Celebrating our research impact

The Northern Community Health and Research Foundation recently hosted a special event to report and celebrate the impact of research supported by the Foundation.

For over 25 years, the Foundation has supported a wide range of research initiatives, some of which have gone on to have global impact.

Dr Sonia Nath receiving her award from Emeritus Professor Derek Frewin AO

Among the highlights of the night was a presentation celebrating the recipients of the Derek Frewin Early Career Researcher Awards, presented by Grants Committee Chair Professor Greg Crawford AM and Emeritus Professor Derek Frewin AO.

Established in 2017, this award has opened opportunities to gain exposure, build networks and achieve substantial seed funding for a wide variety of research projects undertaken by the recipients.

Professor Frewin then presented the 2025 Derek Frewin Early Career Researcher Award to proud recipient Dr Sonia Nath, currently a Postdoctoral Researcher at the Adelaide Dental School in the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences at the University of Adelaide. Dr Nath works in the Indigenous Oral Health Unit and her team are researching oral microbiome transplantation, seeking solutions for culturally safe dental care for Indigenous South Australians and socially disadvantaged populations. Dr Nath says the oral microbiome “has the potential to revolutionise oral health care, leading to improvements in overall health” for patients.

This presentation was followed by a fascinating panel discussion with six previous recipients of this award, Associate Professor Rajiv Mahajan, Associate Professor Tongzhi Wu, Dr Sebastian Sterling, Dr Vasilios Panagopoulos, Dr Jessica Stanhope and Dr Patrick Asare. This session was expertly facilitated by Professor Andrew Zannettino, Executive Dean of the Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences at the University of Adelaide. (Read more about past winners of the Derek Frewin Early Career Researcher Award here.)

From left: Dr Patrick Asare, Dr Jessica Stanhope, Dr Sebastian Sterling, Emeritus Professor Derek Frewin AO, Professor Andrew Zannettino, Dr Vasilios (Bill) Panagopoulos, Associate Professor Tongzhi Wu and Associate Professor Rajiv Mahajan

The event also included the official announcement of the program of our 2025 Visiting Professor, renowned pain specialist Associate Professor Peter Grace, who will be in Adelaide from 30 June to 8 July to share his insights with researchers, practitioners and healthcare professionals.

Dr Heather Block

 An update on NCHRF’s major research project, Prescriptions for Connection: A Social Prescribing Approach to Health Ageing in Adelaide’s North, was given by Flinders University Research Fellow (Primary Care and System Integration) Dr Heather Block. 

This project is focused on improving options for loneliness and social isolation by offering ‘social prescribing’, where a GP or primary health care professional refers their patient to local, non-clinical community wellbeing programs and support services. 

The Social Prescribing project is supported by the Councils of Port Adelaide Enfield, Walkerville and Prospect, the Adelaide Primary Health Network, Flinders University and the Northern Communities Health Foundation with funding from The Northern Community Health & Research Foundation, The Hospital Research Foundation and significant in-kind support from The Adelaide Primary Health Network.

An exciting new grant program - The Ageing & Wellbeing Research Grant & Community Capacity Projects was also announced during the evening. The NCHRF Board is currently calling for applications for research projects. aApplications close 15 August 2025. Full details and the application form are available here.