Research

The School of Population Health comprises eight Centres and Units combining to provide a unique focus on population health, in areas such as urban health, indigenous health, mental health, and the links between genomics and public health. We utilise a rigorous scientific approach in both the quantitative and qualitative traditions. The School has considerable strengths in traditional health sciences and in social sciences, ethics, medical humanities, and in the newer molecular and genetic epidemiologic disciplines.

Centre for Genetic Epidemiology

The Centre for Genetic Epidemiology aims to unravel the interplay between genetic and environmental factors on disease and health using studies involving twins, families and unrelated individuals. This work integrates traditional population-based epidemiologic approaches with new advances in molecular and genetic technology, and the Human Genome Project. The Centre is being increasingly recognised nationally and internationally for its leadership, innovation and iconoclastic research.

Large case-control-family studies of breast cancer, bowel cancer, prostate cancer, childhood cancers, melanoma and asthma, and a prospective cohort study of more than 40,000 Melburnians, have been established in collaboration with the Cancer Epidemiology Centre at Cancer Council Victoria. The NHMRC sponsored Australian Twin Registry and several twin studies are also run from the Centre. Higher degrees and coursework subjects in Genetic Epidemiology are offered by Centre staff through the Schoolís Masters and Graduate Diploma programs.

Key Centre for Women's Health in Society

The Key Centre for Women's Health in Society, since its foundation in 1988, has been at the forefront of thinking, researching, teaching and disseminating information about women's health. The vision for the Key Centre is that it will be the leading centre for research, education, knowledge transfer and advocacy in women's health, gender and society in Australia and the Asia-Pacific region.

The Centre seeks to inform public debate, encourage improvements in women's health service provision and influence policies and programmes, locally, nationally and internationally.

It’s research themes are

• Health services and technology
• Mental health & wellbeing
• Reproductive & sexual health
• Social & economic inequalities in health
• Additional research projects

Centre for International Mental Health

The Centre for International Mental Health two key areas of work are international mental health development and the transcultural psychiatry program. CIMH is a World Health Organization Collaborating Centre in Mental Health and Substance Dependence.

Masters and PhD students are undertaking research projects as part of the Centre's international mental health and transcultural mental health research programs. The transcultural mental health program focuses on mental health of immigrant and refugee communities, in close collaboration with the Victorian Transcultural Psychiatry Unit. The core of the international program is the International Mental Health Leadership Program (iMHLP), a collaborative initiative of the Centre for International Mental Health and the Department of Social Medicine, Harvard Medical School. Through the Department of Psychiatry, CIMH offers a Master of Transcultural Mental Health (by research). The Centre offers a Master of International Mental Health from 2003.

Program Evaluation Unit

The Program Evaluation Unit is a multidisciplinary group with expertise in program evaluation, health economics, epidemiology, clinical medicine, social sciences and research methodology. The PEU provides a major community service in evaluating health programs funded at both Commonwealth and State levels. The PEU has established itself as a national leader in evaluating public health programs of great diversity throughout Australia.

The PEU has four research streams: Primary Care and Health Promotion, Health Economics, Mental Health and other Health Services Research and Evaluation. Examples include the national evaluation of the After Hours Primary Medical Care Trials and Setting Priorities in Funding Nationwide Cancer Prevention Programs. The PEU offers teaching and training in evaluation and health economics, and provides opportunities for doctoral studies.

Centre for the Study of Health and Society

The Centre for the Study of Health and Society is a multidisciplinary research and teaching Centre that specializes in the application of knowledge from the humanities and social sciences to issues of health and health care. This is achieved through the education of health practitioners and policy makers, and the critical synthesis of existing knowledge on the social aspects of health and health care and the development of new knowledge through research. The Centre is a collaboration with the Faculty of Arts and incorporates the VicHealth Koori Health Research and Community Development Unit, the Johnston-Neede Medical History Unit and the Medical History Museum.

The CSH&S specialises in research and analytical methods derived from the social sciences and humanities, including qualitative research methods. In seeking to influence the development of health policy and practice, the CSH&S has developed knowledge links with the health system through its working collaborations with policy makers, practitioners and communities (including those confronting challenges of social disadvantage and related poor health).

Epidemiology and Biostatistics Unit

The Epidemiology and Biostatistics Unit provides teaching in the Master of Public Health and in specialised epidemiology and biostatistics diplomas and degrees. Epidemiology and biostatistics provide core disciplines for public health. The EBU is a member of the Biostatistics Collaboration of Australia (BCA) and contributes to a national program for high level training of biostatisticians. Research interests and opportunities for doctoral research training focus on clinical epidemiology and knowledge transfer, communicable disease epidemiology, environmental health, and the epidemiology of asthma. There is close collaboration with the Centre for Genetic Epidemiology.

Sexual Health Unit

The Sexual Health Unit is co-located with the Melbourne Sexual Health Centre (MSHC), Australiaís largest sexual clinic. Together with MSHC, the Sexual Health Unit takes a broad population health approach to the control of sexually transmitted infections and supports a high quality clinical service through innovative research, progressive teaching and training. The SHU conducts research in the treatment, prevention and control of sexually transmitted infections including HIV. These include optimal screening strategies, clinical trials and epidemiologic studies related both to clinical practice and to public health.

Diabetes Vaccine Development Centre

The Diabetes Vaccine Development Centre (DVDC) has a mission "to accelerate the development of one or more vaccines that would prevent or delay the progress of type 1 diabetes, aiming to have clinical proof of concept in 3-5 years, with the studies conducted to a standard acceptable to an industrial partner". Launched in March, 2003 and effectively commencing operations in May, 2003, it is housed in the School of Population Health by virtue of the University of Melbourne acting as a "sponsoring administering institution" for the Centre. The University provides a range of services and resources to facilitate the execution of many of the administrative tasks of the Centre.

The DVDC is a unique partnership between Australia's peak funding body for health and medical research, the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) and the New York based Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation International (JDRF), the world's leading private contributor to diabetes research. The DVDC is governed by a Board representing these major stakeholders and includes internationally recognized scientists and industry executives with expertise in the fields of diabetes and vaccine development.

The DVDC plans to achieve its mission by identifying, evaluating and facilitating (through provision of funding support and strategic expertise) the activities of a range of groups as approved by its Board. It is interested in supporting projects that are likely to show clinical proof of concept within three to five years of DVDC involvement. Although based in Australia, the DVDC is global in its outlook, seeking promising therapeutic candidates from around the world.