Four Deakin University researchers working across nutritional psychiatry and the health sector have received over $8 million in National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Investigator Grants.
Deakin's successful grants have been awarded to three researchers from the Food & Mood Centre and one from the Institute for Health Transformation (IHT).
Deakin Distinguished Professor Felice Jacka OAM, Founder and Director of the Food & Mood Centre along with Dr Samantha Dawson and Dr Wolfgang Marx have each received grants to explore different facets of the link between diet and mental health, and Deakin Distinguished Professor Anna Peeters AM has received a grant to investigate how to build and sustain greater diversity amongst health researchers.
NHMRC Investigator Grants support health and medical researchers at all career stages, offering the flexibility to pursue new research directions and form important collaborations, rather than being restricted to a specific research project.
Dr Samantha Dawson, Food & Mood Centre
Nutritional Psychiatry: Supporting healthy eating in pregnancy to benefit child mental and brain health – $652,131.49
Poor diet quality in pregnancy is linked to perinatal depression and both are linked to poorer mental and brain health in children. To help families lead healthier, happier lives, a better understanding is needed of how diet during pregnancy affects child mental health and brain development. Dr Dawson’s research will generate critical knowledge to inform targeted prenatal dietary advice that can be easily implemented in pregnancy care, supporting better outcomes in families.
Dr Wolfgang Marx, Food & Mood Centre
Nutritional Psychiatry: Investigating the efficacy and mechanisms of dietary components in depression – $1,623,700.00
Depression is one of the leading causes of disability but dietary interventions offer a new and effective way to reduce this burden. Dr Marx’s research aims to advance understanding of how diet may help prevent and manage depression, exploring new dietary interventions and investigating which diet components might increase depression risk.
Deakin Distinguished Professor Felice Jacka OAM, Food & Mood Centre
Nutritional Psychiatry: Clarifying mechanisms to support precision interventions – $2,954,575.00
Poor diet is a leading contributor to illness and death globally, and mental disorders are a major cause of disability. Prof Jacka has pioneered the field of Nutritional Psychiatry, establishing the link between diet and mental health. Her research supported through this grant will now generate critical new evidence on how diet influences mental health, supporting better interventions and outcomes for people with depression.
Deakin Distinguished Professor Anna Peeters, Institute for Health Transformation
‘Nothing about us without us’: Boosting diversity in the health and medical research workforce to progress action on health equity – $2,954,575.00
Health inequalities remain stark in Australia and other high-income countries. Prof Peeters has previously shown that tackling this problem needs a comprehensive approach, and supporting more health researchers from diverse backgrounds in leadership roles is key to driving greater equity for populations experiencing worse health outcomes. Prof Peeters’ research will focus on funding processes with the aim of addressing access barriers for underrepresented groups.
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