Southern's newly-established Research Office is a dedicated team committed to building research and clinical trial activity within Southern.
Research Governance and Development Manager, Dr Pramesh Ghimire explained that the office is part of Southern's transformation agenda.
"Building a research culture will take time but is crucial to driving innovation and advancements necessary to improve health outcomes and for increasing the maturity of our organisation," said Dr Ghimire.
"We are working with leaders across the District to build awareness of how research fits within the transformation space to address organisational priorities."
Southern, in collaboration with the Clinical Trial Support Unit based in Canberra Health Services and our partner organisations, are working to increase the number of R3 (Rural, Remote, and Regional) Clinical Trial opportunities offered in our region, as well as increasing translational research opportunities.
"Translational research bridges the gap between basic scientific discoveries and their practical application in patient care.
"It involves taking discoveries made in the laboratory, clinic, or community setting and transforming them into new treatments, diagnostic tools, or interventions that can directly benefit patients."
The Research Office is supported by the well-established Aged Care Evaluation Unit at Southern.
"The Aged Care Evaluation Unit is a research partnership with the Australian National University, focused on evaluating psychosocial interventions for older people living with dementia and mental illness," explained Dr Ghimire.
"The unit has enhanced clinical research within Southern through supporting building capacity of the healthcare professional workforce through regular research advice and leadership for novice and early-career researchers from varying professional backgrounds."
