Past Events

 

2018

May 10 and May 11, 2018 - Annual Meeting and

Showcase Event:  hosted by EPOCH CRE and NSW Health

Topic: Research Policy and Practice coming together to prevent overweight and obesity among children 0-5 years

 

Our second annual meeting was held at the Charles Perkins Centre at the University of Sydney on May 10-11. It was a great success and over 40 collaborators including postdoctoral fellows and PhD students, attended. There were workshops on the Behaviour Change Wheel  and how it can apply to our work,  Statistical Challenges and one of the many highlights was the session on  Effective Communication and Social Media Lessons given by Medical Entomologist and Communications Expert Cameron Webb.  There were opportunities for PhD students and postdoctoral researchers to present their work and research plans and get valuable feedback from experts. We also held a joint showcase “Research, policy and practice coming together to prevent overweight and obesity among children 0-5 years” which was jointly presented with staff from the New South Wales Ministry of Health.

 

 

 

2017

Rachael Taylor

Congratulations to Rachael Taylor who has been promoted to Professor.  A well-earned reflection of her research excellence.

 

April 2017 - 15th World Congress on Public Health

The EPOCH CRE will be presenting our work at the 15th World Congress on Public Health to be held in Melbourne from April 3 -7, 2017.   We hope to see you there!

 Paediatric Academic Societies Conference in San Francisco - May 6-9, 2017

Lisa Askie presented at the Paediatric Academic Societies Conference in San Francisco on May 6-9, 2017.  Her talk was titled "The Early Prevention of Obesity in Children (EPOCH) Collaboration - results of an individual participant data prospective meta analysis.  40 people attended.

2016

Karen Campbell

Congratulations to Karen Campbell who has been promoted to Professor.  A well deserved recognition for her many years of outstanding work.

 

Launch: The Centre of Research Excellence in the Early Prevention of Obesity in Childhood
(EPOCH CRE) - April 20

New Centre pursues research into health in early childhood

A world-first research centre exclusively focused on tackling the childhood obesity epidemic was launched On April 20, 2016 at the University of Sydney's Charles Perkins Centre (CPC).

Globally renowned experts from seven universities across Australia, New Zealand and the UK will join forces through the new Centre of Research Excellence in the Early Prevention of Obesity in Childhood, to be housed at the Charles Perkins Centre, University of Sydney.

The new NHMRC-funded Centre will pursue cutting-edge research into the prevention of obesity in childhood, examining the crucial early years of life to better understand the importance of good nutrition, exercise and the effects of screen time in children aged zero to five.

"Currently one in five children in Australia is already affected by overweight or obesity by the time they start school. By just focusing on intervening at primary school level, it's already too late," said Director of the Centre Professor Louise Baur from Sydney Medical School.

"The first few years of life are really vital for establishing patterns for good health, wellbeing and happiness across the lifespan." 

 

"Significant changes in our broad environment have made it harder for children to eat well and be as active as they might have been a generation ago."  Prof Louise Baur

 

"We know that behaviours that are really important for lifelong health and wellbeing – eating well, being active and sleeping patterns – are all established in early childhood. Intervening early and knowing how best to support parents in this crucial phase is essential in raising healthy children."

For the first time, leading researchers will share data from existing trials – including from the first worldwide randomised trials into childhood obesity prevention – to help develop new methods and tools to monitor obesity-related behaviours in young children.

The $2.5 million Centre, which is funded until 2020, will bring together specialists from a variety of disciplines including paediatricians, dietitians, health experts, economists and exercise physiologists, bringing a multidisciplinary approach to the complex childhood obesity problem.

"It's currently very difficult to measure at the population level the kinds of activities young children are engaged in: what they are eating, how much they're exercising, how much screen time they're exposed to and the amount they are sleeping," said Professor Baur.

"This information provides vital clues for policymakers and health practitioners, helping them to devise more effective public interventions on wide-ranging issues related to childhood obesity, from improving babies' sleeping patterns to decreasing the amount of screen time."

Another aim of the research group is to assess the economic impacts of good health and nutrition in early life and the flow-on effects into adulthood.

"Very few obesity preventions in early childhood have been subjected to economic evaluation, and yet information on cost-effectiveness, equity, affordability and sustainability are all vital to decisions about program implementation," said Professor Baur.

"This Centre will make a substantial contribution to ending the burden of childhood obesity in Australia and internationally by addressing these significant knowledge gaps, and will help to translate world-leading research into effective and targeted policy programs to reverse the concerning upward trends in childhood obesity."

 

 


Research Translation Symposium - November 29


Lost in Translation: Translating research to inform policy and practice

We are dedicated to easing the global burden of obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease and related conditions
through innovative research and teaching. However many of our solutions get lost in translation due to the complexities
of policy and practice.
This symposium will demonstrate the importance of generating and employing policy-and-practice related evidence
and showcase how the Prevention Research Collaboration at the Charles Perkins Centre, University of Sydney is
endeavouring to close the gap between research and practice.
The symposium is organised by the Prevention Research Collaboration, CRE-EPOCH and the Charles Perkins Centre.
More details can be found at:
http://whatson.sydney.edu.au/events/published/lost-in-translation-translating-research-to-inform-policy-and-practice