by Fiona Horwood

"The ultimate outcome of this research will be improved services and better health outcomes for mental health patients in Tasmania."

About one in five Australians will experience a mental illness in any given year, and most of us will experience a mental health problem at some time in our lives. What is more, these health problems appear to be on the rise.

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by Anna Osborne

"Research can sometimes be perceived as rather dry; however, if taking a playful approach ... research becomes a fun space where curiosity and new insights flourish."

Dr Judi Parson is a strong advocate for the therapeutic benefits of play, no matter what your age.

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by Amanda Cromer

"GEL will measure the productivity of a popular urban food-production system - the square-metre vegetable garden."

There is no doubt that society poses science some very 'wicked problems' – problems that are difficult to define and very hard to solve. 

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by Sharon Webb

"Often parents influence a child to feel obligated to help a family member, especially if it’s a sibling needing the [organ] donation."

One year into researching the vulnerability of children who donate regenerative tissue, Angela Wyatt has no doubt: these children are substantially more vulnerable than others.

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by Liam Gash

"We are also trying to unravel the impact of different levels of supplementation with omega-3s on sheep health indicators, meat quality and consumer preferences."

Consumers are demanding leaner cuts of meat - no surprise when the links between saturated animal fats and coronary heart disease, obesity and hypertension are well publicised. 

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by Peter Cochrane

"We would create a big permanent network of trained clinical-data collectors, so anything you wanted to know you could ask the network – cardiac, trauma, paediatrics..."

Annual expenditure on health care in Australia amounts to $130 billion - that's more than 9 per cent of gross domestic product. Yet the research that underpins both policy and practice doesn't always stand up to scrutiny. 

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by Cherie Cooper

"We are aiming to increase the knowledge and understanding of diseases affecting the brain."

The number of people diagnosed with dementia is increasing dramatically around the world. 

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by Lana Best

"Our research shows that short bouts of movement during the workday have a positive effect on the health of desk-based employees."

University of Tasmania Faculty of Education researchers Drs Scott Pedersen and Dean Cooley won't tell you that sitting at a desk all day is killing you - but they can easily demonstrate that it could.

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by Lana Best

"A lot of climate change talk is so gloomy, but maybe Tasmania can turn that into a positive – people will keep coming here for the health and lifestyle benefits..."

Tasmania is a favourite destination for sea-changers, with their desire to walk barefoot in the sand and stare at a soothing ocean view.

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by Rachael Hogge

"SPARX is something that can be accessed by adolescents while they are on a waiting list to see a practitioner, with the practitioner, or in between appointments."

A collaborative research team is keen to trial in Australia a self-help computer program for young people with symptoms of depression.

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by Lana Best

"It really shows that from academics, to students to the general public, everyone can be involved in scientific discoveries that really make a difference."

For more than 10 years Dr Kiran Ahuja has plied a steady stream of volunteers with food such as chillies, chickpeas, breakfast bars, salt and tomato soup, and she's full of admiration for the dedicated people helping her team advance biomedical research.

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by Lana Best

"Balance is so important and as we age our reaction time slows - this program would train the body to keep up with the mind."

Last month, at age 90, Stan Porter of Launceston played his first video game.

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by Peter Cochrane

A four-year-old girl's near-death experience after being bitten by a kitten has inspired a University of Tasmania academic to devise a tool for the assessment of bite wounds.

A pull-out poster version of Rozelle campus paramedic practice lecturer Janelle White's B.I.T.E.S tool is popping up in surgeries around Australia after being published in Australian Doctor, a journal which is circulated to more
than 20,000 GPs.

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