Western Sydney University's Professor Ajesh George from the School of Nursing and Midwifery, Translational Health Research Institute (THRI) and Australian Centre for Integration of Oral Health, has secured more than $990,000 through the National Health and Medical Research Council's (NHMRC) Targeted Call for Research (TCR): Oral Health Care in Australia grant.
The grant scheme supports research into better translation and implementation of effective population-level oral health interventions. Professor Ajesh's funding success represents the largest grant issued nationally and only grant secured in New South Wales for this round.
Pro Vice-Chancellor (Research & Innovation), Professor Ian Anderson, welcomed this important funding.
"This project addresses a serious and unmet need in our community and reflects Western's strength in research translation, creating real-world impacts and - with oral health disproportionately affecting those from our most vulnerable communities - our commitment to health equity," said Professor Anderson.
Professor George secured $990,370 through the grant to lead the project, 'The Diabetes Oral Health-Dental Service (DIOH-DS): A randomised controlled trial to investigate the effectiveness and implementation of a novel model of care to improve oral health and diabetes outcomes.'
This research will test a new model of care that will train diabetes care providers and equip them with resources including a digital health platform (Smilo.ai) to educate their patients about oral health, identify if they are at risk of gum disease and refer them to accessible dental care services. It is anticipated that the new model of care will improve oral health outcomes, blood glucose control, oral health knowledge and quality of life of people living with diabetes and will be acceptable as well as economically feasible for roll-out nationally.
Professor George will lead a multi-disciplinary research team which includes Western's Associate Professor Amit Arora from the School of Health Sciences and THRI, Associate Professor Phyllis Lau from the School of Medicine and THRI and Professor Kingsley Agho from the School of Health Sciences and THRI.
The research project will also be supported by investigators across Australia, including the Ingham Institute for Applied Medical Research, University of Sydney, La Trobe University, Deakin University, South Western Sydney Local Health District, Sydney Local Health District, Barwon Health, NSW Health, Oral Health Victoria and Seniors Dental Care Australia.
