The NSW Regional Cancer Research Network (NSWRCRN) has recently launched its research support grant for rural and regional healthcare workers. Learn more about this program and some of the researchers advancing Cancer Care in Regional and Rural NSW.
NOW OPEN | Professional Research Support Grant Scheme
The NSWRCRN is pleased to launch the Professional Research Support Grant Scheme. This new program is designed to provide short-term, outcome-focused research support for rural and regional healthcare workers. The NSWRCRN’s PhD-qualified Senior Research Partners will collaborate directly with grant recipients and provide expert assistance with Research design and methodology, ethics applications, data analysis, grant writing and manuscript preparation.
Support packages can be for $2,000 or $5,000 (20 or 50 hours of research support) and the awarded amount can be included in researchers’ track records as grant income. The scheme will be open on a rolling basis until the total allocation is reached.
Please note that the grants are only open to members of the NSWRCRN who are conducting cancer research aligned with the Network’s objectives. If you’re not already a member, you can apply online at https://nswregionalcrn.com.au/home.
For more information about the Professional Research Support Grant Scheme, send an email to nswrcrn@newcastle.edu.au .
Congratulations to these researchers who are advancing Cancer Care in Regional and Rural NSW.
Dr Jennifer Mackney (HNELHD), a recipient of the NSWRCRN Shovel Ready Translational Research Grant, has been awarded $800,000 through the Cancer Institute NSW’s Accelerated Research Implementation Grant. This funding will support the scaling-up of her prehabilitation program, C-SPRITES (Supported Prehabilitation – Improving Fitness, Ensuring Well-Being Before Surgery in People Living with Cancer), across regional and rural communities.
Building on the success of a previous pilot project, Dr Mackney’s expanded program will provide multimodal prehabilitation services, including exercise, nutrition optimisation, and psychological support, both in-person and remotely via telehealth. The goal is to improve access to vital prehabilitation services for cancer patients in underserved areas, helping to bridge the gap in cancer care in rural Australia.
Kath Dower, another recipient of the NSWRCRN Shovel-Ready Research Grant, has successfully completed her second PhD milestone. Kath, a Senior Radiation Therapist at the North Coast Cancer Institute in Lismore (NNSWLHD), is conducting research through Curtin University to improve patients’ experiences with Deep Inspiration Breath Hold (DIBH) during Radiation Therapy. Her work, supported by the NSWRCRN Shovel-Ready Grant, includes a Virtual Reality Education Pilot Program designed to enhance patients’ DIBH capacity as a way of improving treatment outcomes.
Kath’s ongoing research focuses on identifying and addressing challenges related to DIBH through tailored interventions, including virtual reality coaching and pre-treatment assessments.
