HEAL National Research Network

"It has been a very productive year, best wishes HEAL National Research Network for a restful and enjoyable holiday season from Sotiris Vardoulakis, HEAL Director and HEAL team. If you need some holiday reading/viewing all the #HEAL2024 conference, which the theme on 'Healing with Country for a Sustainable Future for Everyone' are on our website - https://lnkd.in/esYgcYUz. Thank you to those who attended, we were thrilled to have nearly 800 registrations for our flagship annual event. This year, we saw so many oral and poster presentations from early and mid-career researchers, at the end of #HEAL2024 awards were given to: 🏆 Aiden Price & Mehak Oberai for Best E-Posters:  'Identifying Inequality through Urban Health Indicators: The Ausurb-Hi Project', & 'Ethos Digital Heat Early Warning System (EWS) for Older Adults'. 📢 Dr Michael Loftus for Best Oral Presentation: 'Comparability of Efficacy and Safety of Medications delivered by different inhalers for Asthma and COPD: a Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis'. 💡Sharna Motlap for Best Indigenous Project: 'Indigenous Truth-Telling: Ethnographic Philosophy on Traditional Foods, Country and Climate Change'. We would greatly appreciate it if you could complete the post-conference survey - https://lnkd.in/dh-UmiFY. Your input is invaluable in helping us enhance future events and uphold our commitment to continuous improvement.

HEAL Network is proud to co-organize the 9th Indian International Conference on Air Quality Management (IICAQM) with the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras!  This collaboration builds on a longstanding and impactful partnership between HEAL and IIT Madras. Together, we have advanced research and solutions in air quality and health through transformative initiatives like: 🌱 CEPHA Network (Clean Environment for Planetary Health in Asia) 🔋 #CE4HEAL (Clean Energy for Healthy Environment and Lives) These initiatives, alongside our ongoing collaborations, underscore the power of global networks in driving meaningful change for environmental and public health. This year, several esteemed HEAL collaborators are contributing to the IICAQM: ⭐ Prof Sotiris Vardoulakis (University of Canberra) ⭐ Prof Priyadarsini Rajagopalan (RMIT University) ⭐ Prof Thava Palanisami (University of Newcastle) Their participation reflects HEAL’s commitment to fostering cross-disciplinary and cross-border efforts in addressing air quality challenges. We look forward to the insightful discussions and solutions that will emerge from IICAQM 2024. Together, we can create cleaner, healthier environments for all! 💙 #HEAL #IITM #IICAQM #CE4HEAL #CleanAir #AirQualityManagement

The “Climate Song”, is a powerful musical composition based off new research from the HEAL National Research Network CE4HEAL project. The music was prepared using temperature data from Alice Springs, in the Northern Territory of Australia. You can hear the emergency of the situation in the rise and fall of the musical notes. Along with visual adaptation solutions and the importance of focusing more on the needs of remote communities. This activity was led by Dr. Supriya Mathew, Dr. Rishu Thakur and the team from the Menzies School of Health Research as part of the CE4HEAL project. Thanks to Cain Gilmour for the outstanding composition! Read more about CE4HEAL project - https://lnkd.in/dGkcnCXU #CE4HEAL #HEALenviron

#climatechange, #researchimpact, #cleanenvironment, #remoteaustralia, #indigenous, #firstnations #solarenergy, #Healthequity #CE4HEAL

#climatechange, #Heatstress, #researchimpact, #healthreform, #healthequity, #HEAL2024,

Humbled to receive the University of Canberra Research Excellence Award & the VC's Excellence Award for 2024! I am very honoured and grateful to my wonderful team (https://lnkd.in/ga8Xp3x3), the HEAL National Research Network (https://lnkd.in/gEjrChA2), the UC Health Research Institute (https://lnkd.in/gVfwx-JH), and our university!

Warm congratulations to HEAL Chief Investigator Professor Linda Payi Ford who has been elected Fellow of the Australian Academy of the Humanities! This is the highest honour achievable in Australia’s humanities discipline. https://bit.ly/lf_aah @HumanitiesAU @cdu_ni @HEALenviron

Summarising this week theme - Your health is especially important if you have asthma during a bushfire and its associate smoke! The HEAL National Research Network has used the best available scientific evidence to put together these fact sheets on the most effective ways to reduce the exposure to air pollution for people with asthma. With a particular focus on those socio-economically marginalised or disproportionally affected by the condition. The resources developed from the 'Healthy-Air: Pollution advice for people with asthma' project have been culturally and/or linguistically adapted for Arabic communities and shortly Indigenous peoples in bushfire prone regions to empower people with asthma to reduce their exposure. Also, stimulating policy action for clearer air in Australia. Great work project team - Prof Sotiris Vardoulakis, Prof Fay Johnston, A/Prof Veronica Matthews, Prof Karima Laachiror, Prof Bandana Saini, Dr Penelope Jones, Dr Ginny Sargent, Dr Nicolás Borchers Arriagada, Dr Sharon Campbell, Dr Erin Walsh, Dr Nigel Goodman, Danielle Cameron, Morgan Brain. https://lnkd.in/grTbbidK

The HEAL National Research Network is thrilled to share that 3 members have been recognized for their research excellence and impact - Congratulations Dr Nanthi Bolan, Associate Professor Kamal Dua, and our HEAL Director, Professor Sotiris Vardoulakis! Dr Bolan (Environmental Science) and Associate Professor Dua (Pharmacology & Pharmacy) have been named among Australia's top 250 researchers in The Australian's 2025 Research Magazine (https://lnkd.in/gdWtwTxD). As leaders in their fields, they commented how deeply humbled they felt being recognised after all the years of hard work, and why they are part of the HEAL Network. 'The mission of HEAL to lead national and international research on environmental change and health aligns seamlessly with the core focus of my own work. My research on the impact of pollution on lung diseases, combined with exploring traditional knowledge of Australian Indigenous medicinal plants as potential therapeutic interventions, creates a natural synergy with HEAL’s objectives. This collaboration is both exciting and deeply meaningful', said Associate Professor Dua. 'The Network provides myself and my students with an opportunity to work with early- and mid-career researchers, and more importantly the vulnerable communities which are disproportionately impacted by climate change-induced extreme weather events including drought, flood and wildfire', said Dr Bolan. Lastly, Professor Vardoulakis was awarded the UC Research Excellence Award and the Vice-Chancellor's Excellence Award for 2024 in recognition of his outstanding performance in research and research impact (https://lnkd.in/dTRJRtPz). Since 2022, Sotiris has published over 46 peer-reviewed journal papers with an average of 9.2 citations per publication (SciVal) in the top 10% Journal for Public health e.g. Science, The Lancet Planetary Health, Environmental Health Perspectives, the Medical Journal of Australia, Environment International. Sotiris was a lead author in a major global assessment published by the United Nations Environment Programme (Global Environment Outlook for Cities).

By honouring these knowledge systems & fostering deeper relationality, we can create a future where both Country & community thrive together – sustaining health, culture, & the environment for generations to come’ - another great article by Danielle Manton, Croakey Health Media from the #HEAL2024 conference - https://lnkd.in/dSnCqYn6