Research Coordinator Grants

Across Metro North Health, our Research Coordinators work tirelessly and diligently to ensure that research continues to be delivered to exceptionally high standards. These individuals are committed to research excellence and strive for a culture of high-quality research.

In recognition of the vital contribution these research coordinators make to our health service, Metro North introduced the Research Coordinator Grants in 2019. This program was designed to strategically grow research capacity and culture in Metro North and support the professional career development of our valued Research Coordinators by co-funding embedded roles within our clinical services.

A total of eight Research Coordinator positions were established across Redcliffe Hospital, Caboolture Hospital, Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital, and Metro North Mental Health. The roles were embedded within clinical departments across gastroenterology and hepatology, women, children and family services, mental health, emergency medicine, surgery, burns and trauma, neonatology and pain.

Across the duration of the two-year program, the Metro North research coordinators have delivered on many of their ambitious milestones and in many cases gone above and beyond their expectations. They have also faced up against systemic barriers to research productivity and a global pandemic. Through all this, they have managed to assist their clinical units in publishing over 110 peer reviewed publications and successfully applied for and been awarded more than $450,000 in grant funding.

“It is a very exciting time to be involved in research at Metro North. In my role as Research Coordinator for the Department of General Surgery, Burns and Trauma, I have observed the research output in the department increase exponentially, in all areas ranging from pilot observational studies to first-in human clinical trials. I look forward to the next phase, where we will see an increasing amount of high-quality research translated into improved patient outcomes.” – Aleksandra Edmundson

“My experience as the Nurse Research Coordinator within the Grantley Stable Neonatal Unit has been pivotal to progressing our unit as an upcoming Centre of Neonatal Research, rather than a participant in multi-centre studies. During the two years in this role, I was embedded within a diverse clinical and research team to assist the evaluation of care provided to babies and their families. This has been an incredibly unique and treasured experience in my nursing career and has added to my experience as a researcher.” – Deanne August

“Persistent pain conditions can have a devastating impact on a person’s quality of life, with causes and effects often unique to the individual. Through 2020-2021, the Research Coordinator Grant enabled my role at the Tess Cramond Pain and Research Centre to capture greater detail of patient-reported outcome measures, train staff communication with patients of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island heritage, audit use of gabapentinoid medication and use of tobacco, study new ways to use technology for patients biofeedback and to measure their ability, as well as to achieve funding for a pilot clinical trial on intravenous infusion of lidocaine for people with injury to nerves.” – Andrew Claus