Medical research is a major part of Nepean Clinical School's activities. Our research is particularly strong in the areas of critical care medicine, endocrinology, gastroenterology, geriatric medicine, haematology, perinatal medicine and surgery.
Many postgraduate research students undertake higher degree research in our dedicated research laboratories and facilities, under the supervision of our leading academics and clinicians. If you are interested in undertaking research with us, please contact the relevant project lead, or learn more about postgraduate research in medicine and health.
As part of the Brain and Mind Centre network, Nepean Clinical School shares the mission to transform brain and mind health with world-leading research.
The Brain and Mind Centre Nepean plans to bridge the gap in knowledge and services between Sydney’s western and eastern suburbs by developing numerous cross-campus, multidisciplinary, collaborative research and education projects in neuroscience and mental health.
As part of the Charles Perkins Centre network, Nepean Clinical School shares the mission to ease the burden of obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease by enabling collaborative interdisciplinary research and education.
The Charles Perkins Centre Nepean was launched to meet the demand for evidence-based research that could be translated directly into life-changing outcomes for residents of greater western Sydney.
Our groups conduct research across a range of disciplines in medicine and surgery.
The Addiction Medicine Research Group at Nepean is an exciting area of medicine. Drug and alcohol use affects and impacts all body systems, affecting individuals, families and societies.
Some of the projects include:
The Nepean Cardiac Research group specialises in multidisciplinary cardiovascular research encompassing cardiovascular intervention, echocardiography, cardiac CT, cardiac magnetic resonance and projects on population health.
Our specific areas of research include:
We're actively involved in health economics and appropriate use of cardiac imaging.
The Department of Intensive Care Medicine has a large and active research program. The three main areas of research that drive our program are:
The Nepean Gastroenterology Research group has a strong academic and clinical focus in the fields of gastroenterology, hepatology and drug and alcohol, and is involved in many clinical trials both locally and worldwide.
Our research includes:
Did you know that people with increased fat in their liver due to non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) can suffer from cardiovascular related death before suffering from liver related death?
NAFLD is the most common type of liver disease, affecting an estimated 5.5 million Australians, including 40% of all adults aged 50 years and above.
The research endeavours of the Haematology Group are focused towards a better understanding of chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL) through genetic and epigenetic studies of familial CLL and by studying the protein interactions initiated by activation of the B-cell receptor and the influence of the CLL microenvironment on these protein networks.
Our group also has a strong interest in the biology of the ATP-gated, cation-selective, P2X7 receptor and its significance to human infectious, malignant and autoimmune diseases with a particular focus on single nucleotide polymorphisms and splice isoforms of P2X7 and their role in inflammation.
Current Project:
Improving the outcomes of chemotherapy treatment for cancer by reducing damage to normal cells.
The Nepean Infectious Diseases and Microbiology Group provides a busy consultative and in patient service, dealing with a wide variety of complex conditions including travel associated infections, sepsis, HIV infection and post-operative infectious complications. The department has a strong commitment to teaching medical students as well as physician trainees.
Our research interests include:
The Nepean Medical Imaging Group aims to, through education and research, promote the appropriate use of radiology and nuclear medicine/PET in modern investigation and management of patients. This specialty is at the forefront of new technologies, which requires in-depth knowledge of basic sciences (particularly anatomy, physics and pathology) that is fundamental to the study of medicine.
Our research includes:
We are a collection of like-minded healthcare professionals and researchers with an interest in better understanding metabolic health and disease. Specific conditions that are a focus for our group include:
Our research aims to both understand the development of, and manage, these conditions and their associated diseases.
Current projects include:
Obesity is a major problem for our local population in Penrith. Access to specialised treatment is often limited to those with the most severe disease, neglecting people who are only slightly overweight or obese. People who are overweight are more likely to have obstructive sleep apnoea, a condition associated with snoring and pauses in breathing while asleep.
A program to help such people to get their weight under control before they develop more severe obesity could be very worthwhile.
We have a research study testing a 6 month treatment program for establishing a healthy diet and lifestyle changes to help people lose weight. In this study half of the participants will also be given dexamphetamine, while the other half are given placebo (inactive pills). Dexamphetamine reduces the appetite and also increases motivation. The increase in energy and motivation may help people to establish a new lifestyle with more exercise which may help them to keep control of their weight.
Resources
Did you know that people with increased fat in their liver due to non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) can suffer from cardiovascular related death before suffering from liver related death?
NAFLD is the most common type of liver disease, affecting an estimated 5.5 million Australians, including 40% of all adults aged 50 years and above.
The Department of Renal Medicine at Nepean Hospital has an active clinical research program with ongoing collaborations with the Australasian Kidney Trials Network, George Institute for Global Health, Kolling Institute, ANZDATA, Kidney Health Australia and Sydney Health partners.
At any time, there are numerous investigator initiated and industry sponsored clinical trials for research in diverse areas of nephrology, including dialysis, chronic kidney disease, glomerular disorders, rare kidney diseases, medical disorders of pregnancy, renal supportive care, nutrition in kidney disease, shared decision making and telemedicine.
The department has an impressive track record of publications and members of the department are on the editorial boards of medical journals.
The medical oncology department has an increasing interest and capacity for research, particularly research embedded into our clinical roles. Areas of interest and activity include:
We currently supervise clinical research fellows and are keen to expand that to PhD students in the near future
Paediatric research at Nepean has a strong focus on the developmental origins of health and disease in the context of allergy and immune development, metabolic health and behavioural disorders, including ADHD and stimulant medication.
This research is conducted in a multi-disciplinary environment fostering collaborations with the Charles Perkins Centre, the Brain and Mind Centre and the Faculty of Engineering and IT.
Areas of research activity and interest of the Nepean Psychiatry Research Group include:
The Nepean Translational / Clinical Obstetrics and Gynaecology Group collaborates with the Charles Perkins Centre, the Brain and Mind Centre, Westmead Periodontal Unit, Nepean Paediatric Unit, and UNSW Microbiome Research Centre.
Our research includes:
We also conduct research into pelvic floor trauma in childbirth, including:
The Nepean Neonatology group’s research interests include:
Recently our focus was:
The Nepean Surgery Research Group is a very active group with many research interests including:
There is a strong focus in fundamental and translational research. Telehealth, surgical safety and quality are recent additions, with Nepean Hospital being one of the four pilot sites for the introduction of the American College of Surgeons (ACS) National Safety and Quality Improvement program (NSQIP).
The Nepean Oral Surgery Research Group works closely with the Sydney and Westmead dental institutes. It is a recent and rapidly growing group at Nepean with special interests in service-education in rural and regional areas and provision of appropriate oral surgery training both in Australia and overseas. Their teaching interests include correction of oral anomalies and evidence-based practice in dentistry and oral surgery.
Their research includes: