Premier’s Awards for clinical research on knee osteoarthritis, stroke risk for First Nations communities
Two University health and medical researchers, Dr Rachel Nelligan and Dr Angela Dos Santos, have been recognised with Victorian Government Premier’s Awards, celebrating their exceptional contributions and capabilities.
Dr Rachel Nelligan, a Physiotherapist and Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Centre for Health Exercise and Sports Medicine, was recognised for clinical research on knee osteoarthritis.
Dr Nelligan developed and evaluated a 24-week self-directed digital exercise approach for people with knee osteoarthritis, that requires no involvement of a health professional - to address the fact that many knee osteoarthritis sufferers don’t undertake recommended treatments.
This research has informed a program that is now available free to the Australian public - used by more than 13,000 people – and that is now being adapted internationally.
Dr Angela Dos Santos, a Stroke Physician and Neurologist at the Royal Melbourne and Alfred Hospitals, was recognised as Australia’s first Aboriginal neurologist and stroke specialist - working to address the unmet needs of First Nations people and families affected by stroke.
Research led by Dr Dos Santos was the first to demonstrate low-level community awareness related to stroke symptoms and identified differences in risk factors, treatment and outcomes among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults experiencing stroke.
As Indigenous Chair of the Australian Stroke Alliance, Dr Dos Santos is bringing CT Brain scanners to the skies, designing an air-mobile stroke unit to reduce time to diagnosis and stroke related disabilities in rural, remote and communities.
The Premier’s Awards are given by the Victorian Government in partnership with the Australian Society for Medical Research, to recognise the exceptional contributions and capabilities of Victoria’s early-career health and medical researchers.