Australasian Stroke Academy Ltd

2023 ASA Research Fellowship Grant

ASA research opportunity

The Australasian Stroke Academy invites expressions of interest from members for 2 separate research stipends to support research into:

EITHER

1.     the education needs of specialists and trainee specialists practising stroke medicine in Australia and New Zealand. The results should assist ASA to plan future educational events and initiatives, including location, delivery method and content. This stipend is up to the value of $2500.

OR

2.     the sustainability of current workflows and practises of hyperacute acute stroke services across Australia and New Zealand. The results should include service locations, workforce numbers and “demographics”, during and after-hours service demand, and if possible projections for future demand, including the implications of extended timeframes for acute reperfusion therapies and current code stroke “call to treatment ratios”. The results may assist with refining work practises and planning future workforce for acute stroke teams across Australia and New Zealand. This stipend is up to the value of $7500.

Applications must include a research proposal, including methods, timelines, and justification for the value of the stipend. Monies awarded will reflect this justification.

The ASA executive will seek independent review of applications. If no application of sufficient merit is received this year, one or both research stipends will be held until 2024 when a repeat invitation for applications may occur.

Applications close June 1 2023. The successful applicant will be notified prior to the upcoming ASA annual educational seminar, and will be formally acknowledged during the 2023 seminar.

Please address any enquiries to the ASA executive via the secretariat: contact@strokeacademy.com.au

Applications should also be addressed to the  secretariat

2022 Successful Australasian Stroke Academy Research Grant Recipient

Grant: AUD $ 11,000
Recipient: Johanna Moraes

Project: AETIOLOGY OF YOUNG STROKE AND PATENT FORAMEN OVALE MANAGEMENT - THE CENTRAL AUSTRALIAN EXPERIENCE

2021 Successful Australasian Stroke Academy Research Grant Recipient

In 2021 ASA offered a competitive grant for $11,000 to support research being undertaken by a medical practitioner regarding stroke in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians or Maori New Zealanders

Grant: AUD $ 7,500
Recipient: Dr Anna Balabanski and Dr Angela Dos Santos

Project: Stroke incidence, subtypes, risk factors, treatment, and outcomes in First Nations Australians: a prospective registry-based pilot study.

There are few data published on incidence rates, stroke subtypes, risk factors, treatment, and outcomes in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (First Nations) Australians. This information is critical for implementing effective primary and secondary prevention. Alice Springs Hospital (ASH), the major acute hospital for Central Australia, services a region home to a high proportion of First Nations Peoples (40% of the population), making it an ideal setting for a study of stroke in First Nations Australians.

In this study, we will use a purpose-built database to prospectively capture clinical and radiological data of all stroke inpatients and outpatients seen at ASH, to measure stroke rates, quantify which stroke risk factors and subtypes are most responsible for the burden of stroke, and analyse stroke care compared to the national Acute Stroke Clinical Care Standards. With this information, we will work together with First Nations Peoples to identify critical targets for community-led, culturally appropriate stroke care. This will include designing an improved post-stroke care package with and for First Nations Australians. This study will provide a template for an Australia-wide expansion of this database to better understand stroke in First Nations Peoples.

A key strength of this study is capacity building. This study is led by co-PI Dr Angela Dos Santos, Australia's first Aboriginal Neurologist, in collaboration with Aboriginal Cardiologist A/Prof Luke Burchill. All aspects of the research will be undertaken in ongoing consultation with First Nations stakeholders including governing bodies, local community groups and elders, to ensure the project aligns with community-identified priorities and needs.

Affiliated institutions: Department of Medicine and Neurology, Melbourne Brain Centre at the Royal Melbourne Hospital. University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, Australia. Department of Medicine, School of Clinical Sciences at Monash Health, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Department of Neurology, Alfred Health, Melbourne, VIC, Australia

Grant: AUD $ 2,500
Recipient: Dr Clare Tiedeman and Prof Chris Levi

Project: iTakeCharge: First Nations led

Affiliated institution: Hunter Stroke Service, Hunter New England Local Health District

Grant: AUD $ 1,000
Recipient: Dr Ryan Dashwood

Project: A comparison of presentation times of stroke to Shoalhaven District Memorial Hospital Emergency Department between Indigenous and non Indigenous patients

2017 Successful Australasian Stroke Academy Research Grant Recipient

Grant: AUD $ 5000
Recipient: Dr. Ronak Patel (Canberra)
Project: Insulin resistance and white matter hyper intensities in non-diabetic ischaemic stroke and TIA’s