Focus areas, impact and outcomes
Basic research:
Our basic research focuses on bioavailability of nutrients, understanding indigenous foods, nutrient-gene interactions to improve the food supply for better health and improved individualised nutritional recommendations.
Outcomes:
- Collaborations with QAAFI that have produced novel functional foods and supplements which have been marketed worldwide .
Applied research:
Applied research in appetite and satiety mechanisms explores how people can be more successfully in maintaining a healthy body weight. Our sports nutrition explores the influence of diet and fluid interventions on athlete participation, well-being, and performance.
Outcomes:
- Our sport nutrition research has engaged with industry partners, including the Brisbane Broncos, as well as being the focus of two PhD projects through the QUEX Institute.
Clinical nutrition research:
Clinical nutrition research projects have designed and evaluated innovative approaches to the nutritional management of cancer, disease related malnutrition and sarcopenia, led to improvements in the management of childhood and adolescent obesity, and via innovations in food service delivery, supported nutritionally dependant populations such as the frail elderly and those who are malnourished.
Our clinical practice care and service redesign work implements and evaluates the application of evidence-based care on patient outcomes, including in malnutrition, oncology care, childhood nutrition and maternity care.
Outcomes:
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leading development and implementation of innovative wiki evidence-based practice guidelines for the nutritional management of head and neck cancer used internationally as the benchmark for delivery of improved nutrition care with demonstrated positive patient, health service and economic outcomes (Clinical Oncology Society of Australia),
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development of nationwide evidence-based dietetics support services for men with prostate cancer through TrueNTH and Movember (Mater Research Institute -UQ),
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implementation and dissemination of gestational diabetes nutrition practice guidelines across 5 Queensland Hospital and Health Service districts resulting in a reduction in medication use in GDM, improved diet quality and increased physical activity levels through building capacity and improving systems to allow adherence to best practice,
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Implementation of gestational weight gain guidelines in Mater Mothers Hospitals, demonstrating successful longitudinal, hospital-wide, effective, stepped identification and targeting of barriers to gestational weight gain guideline adherence with large and significant changes in health provider behaviour known to influence gestational weight gain,
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Improvements in managing and preventing childhood obesity. Changes in practice include providing options to families that previously did not exist and supporting clinicians to deliver evidence-based care to vulnerable families. Our researchers have contributed to the first Queensland Paediatric Obesity Model of Care, development of the Queensland Paediatric Obesity Referral Pathway, and are currently developing a first of a kind state-wide online paediatric obesity prevention program with Health and Wellbeing Queensland.
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Providing evidence that underpins the dietary guidelines for Australians. We have achieved this through exploring the energy needs of different populations from infants through to the older elderly.