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Our Vision
Our vision is to reduce the devastating impact of stillbirth for women, families and the wider community through improving care to reduce the number of stillborn babies and to reduce the impact of this loss.
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Meet the network of people, organisations, and professional institutions driving research and program implementation across the Stillbirth CRE.
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Explore some of the latest Stillbirth CRE research projects, scientific studies, and educational campaigns on stillbirth prevention and care after stillbirth.
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Our aim is to improve care to reduce the number of stillborn babies and to reduce the impact of this loss.
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PhD Projects + Opportunities

The Stillbirth CRE aims to attract and train doctoral and postdoctoral researchers to create the next generation of highly skilled clinical researchers in stillbirth.

In line with the Stillbirth CRE's core values into all aspects of research:

  • Students are encouraged to attend national and international conferences.
  • Students are expected to acknowledge the NHMRC Centre of Research Excellence in Stillbirth on all publications, technical papers and media, contribute to at least one Stillbirth CRE- sub-committee and attend the annual Perinatal Society Australia and New Zealand (PSANZ) Conference and/or Stillbirth CRE symposium to present research findings.

General PhD Project Opportunities

A number of opportunities are available to students who are seeking projects. The Stillbirth CRE can help with completing applications for funding and with helping to shape a project to maximise funding opportunities.

Topics include

  • Reducing smoking in pregnancy; antenatal booking, and throughout pregnancy for smokers
  • Risk assessment and surveillance for fetal growth restriction
  • Improving detection and management of women with decreased fetal movements
  • Individual patient data (IPD) meta-analysis of fetal movement awareness campaigns
  • Increasing maternal safe sleep position practices
  • Effective fetal monitoring during labour
  • Identifying causes and contributing factors; Investigation, clinical audit and classification
  • Respectful and supportive perinatal bereavement care
  • Care for parents in subsequent pregnancies after stillbirth
  • Classification systems for stillbirths and neonatal deaths; reaching international consensus for data rich settings
  • Trends in maternal and pregnancy risk factors in Australia
  • Development of a screening test for stillbirth and adverse perinatal outcomes at term
  • Defining placental mechanisms that influence the risk of stillbirth to develop novel clinically viable biomarkers


Please contact us at stillbirthcre@mater.uq.edu.au for further information about these projects, or explore the academic websites of the Stillbirth CRE chief investigators and associated investigators below to find out more about available projects.

InvestigatorNameInstitution
Chief InvestigatorProfessor Vicki FlenadyStillbirth CRE
Chief InvestigatorProfessor David EllwoodGriffith University
Chief InvestigatorAssociate Professor Philippa MiddletonSouth Australian Health and Medical Research Institute
Chief InvestigatorProfessor Adrienne GordonUniversity of Sydney
Chief InvestigatorProfessor Caroline Homer AOBurnet Institute
Chief InvestigatorProfessor Jonathan Morris AMUniversity of Sydney
Chief InvestigatorProfessor Sailesh KumarMater Research
Chief InvestigatorProfessor Susan Walker AOUniversity of Melbourne
Chief InvestigatorAssociate Professor Fran BoyleUniversity of Queensland
Chief InvestigatorDr Miranda Davies-TuckHudson Institute of Medical Research
Associate InvestigatorProfessor Euan WallaceMonash University
Associate InvestigatorProfessor Vicki CliftonMater Research
Associate InvestigatorDr Sean SeehoUniversity of Sydney
Associate InvestigatorDr Siobhan LoughnanStillbirth CRE
Associate InvestigatorDr Christine AndrewsStillbirth CRE
Associate InvestigatorDr Carrington ShepherdTelethon Kids Institute
Associate InvestigatorProfessor Stephen TongUniversity of Melbourne

PhD vacancies at MRI-UQ - Brisbane, Queensland

Several PhD opportunities are available for students with an Honours/Masters degree in a science-, health-, or medicine-related field to join Stillbirth CRE in its Brisbane site at the Mater Research Institute – The University of Queensland (MRI-UQ).

Successful candidates will be enrolled in a higher degree (PhD) by research at the University of Queensland and will undertake a research project focusing on reducing adverse pregnancy outcome. Candidates will be responsible for all aspects of the study, including adherence to all relevant governing bodies, data handling and analysis and reporting.

Candidates will have a strong interest in obstetrics and clinical epidemiology and good knowledge of clinical research studies. Candidates are expected to publish their findings in peer-reviewed journals, and to contribute to funding applications relevant to the project. Candidates will be based at Aubigny Place, South Brisbane Campus, Mater Research Institute.

The Projects

Research projects include the My Baby’s Movements (MBM), which explores if raised awareness of decreased fetal movements using a mobile phone app links with improved outcomes; the Stillbirth Study, a multi-centre collaborative study investigating the causes of stillbirth in a large cohort; the Safer Baby Bundle project, implementing comprehensive strategies across multiple Australian hospitals to improve stillbirth care; Improving care in subsequent pregnancies following stillbirth, and many others.

The Students

Applicants must comply with the relevant entry requirements:

  • Applicants should have completed a Bachelor with honours (H1 or H2A) or a Masters Degree majoring in a science related field.
  • Applicants should be eligible for a competitive living allowance scholarship (e.g. APA) to support full-time study.
  • Applicants should have a background in obstetrics/perinatology and/or clinical epidemiology
  • Applicants must have the ability to develop skills in general research, methodology and statistics.
  • Applicants must have excellent writing abilities, and work effectively within a multidisciplinary and international research team.
  • Applicants should be proficient in Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, and Excel.

Remuneration

A place in this group is contingent upon the applicant successfully attaining an external scholarship (the APA, or equivalent, valued at $32,192 per annum). Scholarships are tax exempt for Australian citizens and residents. University fees may apply to overseas candidates, however funding schemes for international students are also available.

All applicants must supply a cover letter explaining your interest in and suitability to undertake research in this area, CV, and copies of Academic Transcripts.

About the Mater Research Institute – The University of Queensland (MRI-UQ)

Mater Research Institute-UQ (MRI-UQ) is a world class institute committed to biomedical research and its translation into clinical care to improve outcomes for patients. With strong ties to the Mater Hospitals and as a founding partner of the Translational Research Institute (TRI), Mater Research provides excellent opportunities to achieve new discoveries in health research. The Mater Mothers’ Hospital in Brisbane is the largest maternity hospital in Australia with over 10,000 births each year. UQ brings all its expertise as a research, education and teaching institute to the alliance, and is considered one of the top Universities in Australia. MRI-UQ has more than 300 research staff, postgraduate students and clinical researchers. There are currently 70 students undertaking a PhD, MPhil or Honours program.

Contact

Please contact Stillbirth CRE Director Professor Vicki Flenady for further information about this opportunity by emailing stillbirthcre@mater.uq.edu.au. See the UQ Graduate School website for full terms and conditions.

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