Lists of eligible research projects for ACU Nutrition Science Honours Scholarships

These are eligible research projects and research supervisors for applicants who wish to apply for the ACU Nutrition Science Honours Scholarship to commence an honour program in semester 1, 2023.

Project Title: Assessment of dietary quality during time-restricted eating

Established Supervisor: Evelyn Parr <Evelyn.Parr@acu.edu.au>
Emerging Supervisor: Ryan Lam 
Third Supervisor (if applicable): Lachlan Mitchell
 

Project Description: 

Individualised dietetic advice is the gold-standard for improving dietary quality for individuals with or at risk of a chronic disease such as Type 2 Diabetes. Recently, dietary advice in the form of time-restricted eating (TRE) has become popular due to a lack of focus on what to eat and a greater focus on when to eat. However, the impact of TRE on overall diet quality is not well understood. This project will involve dietary data collection and diet analysis including assessment of diet quality, to help understand how changing timing of dietary intake influences diet quality and inform future research.

Description of the research internship opportunity: 

Within the MMIHR, we are conducting multiple in-person human research projects. We obtain information from participants through body composition scans, blood sampling and analysis, exercise tests and questionnaires, as well as dietary records. Through the honours project, the student will be immersed in the research team to obtain experience in our various projects from ethics application and participant recruitment through to data collection and final analysis. The internship opportunity would allow the student to build upon and broaden their research experience throughout their honours year. 


Project Title: Brief online intervention to improve healthy food intake

Established Supervisor: A/Prof. Francesco Foroni <Francesco.Foroni@acu.edu.au>
Emerging Supervisor: A/Prof. Sharon Croxford


Project Description:

The modern food environment --characterised by energy-dense, highly palatable foods-- complicates food choices and has been argued to contribute to a worldwide increase in disordered/unhealthy eating. Despite the promises, resource-intensive interventions within the context of a resource-poor health system create a need for lower-cost and scalable brief interventions that can also target specific populations and/or food categories. Based on a successful pilot field-study, this study investigates the effectiveness of a brief, computer-based intervention aimed at modifying food intake. Intervention will be individualised for two groups of individuals: (a) 18-19-year-old healthy adults; (b) individuals with physical disabilities.


Description of the research internship opportunity: 

Internship opportunities to develop research skills and experience beyond honours project include: be involved and work in upcoming systematic review and meta-analysis under direct supervision; supervised data analysis of a data-set from one of the joint projects of the two supervisors (data collection is completed) with the aim to submit the results for publication; assist in the preparation of reports related to the pilot field-study; experience in various aspects of new projects from study set-up, ethics application to data collection and data analysis.



Project Title: Effect of electrolyte replacement in pre-sleep hydration following late day exercise on rehydration and sleep characteristics

Established Supervisor: Dr Jamie Whitfield <Jamie.Whitfield@acu.edu.au>
Emerging Supervisor: Rebecca Hall  
Third Supervisor: Louise Burke


Project Description:

This project focuses on a randomised, placebo-controlled cross-over study to investigate the impact of a low carbohydrate, electrolyte hydration tablet vs water on fluid restoration and hydration markers following exercise-induced hydration. Twenty athletes will be recruited to the study that will examine the thermal characteristics of doing a late afternoon running session in the heat, including a between gender comparison, and the effect of electrolyte replacement in fluids consumed before bed on sleep quality and rehydration. The project activities will include subject recruitment, baseline testing, exercise protocol implementation, nutrition intervention, and data collection with some preliminary analysis.  


Description of the research internship opportunity: 

Within the MMIHR, we are conducting multiple in-person human research projects. We obtain information from participants through body composition scans, blood and skeletal muscle biopsy sampling and analysis, exercise tests and questionnaires, as well as dietary records. Through the honours project, the student will be immersed in the research team to obtain experience in our various projects from ethics application and participant recruitment through to data collection and final analysis. The internship opportunity would allow the student to build upon and broaden their research experience throughout their honours year.


Project Title: The representation of indigenous foods in culinary publications in Australia 

Established Supervisor: A/Professor Adrienne Forsyth <Adrienne.Forsyth@acu.edu.au> 
Emerging Supervisor: Associate Professor Sharon Croxford
Third Supervisor: Associate Professor Shino Konishi

Project Description:

Culinary texts documenting ingredients and recipes have been produced in Australia for more than 150 years. The diet of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders prior to the arrival of Europeans consisted of a rich variety of native animals and plants. The diet of Europeans consisted of imported foods of limited variety, yet they did not enrich their supplies through the exploitation of locally available foods. The aim of the project is to explore the representation of native foods within culinary texts over the past 150 years. The project will incorporate qualitative research methods including content analysis, comparative analysis and an in-depth analysis of recipes by culinary typology.

Description of the research internship opportunity:

Students engaged in the Nutrition Science Honours program will have the opportunity to develop research skills and experience through further engagement in ongoing discipline research projects. Activities related to this project include contribution to a systematic review of the literature related to how health professionals, including nutrition and dietetic practice professionals develop cultural competence and safety to practice, and to the development of survey elements on assessing culinary cultural competencies, for embedding in a broader survey on assessing culinary competence in nutrition science and dietetic 
practice students and professionals.

Project Title: The relationship between orthorexia nervosa and nutrition knowledge, dietary intake and food choice in athletes

Established Supervisor: A/Prof. Francesco Foroni <Francesco.Foroni@acu.edu.au> 
Emerging Supervisor: A/Prof. Adrienne Forsyth 
Third Supervisor: Dr. Ryan Tam  

Project Description:

Orthorexia nervosa (ON) is a pattern of eating behaviours characterized by a pathological fixation and an excessive control over the quality of the food eaten. ON is thought to be more prevalent in athletes and a risk factor for the development of eating disorders. Eating disorders and disordered eating patterns can have detrimental effects on the performance, health and well-being of athletes during and following their competitive sporting careers. This study will examine the relationship between ON and nutrition knowledge, dietary intake and food choice in elite student athletes

Description of the research internship opportunity:

Students engaged in the Nutrition Science Honours program will have the opportunity to develop research skills and experience through participation in ongoing research activities under supervision. These include, but are not limited to: analysing a large Australian dataset on the relationship between orthorexia nervosa and other variables (e.g., physical activities, body image/dissatisfaction, eating disorder symptoms, food evaluation etc); helping to prepare for publication the results of the Australian dataset; working as part of a team on a meta-analysis; and contributing to the set-up of new project(s) including ethics applications, data collection and data analysis. 

Project Title: Impact of mealtime environment changes on residential aged care quality of life and mealtime experience for residents 

Established Supervisor: A/Prof. Adrienne Forsyth <Adrienne.Forsyth@acu.edu.au> 
Emerging Supervisor: A/Prof. Sharon Croxford

Project Description:

Mealtime in residential aged care provides the context for socialisation as well as good nutrition. Experiences at mealtimes, informed by past experiences and associations with food and mealtimes, influence residents’ perceptions of quality of life. The mealtime environment, therefore, may be manipulated to promote enjoyment as well as to encourage dietary intake. This project will assess the impact of mealtime environment changes on residential aged care quality of life and mealtime experience for residents.

Description of the research internship opportunity:

Students engaged in this project will have the opportunity to develop research skills and experience through participation in ongoing related research activities at ACU and St Vincent’s Hospital. These include, but are not limited to, analysing food record data of completed studies, contributing to systematic reviews exploring related topics, collecting and analysing data for ongoing quality assessment studies, and contributing to the development and validation of new patient-reported experience measures. Further, there will be opportunity to collaborate with discipline staff on other ongoing projects which may afford the opportunity to gain experience across diverse methods and/or areas of expertise.

Project Title: Effectiveness of implementation of an ortho-geriatric clinical pathway for fractured neck of femur admissions 

Established Supervisor: A/Prof. Adrienne Forsyth <Adrienne.Forsyth@acu.edu.au> 
Emerging Supervisor: Dr Lachlan Mitchell 
Third Supervisor: Dr Adam Walsh

Project Description:

Elderly patients with fractured neck of femur are often malnourished on admission. Malnutrition can lead to delayed recovery, an increased length of stay, and increased risk of postoperative complications. Blanket referral to dietetic services and implementation of strategies to prevent or manage malnutrition enables access to dietetic services without the need for screening of this high-risk group. This project will assess the effectiveness of the implementation of the ortho-geriatric clinical pathway with a retrospective audit of dietetic interventions and nutrition outcomes.

Description of the research internship opportunity:

Students engaged in this project will have the opportunity to develop research skills and experience through participation in ongoing related research activities at ACU and St Vincent’s Hospital. These include, but are not limited to, analysing food record data of completed studies, contributing to systematic reviews exploring related topics, collecting and analysing data for ongoing quality assessment studies, and contributing to the development and validation of new patient-reported experience measures. Further, there will be opportunity to collaborate with discipline staff on other ongoing projects which may afford the opportunity to gain experience across diverse methods and/or areas of expertise.

Project Title: Understanding patient perspectives of face-to-face versus video telehealth/telephone dietetic service for outpatients attending radiotherapy and day chemotherapy services 

Established Supervisor: A/Prof. Adrienne Forsyth <Adrienne.Forsyth@acu.edu.au> 
Emerging Supervisor: Dr Adam Walsh

Project Description:

Telehealth is an effective method of providing dietetic services. It is increasingly offered as a treatment option that may be preferred by patients with geographic or other constraints to face-to-face attendance, or those accessing frequent medical care, such as those attending radiotherapy and day chemotherapy services. The feasibility of providing dietetic services via telehealth should be assessed within the context of the health service and the community it serves. This project will involve small focus groups or interviews with individual patients to explore their perspectives of face-to-face versus video telehealth/telephone dietetic service for outpatients attending radiotherapy and day chemotherapy services.

Description of the research internship opportunity:

Students engaged in this project will have the opportunity to develop research skills and experience through participation in ongoing related research activities at ACU and St Vincent’s Hospital. These include, but are not limited to, analysing food record data of completed studies, contributing to systematic reviews exploring related topics, collecting and analysing data for ongoing quality assessment studies, and contributing to the development and validation of new patient-reported experience measures. Further, there will be opportunity to collaborate with discipline staff on other ongoing projects which may afford the opportunity to gain experience across diverse methods and/or areas of expertise.

Project Title: Understanding patient perspectives of the role of the dietetic service in an inpatient palliative care service 

Established Supervisor: A/Prof. Adrienne Forsyth <Adrienne.Forsyth@acu.edu.au> 
Emerging Supervisor: Wendy Stuart-Smith 

Project Description:

Dietitians are often under-recognised members of palliative care teams. There is little research on dietetics in palliative care, and studies exploring dietitians' views have identified a need for research to establish evidence for this area of practice. Using a patient-centred approach to healthcare, patient views will be explored as a first step in establishing the importance of dietetic services. This project aims to understand patient perspectives on the role of the dietetic service in an inpatient palliative care service.

Description of the research internship opportunity:

Students engaged in this project will have the opportunity to develop research skills and experience through participation in ongoing related research activities at ACU and St Vincent’s Hospital. These include, but are not limited to, analysing food record data of completed studies, contributing to systematic reviews exploring related topics, collecting and analysing data for ongoing quality assessment studies, and contributing to the development and validation of new patient-reported experience measures. Further, there will be opportunity to collaborate with discipline staff on other ongoing projects which may afford the opportunity to gain experience across diverse methods and/or areas of expertise.