Publication Award

We are delighted to announce that Dr Luke Baitch, EMCR, and team have been awarded BOTH the UNSW Discipline of Critical Care Publication of the Year Award and the Anaesthesia and Intensive Care Jeanette Thirlwell Best Paper Award for 2024.

Luke managed the project and led the publication, with UNSW medical student, Kyle, putting in lots of hard work to make it happen. Gordana, UNSW statistician, ensured all of the analysis was top notch. 

🏆 Winning Publication: Green KW, Popovic G, Baitch L. Intraoperative methadone for day-case gynaecological laparoscopy: a double-blind, randomised controlled trial. Anaesth Intensive Care. 2024;52(3):168–179. Read here.

The UNSW award will be formally presented at the upcoming SoCM Discipline of Critical Care Research Seminar on 14 August 2025.

📅 Event Details & Registration: Please visit the EventBrite page for more information and to register your attendance.

Current projects news

For details of other current projects, visit the Projects and Publications webpage.

Laparoscopic assisted TAP block for emergency laparoscopic procedures – randomised controlled trial

The TAP trial is an AWH investigator-initiated clinical trial and is due to start recruitment soon, led by Dr Quinton Smith and Dr Johnathon Holt.

This is a double-blind, active control randomised trial comparing laparoscopic assisted TAP block (LTAP) with port site infiltration of local anaesthetic in patients undergoing emergency laparoscopic intra-abdominal surgery.

If you have an idea for a clinical trial, get in touch. The Research Office team has the expertise to get your ideas off the ground.

TROPICAL-VIC

Dr Stacey Rich, BMO researcher, has provided an update on the AWHHREC-approved TROPICAL-VIC project in this newsletter.

Check out the recording of Stacey speaking at our Research Round Table CoP meeting below.

Research Community of Practice

The next Research Round Table CoP meeting will be held Wed 23rd July. A link to the meeting will be provided in the July newsletter and will be available on the Research Office website. 

May 2025 | We heard from a line-up of our peadiatrics team and recent UNSW medical students about their contribution to local paediatrics research.

March 2025 | We heard from Dr Stacey Rich, who gave a wonderful presentation on qualitative and co-design research. Research Office staff touched on how to involve consumers in research at our service.

February 2025 | Catch up on research from the ID team with Dr Justin Jackson, who presents his research journey and work at AWH.

See the Research Office PD webpage to view recordings of past Research Round Table meetings.

PD opportunities

Check out opportunities on the Regional Trials Network

VCCC education series

Smart cohorts – Modernising epidemiology

Presentation by Dr Alpa V. Patel, Senior Vice President, Population Science American Cancer Society

Online, 21 Jul 2025, 1.00–2.00pm

What's new in medical education?

In this engaging webinar, Prof Sam Brondfield will discuss three key topics in medical education: artificial intelligence, interprofessional education, and learner motivation.

Online, 07 Jul 2025, 1.00–2.00pm

Want to connect with a metro researcher?

Connecting with an experienced researcher at the University of New South Wales could help turn your research ideas into reality, or your regional data could help round out a metro-based project.

Check out this list of UNSW researchers that are interested in collaborating with regional clinicians.

Contact | UNSW/AWH Research Coordinator, Marina Van Leeuwen (m.vanleeuwen@unsw.edu.au) if you are interested.

Upcoming conferences

• August 11-14 2025
• Adelaide Convention Centre

10th Rural and Remote Health Scientific Symposium

• Theme: ‘Research from the heart – shaping rural & remote health futures’.
• 8–9 October 2025
• Alice Springs

AWH/UNSW Regional Research Symposium

• Theme ‘Stronger Together: Advancing Regional Research Through Collaboration’.
• 14 October 2025
• The Cube, Wodonga

For information on other conference, visit the National Rural Health Alliance website.

Library News

New books at the library

Create an ORCID profile

Why create and ORCID profile?

When you create and ORCID profile you obtain a free, unique, persistent identifier (PID) to use as you engage in research, scholarship, and innovation activities. 

It allows you and your organisation to easily share and keep track of your research.

Funding opportunities

CASS Foundation Travel awards | Funding for researchers to attend international conferences | More information

MRFF | Early to Mid-Career Researchers Initiative – 2025 Early to Mid-Career Researchers Grant Opportunity | More information

Recent publications

See below for a selection of recent publications. Visit the AWH Research Repository to see all publications.

AWH authors: Kasie Harrison, AWH Surgical Unit & Amy Vaccaro, Transition to Practice Clinical Educator

AWH authors: Katharine Xiwen Huang & Justin Jackson, AWH Infectious Disease team

AWH author: Brett Hamilton,  Albury Wodonga Regional Cancer Centre

AWH author: Craig Underhill, Albury Wodonga Regional Cancer Centre

Student Project News

Call for CSU supervisors

Charles Sturt University medical students are on the look-out for supervisors for their research projects. For more information, contact the Research Office (research@awh.org.au).

Call for UNSW supervisors

University of NSW medical students undertake a research project as part of their year 4 studies.

Supervising an Independent Learning (research) project (ILP) or Honours student involves some preparations during 2025 and mentoring throughout 2026.

If interested, contact our UNSW/AWH Research Coordinator, Marina, at m.vanleeuwen@unsw.edu.au and check out this brochure.

Research Office Reminders

New project submission dates

Draft protocols for new projects are submitted to the Research Office at least one month before submission is due to the AWH Human Research Ethics Committee (AWHHREC). After review by the Research Office, researchers will be guided through submission to the AWHHREC on ERM.