About us

The Australian Health Research Alliance (AHRA) is made up of seven NHMRC-accredited Advanced Health Research and Translation Centres and three Centres for Innovation in Regional Health.  

The National Women’s Health Research, Translation and Impact Network (WHRTN) is the first national AHRA network, and it works to empower and improve the equity, health, and quality of life for Australian women.  It aims to integrate prevention, healthcare, research, and translation for community benefits while advancing and supporting the careers of women in research.

Established in 2020, WHRTN is funded through the Medical Research Future Fund.

 
 

Established in 2020, WHRTN is funded through the Medical Research Future Fund until 2025. It is led by the Monash Partners. It was officially launched in 2021 at the event, prioritising women's health and careers in COVID recovery and beyond.

WHRTN’s Research Priorities

  • Preconception, pregnancy, postpartum and intrapartum health of women and babies

  • Mental health

  • Reproductive health

  • Chronic disease and preventative health including cancer and heart disease

  • Healthy lifestyle, nutrition, physical activity and the prevention of obesity

  • Violence and abuse

  • Indigenous health

  • Healthy ageing

  • Sexual health

WHRTN has four main programs

 

Research Program

Chaired by Professor Helena Teede

Developing and administering collaborative co-produced research in priority areas. The sub-committee led the development of the research program aligned to the Women's Health Policy and the funded grant.  This is supported by the implementation plan and includes networking, seed funding initiatives, and strategies to improve the quality, breadth, and reach of women’s health research and translation.  

 

Consumer and Community Involvement (CCI) Program

Chaired by Ms Cathy Leane

Facilitates strong consumer involvement.  The CCI sub-committee have engaged Consumer Advisors/Advocates in all WHRTNs activities, and are forming a National Consumer Network and embedding co-production in all research projects. AHRA's National CCI Committee took part in developing the WHRTN CCI strategy and implementation plan.

 

Indigenous Program

Chaired by Professor Aunty Kerrie Doyle

The implementation plan supports and builds capacity for Indigenous female researchers.  The sub-committee works with AHRA’s Indigenous Research Network (IRNet) to create Indigenous Ambassador roles, an advisory committee, and to build a cohort of Indigenous champions.

 

Workforce Development Program

Chaired by Professor Vicki Clifton

Working to develop the careers of women in women’s health research and translation through the program and implementation plan led by the sub-committee.  It is engaging with the AHRA Workforce Development team and has awarded 64 early and mid-career research (EMCR) awards, including three Indigenous EMCR awards. In 2021, WFD also appointed 10 Emerging Leader Fellowships.

Objectives

  • Build capacity, capability and credibility in women’s health research

  • Develop women’s careers in research and translation in women’s health

  • Build a model for sustainability, implementation, scale and impact

  • Support and engage stakeholders from our community - Professional Colleges, Centre Health Service Partners and Primary Care

  • Deliver and/or initiate high-quality applied translational research

  • Support research that feeds into the clinical research pipeline, enabling clinical researcher career development and further funding

Principles

  • WHRTN considers women in their lived environment and social determinants of health

  • WHRTN accepts responsibility for co-design, translation, impact and community engagement

  • WHRTN incorporates primary, secondary and tertiary prevention

  • WHRTN promotes health literacy and equity for priority and underserved populations