jacqueline Kuruppu Co-funded by Rotary Club of North Balwyn, VIC Youth Mental Health Research ‘Co-designing a decision-making tool to assist GPs and practice nurses in the decision to report child abuse’ University of Melbourne, VIC

James Tang Co-funded by Rotary District 9650 'Jack Wilson' Kidney Research PhD Scholarship, NSW Kidney Transplant Research ‘Patient centred mobile health technology to improve self-management and health outcomes in children and adolescents with kidney transplants’ Children’s Hospital at Westmead, NSW

Jasmin Galper Co-funded by the David Henning Memorial Foundation, NSW Parkinson’s Disease Research ‘Characterisation of pre-clinical Parkinson’s disease’ University of Sydney, NSW

Jason Palazzolo Co-funded by Rotary District 9830, TAS Cardiology Research ‘Thrombin Responsive Nanoparticles of Prophylaxis and Treatment of Acute Thrombosis’ Monash University, VIC Katrina Streatfeild Co-funded by Rotary District 9790/RSL Clubs of Victoria, VIC PTSD in the Military Research ‘Psychological and Behavioural features of Children of Australian Defence Force Veterans diagnosed with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder’ University of Newcastle, NSW

Kayla Corney Co-funded by Bing Taylor PhD Scholarship, VIC Dementia Research ‘Cognitive Ageing and the Interplay between Biological, Psychological and Environmental Factors’ Deakin University, VIC

Laura Grattidge (Nee Smith) Co-funded by Rotary Club of Deloraine, TAS Youth Suicide Prevention Research ‘Tackling the Real Tassie Devil: Towards Best Practice for Youth Suicide Prevention in Regional and Rural Tasmania’ University of Tasmania, TAS

Lionel Leck Co-funded by Rotary District 9675 'Heather Newbould' Bowel Cancer PhD Scholarship Bowel Cancer Research ‘Development of Innovative Chemotherapeutics that Target ATPBinding Casette (ABC) Family Proteins Expressing Cancers to Overcome Multidrug Drug Resistance’ University of Sydney, NSW

Liam Ryan Co-funded by Rotary Club of Mornington 'Reg Kilborn', VIC Bowel Cancer Research ‘Stool cytology - a new frontier for noninvasive bowel cancer screening’ Deakin University, VIC

Lisa Furlong Co-funded by Ian Parker Bipolar Fund/Brunslea Park Estate, VIC Bipolar Disorder Research ‘A brain imaging study of social and emotional processing in bipolar disorder’ University of Melbourne, VIC

Mandy Gibson Co-funded by Rotary Club of Toowong 'Basil Shaw' Funding Partner PhD Scholarship, QLD Suicide Prevention Research ‘Translation and Replication of a successful Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander youth suicide prevention and wellbeing intervention’ Griffith University, QLD

Mikhail Dias Co-funded by Ronnie Goldberg & Rotary Ride for a Cure Prostate Cancer Research ‘Identifying and characterising gene coexpression modules underlaying resistance to Androgen Deprivation Therapy in prostate cancer’ University of Melbourne, VIC

Mitchell St Clair-Glover Co-funded by Rotary Club of West Wollongong, NSW Neurological Research ‘Development of an innervated full thickness human skin model by 3D printing’ University of Wollongong, NSW

Nancy Santiappillai Co-funded by Rotary Club of Blacktown City/Mel Gray, NSW Prostate Cancer Research ‘High-Resolution Assessment of Cancer Cell Metabolism and Novel Prostate Cancer Treatment Strategies’ University of Sydney, NSW

Dr Natasha Krishnadas Co-funded by Bartolina Peluso Dementia Research ‘Amyloid, and Tau in the Development of Mixed 3-Repeat/4-Repeat Tauopathies - A PET Imaging Study’ University of Melbourne, VIC

Noor Saleem Mohammed Jarbou Co-funded by the Rotary Club of Liverpool West, NSW Perinatal Infant Mental Health Research ‘The effects of treated and untreated depression during pregnancy on offspring behaviour and brain development’ University of Wollongong, NSW Norbaini Abdol Razak Co-funded by the Ian Loxton Pancreatic Cancer Research PhD Scholarship, QLD Pancreatic Cancer Research 'Investigation of novel biomarkers for pancreatic cancer’ Curtin University, WA

Rachel Teh Co-funded by RC's Chelsea (VIC), Mt Druitt (NSW), Kiama (NSW), Gerringong Sunrise (NSW), & Val Henry 'Rob Henry and George Malone' PhD Scholarship Skin Cancer Research ‘Which one is the malignant mole? Scarless biopsy for early diagnosis of melanoma’ University of Sydney, NSW

Rita McMorrow Co-funded by Rotary Club of Croydon's 'Enid Beatrice Farmer', NSW Diabetes Research ‘FutureHealth Today: Changing the course of Type 2 Diabetes’ University of Melbourne, VIC

Resmi Menon Co-funded by David Holz/Rotary Club of Holroyd, NSW Alzheimer’s Disease Research ‘Determining the intracellular trafficking pathways of tachykinin-copper(II)-receptor complexes and elucidation of the fate of copper’ Western Sydney University, NSW

Ryan Cohen Co-funded by Rotary Clubs of Rotary District 9465 (WA) Bowel Cancer Research ‘Predicting colorectal cancer metastatic risk: the tumour immune microenvironment, circulating tumour-derived exosomes, their integrins and tumour DNA as biomarkers of disease progression’ University of Western Australia, WA

Sally Vuong Co-funded by Rotary Club of Cronulla, NSW Motor Neurone Disease Research ‘L-proline-mediated mechanisms driving neural differentiation from mouse embryonic stem cells.’ University of Sydney, NSW Sophie Russell Co-funded by Josephine Margaret Redfern & Ross Edward Redfern (RC of Granville), NSW Mental Health Research ‘Remember the time …. Family mental health and associations with parent-child conversations’ University of Wollongong, NSW

Tara Lal Co-funded by the Rotary Clubs of NSW, NSW PTSD in Emergency Service Workers Research ‘To assess the effect of exposure to suicide on firefighters’ University of New England, NSW

Tiffani Mungoven Co-funded by Joan E Swanson Migraines Research ‘Brain structural and functional changes in individuals with chronic migraine’ University of Sydney, NSW

Vivien Li Co-funded by Rotary Club of Gisborne Funding Partner 'Jacob Taurins Memorial', VIC Multiple Sclerosis Research ‘Towards developing dendritic cell therapy for multiple sclerosis based on promoting Mertk signalling’ Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, VIC

Win Lei (Nicki) Shwe Yee Co-funded by the Rotary Club of Kew Food Allergy Funding Partner PhD Scholarship, VIC Prevention of Food Allergy in Childhood Research ‘Peanut Specific Antibody Diversity and Affinity During Peanut Oral Immunotherapy: for Therapy Monitoring and as Predictive Tool’ University of New South Wales, NSW

Zhenyu Zhang Co-funded by Rotary Club of Woy Woy ‘Eric Abrahams’ PhD Scholarship, NSW Dementia Research ‘An Ontology to Represent Dementia and Dementia Care Knowledge in Computer Readable Format’ University of Wollongong, NSW