Early career researchers are researchers who are in the first five years of their research careers from the time they are awarded their PhD. Flinders Centre for Clinical Change and Health Care Research is committed to fostering the careers of a growing number of early career researchers. Some of these are:
Dr Ching Li Chai-Coetzer
Ching Li is a Sleep and Respiratory Physician employed at the Repatriation General Hospital. She undertook her PhD studies at Flinders University under the supervision of Professor Doug McEvoy at the Adelaide Institute for Sleep Health after being awarded the Flinders Medical Centre Clinicians Trust Scholarship for the years 2007-2010.
Concurrently with Ching Li's PhD studies, she has also attained full accreditation as a Level 2 Sleep Physician in 2007/08, and in 2009 completed a Graduate Certificate in Public Health at the University of Adelaide. Previous research experience includes completion of a Cochrane systematic review on "Continuous positive airway pressure delivery interfaces for obstructive sleep apnea" which was published in the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews in 2006 after she was awarded the Australian Cochrane Airways Group Scholarship in 2005.
Research focus
Ching Li's research and PhD thesis topic focuses on the development and validations of a simplified model of care for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) in primary care, a study which has received NHMRC project grant funding, and also a Top Up Grant from the Flinders Medical Centre Foundation. As part of this project, she has developed an education program on OSA and common sleep disorders for general practitioners which was accredited by the Royal Australasian College of General Practitioners and Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine.
She has provided training for over forty GPs and 2 practice nurses on OSA diagnosis and management across both metropolitan and rural regions of South Australia, and successfully established OSA services in the Riverland and Barossa Valley where sleep services were previously lacking. The importance and quality of this work was acknowledged by the Thoracic Society of Australia and New Zealand who awarded her the Ann Woolcock Young Investigator Award in 2009 for presentation of the early results of her research.
In 2011 Ching-Li commenced work on a new multi-centre research study with the Australian Sleep Trials Network which will evaluate patient outcomes following simplified, limited-channel sleep study recordings versus full sleep study testing for obstructive sleep apnea.
Dr Ruth Sladek
Dr Ruth Sladek is an early career researcher, awarded her PhD in December 2008. Recipient of an NHMRC's National Institute of Clinical Studies scholarship, she investigated individual differences in thinking styles among medical practitioners, and their potential impact on medical decision making. Study contexts ranged from hypothetical decision making, through to adherence to clinical guidelines in acute coronary syndromes and hand hygiene. Dr Sladek also holds a Masters of Public Health Degree, and a Bachelor of Arts with two majors (Library and Information Management; Psychology).
Key roles
- Manager, Research to Practice Group, Division of Medicine, Cardiac & Critical Care, Flinders Medical Centre
- Member, Executive Committee, Flinders Centre for Clinical Change
- Member, Management Group, Parkinson's SA
- Member, SA/NT Data Link Consumer Reference Group
Research focus
Dr Sladek's research interests are varied, but there is a common thread: investigation of strategies that impact on any components or aspects of the knowledge translation cycle in health care. She has been involved in a suite of studies relating to finding evidence, such as Search Filters, implementing evidence (use of academic detailing in educating carers of patients on home oxygen therapy), and understanding the evidence (eHealth literacy among South Australians).
Dr Morton Burt
Dr Morton Burt is an Endocrinologist who has worked within the Southern Adelaide Diabetes and Endocrine Service since February 2007. He is also Director of Advanced Training for the Royal Australasian College of Physicians at Flinders Medical Centre and a Senior Lecturer in Medicine at Flinders University. Dr Burt's other key roles include that as Deputy Editor for Endocrinology for the Internal Medicine Journal and he is a member of the Program Organizing Committee for the Endocrine Society of Australia Annual Scientific Meeting.
Prior to moving to Flinders University Dr Burt undertook training in clinical metabolic research within the Garvan Institute of Medical Research, Sydney, investigating the effects of glucocorticoid (steroid) hormones on body composition and protein metabolism and graduated with a PhD (Medicine) from the University of New South Wales in 2007. This work resulted in Dr Burt receiving the Mayne Pharma Bryan Hudson Award for best clinical research at the 50th Annual Scientific Meeting of the Endocrine Society of Australia in 2007.
Research Focus
Dr Burt's main research interest currently is the effect of glucocorticoids on carbohydrate metabolism and cardiovascular risk. He has established gold standard techniques to assess carbohydrate metabolism locally including euglycaemic-hyperinsulinaemic clamps to quantify insulin sensitivity and stable isotopic techniques to measure hepatic glucose production. These studies are combined with non- or minimally-invasive investigation of cardiovascular risk including assessments of arterial stiffness, endothelial function and autonomic nervous system activity. Dr Burt has received support from the Diabetes Australia Research Trust and Pfizer Cardiovascular Lipid grants to undertake these studies. In 2010, Dr Burt was awarded a South Australia Health Practitioner Fellowship for this research program.
