Clinician Researcher Training (CRT) Program

Status: Open

Applications open: 10/03/2023
Applications close: 31/03/2023

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About this scholarship
Description/Applicant information

Project Title: Establishing an acute coronary syndrome registry with an embedded registry-based trial of in-patient influenza vaccination

Clinical Profession: Nursing and Midwifery

Aims: 
Each year ~58,000 Australians have an acute coronary syndrome (ACS), approximately 159 events every day. Of these, ~7,400 (13%) are fatal. This project aims to establish a registry of patients with ACS in East Metropolitan Health Service (EMHS) and use this to continually monitor and improve management and outcomes. This registry will be combined with consent for follow-up using linked administrative data and in selected subtypes of ACS (young patients and those with specific rarer causes) biobanking, imaging and genetic studies. It will also serve as a platform for registry-based clinical trials, initially a pilot trial of influenza vaccination during the index ACS admission.

 

Objectives:

1) To establish a registry of all patients treated at Royal Perth Hospital (including those transferred from other EMHS hospitals) with an ACS.

2) To use this to ensure optimal management and exceptional outcome of these patients

3) To use this to study the pathogenesis, management and outcome of uncommon subtypes of ACS, including patients; a) <45 years, b) with angiographically normal coronary arteries, c) with spontaneous coronary artery dissection and d) with takotsubo cardiomyopathy.

4) To develop a platform for randomised clinical trials; initially the pilot phase of an in-patient post-ACS influenza vaccination trial.

 

Significance:

ACS remains the single most common cause of death in Australia. Developing a comprehensive local ACS registry will:

a) ensure management and outcomes are among the best globally,

b) increase our understanding the uncommon mechanisms of ACS; facilitating future research to improve prevention, management and outcomes.

c) establish a platform for low-cost, pragmatic, registry-based trials that can be expanded locally, nationally and internationally

d) test in-patient post-ACS influenza vaccination versus standard care (with recommendations for community vaccination); the vanguard phase of a multicentre trial

This will be an excellent nursing PhD and will have major clinical and strategic research benefits.

 

Expected outcomes: 
This work will establish an ACS registry that is embedded-in, informs and improves routine clinical care and can be continued long-term with minimal funding. We will also develop sub-registries to improve our understanding and management of uncommon mechanisms of ACS and provide excellent pilot data for future research projects. This infrastructure will allow us to participate in high-impact registry-based trials and develop novel ones, such as the Australasian FLU vaccination to reduce recurrent cardiovascular event (AFLUENT) trial we are developing. This pilot work will increase the likelihood of successful large-scale grant applications and provides a rich resource for future students. 

Student type

• Current Students
• Future Students

Faculty

• Faculty of Health Sciences

Course type

• Higher Degree by Research

Citizenship

• Australian Citizen
• Australian Permanent Resident
• New Zealand Citizen
• Permanent Humanitarian Visa

Scholarship base

• Merit Based

Value

This scholarship provides a living stipend of up to $315,000 over 3 to 6 years.

 

Full time scholarships will be paid the total stipend over a maximum period of 2 years (if Masters) or 3 years (if PhD); and part-time scholarships will be the total stipend over a maximum period of 4 years (if Masters) or 6 years (if PhD).

 

For detailed information, applicants are encouraged to refer to page 6 of the CRT guidelines and conditions 

Scholarship Details
Maximum number awarded

1

Eligible courses

PhD applicants seeking to study cardiovascular nursing

Eligibility criteria

Applicants must:
•  be employed at the East Metropolitan Health Service (EMHS) at time of application in a nursing and midwifery role, and once enrolled in the program be maintained in employment at EMHS a maximum of 0.5FTE (part time) or 0.2FTE (full time study) in a position undertaking clinical duties* Adjustments to these requirements are possible for applicants with caring responsibilities.

• meet the host university’s admission requirements for the PhD, including prior research experience

• be able to commence the scholarship within one year of execution of the funding agreement.

The following high-level selection principles are applicable to all applicants:

• Appropriate educational/research/career background within the field of the HDR project including technical skills and research-related knowledge.

• Demonstrated commitment and expertise for a clinical career.

• Demonstrated commitment, expertise and motivation for a clinical research career.

• Demonstrated commitment to and suitability for the HDR Project.

• Appropriate organisational skills and personal attributes.

• After assessment of merit, consideration of capacity to contribute diversity to the clinical research environment.

* Clinical duties are activities directly related to individual patient care, as distinguished from administrative, research or academic activities.

Application process

Process and timeline:

Submit the completed CRT candidate application form no later than 31 March to GRS via HDRSCH-applications@curtin.edu.au

The GRS team will email the applicant the how to apply for Curtin HDR admission details.

Enrolment Requirements

Recipients will be required to meet established university milestones in line with university policy and procedures. An annual progress report confirming that the student is making satisfactory progress against milestones must be provided to the Office of Medical Research and Innovation (OMRI) with any relevant reports or publications attached.

For detailed information, applicants are encouraged to refer to the CRT guidelines and conditions 

Enquiries

For further information about this opportunity, please contact:

 

Professor Chris Reid, Dean of Graduate Research and Director of Curtin Centre for Clinical Research and Education via christopher.reid@curtin.edu.au ; or

Graham Hillis, Head of Department, Cardiology Royal Perth Hospital graham.hillis@health.wa.gov.au

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