SHPA members awarded NHMRC grants for pharmacy research

A huge congratulations to deserving SHPA members Dr Jonathan Penm FANZCAP (PainMgmt, Research), Senior Lecturer at The University of Sydney's School of Pharmacy, and Dr Shania Liu ANZCAP-Reg. (PainMgmt, Research), Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the University of Alberta, who have each been awarded an NHMRC Investigator Grant!

The NHMRC Investigator Grant scheme provides the highest-performing researchers with the flexibility to pursue important new research directions as they arise. This scheme is open to all researchers in Australia from Basic Sciences to Health Services - and Jonathan and Shania were the only pharmacists to receive it.

Jonathan, who is a member of SHPA's Pain Management Leadership Committee and Co-chair of the Research Leadership Committee, has received a grant of $1.6 million towards his research on opioid stewardship for patients undergoing hip and knee replacements, whilst Shania, former Chair of the Pain Management Leadership Committee, has received a grant of $674,400 towards her research on reducing the harms associated with inappropriate opioid use before spine surgery.

We welcome this fantastic news and are excited to continue seeing both Jonathan and Shania's work unfold as they push pharmacy research and medication safety forward.