Today at the United Nations headquarters in New York City, 193 world leaders will commit to 17 Global Goals that will guide economic, social and government policy for the next 15 years. The goals identify issues such as poverty, education, health, climate change and more as major priority areas to focus on in order to achieve sustainable development.

The George Institute for Global Health is a strong supporter and advocate of these Global Goals. Goal Three “Good health and wellbeing: ensure healthy lives and promote wellbeing for all at all ages” aligns very closely with our mission to “improve the health of millions of people worldwide”. At the same time much of our work also upholds Goal Five “Gender equality”, Goal 10 “Reduced inequalities” plus many others.

“These goals provide targets for people, organisations and governments to work towards over the next 15 years,” said Principal Director of The George Institute Professor Robyn Norton. “By committing ourselves to these goals, we can collectively achieve development that is as good for humanity and the environment as it is for business and the economy.”

The Global Goals are an offshoot of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which were launched in 2000 with a target year of 2015.  Recognising the success of the MDGs and that a new development agenda was needed, a number of countries agreed in 2012 at Rio+20, the UN Conference on Sustainable Development, to develop a set of sustainable development goals for beyond 2015.

The George Institute’s work is based on our belief that medical research involves people, not test tubes: our goal is to generate research outputs that can lead to real-world change within a five-year timeframe, rather than the decades-long timeframes of other research fields. Examples of our projects currently underway around the world include:

• Using simple text messages to improve the health of heart attack survivors in Australia
• Reducing road traffic accidents and fatalities in India
• Investigating possible links between birth weight and childhood cancer in the UK
• Understanding the real-world use of basal insulin to treat diabetes in China

“With the new Global Goals focusing on a broader range of health issues than the MDGs, there are substantial opportunities for The George Institute to play an important role in the achievement of these goals,” said Professor Norton, “and we look forward to partnering with colleagues across the world to ensure their success.”

Find out more about the Global Goals.

Why is it that in Australia, women make up more than half of science PhD graduates but only 17% of senior academics? The George Institute is proud to take part in a national pilot program of universities and research institutes to break down these barriers.

The Science in Australia Gender Equity (SAGE) initiative is aimed at addressing gender equity issues in the Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics and Medicine (STEMM) sector. Started by the Australian Academy of Science in partnership with the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering, the pilot includes 24 universities, five medical research institutes and two public research agencies. It is based on the successful Athena SWAN Charter program in the UK.

SAGE requires participating organisations to demonstrate with evidence how their workplaces support gender equity as a strategic issue in areas such as retention, progression and pay. Organisations then receive a bronze, silver or gold accreditation according to their rating.

The George Institute Australia Business Manager and Deputy Director of Critical Care and Trauma, Dr Parisa Glass said: “This pilot is critical not just for gender equity in science but also for the future of research in Australia. If we can remove barriers to women realising the full potential of their science careers, then everyone benefits, not just women.”

Executive Director Professor Vlado Perkovic said: “The George Institute has always had strong gender representation across the team, so SAGE is an opportunity for us to be leaders in this area. With the National Health and Medical Research Council announcing a gender equity policy earlier this year to support women in health and medical research, this is an issue of increasing importance in an already competitive funding environment.”

The SAGE pilot was officially launched at Parliament House in Canberra on Wednesday 16 September. Dr Parisa Glass and The George Institute’s HR Manager Lynne Worlock attended the launch.

Find out more about the SAGE initiative.

For the first time, researchers will investigate the burden of fractures in low-middle income countries (LMICs) and describe the current treatment practices in a global multi-centre study, the largest of its kind.

The study will lead to better, more affordable care for people across Asia and in other low income countries worldwide.

Trauma is among the top three leading causes of death in people under age 40 worldwide. For every death attributable to trauma, three patients survive but are permanently disabled. Musculoskeletal injuries are common outcomes of trauma, occurring in over 60% of victims.

Professor Rebecca Ivers, Director of the Injury Division at The George Institute, and Principal Investigator of the study, pointed out that despite the magnitude of this problem, the burden of musculoskeletal injuries remained unknown in LMICs.

“In contrast to the declining rates of injury seen in high income countries, LMICs are experiencing an increase in injury rates because of their rapid motorisation and booming economies.” said Professor Ivers.

“Poor people worldwide are more likely to be injured, and to receive either sub-standard or no care. Health care costs for injury can plunge disadvantaged families deeper into poverty.”

This international study in fracture care, also called the INORMUS study, will be carried out in 40 hospitals and across 18 countries from Asia, Africa and South America. In total 40,000 adult patients admitted to hospital for treatment of a musculoskeletal injury will be recruited. The study is a collaboration by the George Institute for Global Health and McMaster University in Canada, led by Professor Mohit Bhandari.

Incidence of major trauma complications including mortality, re-operations and infections, along with a number of factors that may predict early complications will also be examined. The study aims to identify common trends in diagnosis, management, complications, and outcomes of orthopaedic trauma as the first step toward resolving disparities in global fracture burden.

In China, 13 hospitals from 11 provinces and municipalities will participate in this study. 10,000 patients are expected to be recruited

At the first investigator meeting in Beijing, China, 10th September, Professor Ivers said, “China, like many other developing countries across Asia, is facing a big challenge. Factors such as the dramatically growing number of motorcycles and electric bikes increase the risks of trauma which will significantly impact on the population’s health.”

“We hope that this milestone study, which is in line with the Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011-2020 by World Health Organization, will help inform policy makers and healthcare practitioners about ways to better treat injury, thereby helping to improve outcomes following injury for potentially millions of people and reducing the strain on medical resources in poor countries.” Professor Ivers said.

Seye Abimbola, a PhD student at The George Institute for Global Health and the University of Sydney, has been named as Editor-in-Chief of a new journal by the renowned British Medical Journal dedicated to global health.

BMJ Global Health will be an Open Access, online journal dedicated to publishing high-quality peer-reviewed content relevant to those involved in global health, such as policy makers, funders, researchers, clinicians and, crucially, frontline healthcare workers.

A medically qualified public health specialist, Seye spent seven years working to deliver health services and strengthen health systems in Nigeria. From 2009-10, he was a Rotary Foundation Ambassadorial Scholar at the University of Sydney where he worked on several projects at The George Institute. In 2007, he was awarded the British Medical Journal Clegg Scholarship and also won the joint Lancet and Global Forum for Health Research Essay Prize for “Young Voices in Research for Health.” In 2010, the Institute of Tropical Medicine in Belgium named him as an “Emerging Voice for Global Health”.

Seye was thrilled to receive the BMJ Global Health appointment. He said: "This role is a great honour and opportunity to expand the scope of global health discussion and debate, by including the voices and realities of people on the ground whose perspectives are often ignored, so that people who are able to help them have the right information to maximise the benefits of their investment and support.”

"I was first approached by BMJ a few months ago to ask if I would be interested in such a position and I leapt at the opportunity. What interests me about global health is that it puts a focus on addressing the needs of disadvantaged people all over the world, and having grown up in Nigeria, I have a personal connection to a lot of the issues."

For his PhD, Seye is studying the governance of primary health care in low- and middle-income countries. He is supported by international scholarships from the Sydney Medical School Foundation and the Rotary Foundation.

In his introductory editorial for BMJ Global Health, he writes: "One of the many things that the global health community is in agreement about is that we really do not know how to define global health – and this is not for want of attempts. My favourite characterisation so far is the description of global health as ‘a collection of problems rather than a discipline’; a collection of problems which ‘turn on the quest for equity’; equity in health indices within and between the national boundaries of high, middle or low-income countries." Read the full editorial.

Seye is currently assembling the journal's editorial team and the first volume is expected to be available in February 2016. The journal's editorial advisory board also includes Professor Anushka Patel, Chief Scientist at The George Institute.

Find out more about BMJ Global Health.

A recent training session held jointly by Chinese and Australian health experts is an opportunity to share knowledge across countries and develop the next generation of cardiovascular researchers in China.

The ‘Future Star’ Clinical Research Training was successfully held in Xi’an city, Shaanxi province on 25 to 27 July, 2015. The training program was jointly hosted by the Chinese Medical Doctor Association (CMDA) and Chinese College of Cardiovascular Physicians (CCCP). Senior researchers from The George Institute were invited to provide clinical research training to 20 Chinese cardiovascular physicians with the aim of improving their clinical research ability. Thus it would contribute to the development of cardiovascular clinical research in China.

The clinical research training program is an outcome of a landmark Memorandum of Understanding between The George Institute and CCCP signed this May. The primary focus of the agreement is to provide Chinese physicians with world class clinical research training and the opportunity to spend extended periods of time at The George Institute Australia and the UK. Through such collaboration, the bonds between Australian and Chinese cardiovascular professionals will be strengthened. As marked by Professor Anushka Patel, Chief Scientist of The George Institute,the collaboration is a welcome opportunity for Australian and Chinese medical professionals to learn from each other.

Since the first training program in 2014, the ’Future Star’ program has attracted wide attention from young physicians in this field. The second training kicked off at the 2015 Annual Conference for Chinese Cardiovascular Physicians. 35 young physicians from 20 cities across China passed the first-round selection, and their clinical competence, research ability, and comprehensive ability were examined by way of interview and scoring. At last, 20 of the 35 physicians stood out from the competition and were enrolled on 25th – 27th July.

In the opening ceremony, Prof. Ma Changsheng, sponsor of the program and Chairman of CCCP, pointed out that training young physicians is a guarantee of the Chinese cardiovascular physicians' future and hope. How to keep up with international standards and practice in the aspect of our specialized areas and win in the international competition is an issue about which every young physician should think seriously. The ’Future Star‘ training program is intended to promote academic and career growth of the young cardiovascular physicians and to help them improve their working ability. It is also the intention of the program to train a group of outstanding young cardiovascular physicians and promote academic progress in cardiovascular areas.

During the three-day training, senior researchers from The George Institute Australia gave didactic lectures and interacted with participants in practical workshops. The training program was primarily focused on basic epidemiology and biostatistics, with the main purpose of assisting the clinicians to build their clinical research expertise. In addition, the training also included lectures on how to publish research results and ensure the high quality of research. The participants’ feedback indicated that they benefited from the training and said they would like to receive further training. It is hoped that they will put what they’ve learned into practice when they come back to improve the academic research level in the field of cardiovascular clinical practice in China and strengthen international academic exchange and cooperation.

Two major research grants awarded to teams at The George Institute for Global Health will significantly improve the lives of people with type 2 diabetes, in particular across India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and China. 

Diabetes is the world’s fastest growing chronic disease. Over 347 million people have diabetes with more than 80% of these living in low-middle income countries. 

The Australian National Health and Medical Research Council funded the grants as part of the Global Alliance for Chronic Diseases (GACD), which comprises 10 of the world’s leading health research funding organisations and aims to reduce the global burden of type 2 diabetes and other chronic diseases by coordinating research across the world.

The grants totalling $2.5 million were awarded to Professor Anushka Patel, Chief Scientist of The George Institute for Global Health, and Associate Professor David Peiris, Head of Primary Health Care Research. 

Professor Robyn Norton, Principal Director of The George Institute congratulated Professor Patel and Associate Professor Peiris on this significant funding success.  “Funding like the GACD grants enable Australia and the research sector to play a critical role in effectively targeting the biggest burdens of disease and injury in the region, and The George Institute is privileged to have a role in this effort.”    

Type 2 Diabetes affects 113.9 million people in China, the largest number of any country in the world, and its prevalence is expected to continue rising.

According to Professor Patel:  “These grants will make an enormous difference in treating, preventing and managing Type 2 Diabetes, especially in areas with limited resources and poor access to needed healthcare.”

Professor Patel and her team received a grant of $1,256,500 to adapt and implement a lifestyle modification program to prevent type 2 diabetes in women with gestational diabetes living in India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. The research will involve conducting a randomised controlled trial of this program to determine whether it can be applied and affordably brought to scale in South Asia.

“If the intervention is found to be effective and scalable, the development of Type 2 Diabetes could be delayed or prevented in more than a quarter of a million young South Asian women over a 5-year period,” said Professor Patel.

Associate Professor Peiris and Professor Zhang Puhong from The George Institute China received a grant of $1,385,858 to support the development and trial of a digital intervention program to help people with type 2 diabetes better manage their condition and prevent complications. The trial will involve communities in Beijing and rural villages in China and employ mobile phone technologies to help overcome issues of access to effective health care. 

This project is a flagship study that will be conducted at the China Center for mHealth Innovation at The George Institute China.