Initiatives

Extending the reach of our research impact

Our initiatives are large-scale activities which have emerged from our network of multidisciplinary collaborations and research groups. They extend the reach of our work into research training, clinical practice and community engagement.

Our initiatives include:

The Boden Initiative
Cardiovascular Initiative
Charles Perkins Centre Royal Prince Alfred Clinic
Charles Perkins Centre Early- and Mid-Career Researcher (CPC EMCR) Initiative
Judy Harris Writer in Residence Fellowship at the Charles Perkins Centre
Mackenzie Wearables Research Hub at the Charles Perkins Centre
The Obesity Collective
Sydney Food and Nutrition Network

The Boden Initiative

The Boden Initiative, our translational arm of obesity research, is committed to addressing obesity and metabolic health issues across the lifespan through research, teaching and training, clinical care, prevention and public health, and economic policy change.

Cardiovascular Initiative

The Cardiovascular initiative undertakes multidisciplinary research into cardiovascular health to accelerate translation and build research capacity. This initiative leverages the relationships between Sydney Health Partners and Heart Research Institute to provide common goals for our research and clinical practitioners across the University.

Charles Perkins Centre Royal Prince Alfred Clinic

The Charles Perkins Centre Royal Prince Alfred Clinic (the CPC RPA Clinic) provides specialised healthcare and conducts clinical research into obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and other metabolic- and age-related diseases which lead to accelerated accumulation of metabolic and molecular damage in multiple tissues and organs. It is located at the Charles Perkins Centre’s Research and Teaching Hub.

Early and Mid-Career Researcher (EMCR) Initiative

We are committed to providing an exceptional work environment for our early- and mid-career researchers (EMCR), which includes research students in all stages. Our early- and mid-career researchers are automatically included in the CPC EMCR community and are represented and supported by the Charles Perkins Centre EMCR Steering Committee. The committee organises events to advance the professional development, educational experience and social lives of our Charles Perkins Centre Early and Mid Career Research community. The EMCR Steering Committee is supported by the Nicholas Catchlove Early Career Researcher Development Fund. If you would like to be involved in the CPC EMCR initiative, please email cpc.emcr@sydney.edu.au.

Health and longevity clinical, research and education program

The Health and longevity research, clinical and education program translates the research conducted at the Charles Perkins Centre by the Fontana Healthy Longevity Research Group into effective, healthy lifestyle programs. These comprise personalised dietary, physical exercise, cognitive and mindfulness-based stress reduction interventions that can be integrated into clinical practice, as well as adapted for preventative educational settings. This exemplifies a step in a longer journey to empower a fundamental change in the conversation from ‘chronic disease’ to ‘chronic health’.

Judy Harris Writer in Residence Fellowship at the Charles Perkins Centre

The Judy Harris Writer in Residence Fellowship offers Australian writers the opportunity to collaborate with our researchers on multidisciplinary projects to create literary perspectives on chronic disease. Since its inception in 2015, the fellowship has become one of the most sought-after creative residencies in Australia. We have since welcomed seven writers to explore and translate aspects of the work of the Charles Perkins Centre in their creative responses.

Mackenzie Wearables Research Hub at the Charles Perkins Centre

Funded by the Jennie Mackenzie Bequest, the Mackenzie Wearables Research Hub at the Charles Perkins Centre (Mackenzie WearHub @ CPC) was established by experts in the field of physical activity, sedentary behaviour, and sleep research. The Mackenzie WearHub @ CPC is a dedicated hub focusing on wearable devices used in health-related research. Our mission is to maximise the potential of wearables for the measurement of physical activity, energy expenditure, posture, sleep, and other lifestyle health behaviours. Among other functions, we offer our research community consultations and hands-on support services to enable research teams to design, perform, and disseminate high-quality research using wearable devices

The Obesity Collective

The Obesity Collective is a national, cross-sectoral platform for individuals and organisations working to transform the way we think, speak and act on obesity, and reducing the impact of it has in Australia.

The Charles Perkins Centre works closely with Obesity Australia’s Obesity Collective, who collaborate with our research experts to address the impact of obesity on society.

Sydney Food and Nutrition Network

The Sydney Food and Nutrition Network’s mission is to change the way we teach, think and learn about food and diet by bringing researchers and educators from many disciplines together to work on reshaping local and international food systems, solving food and nutrition problems, and developing a culture of research excellence.