
Clinical Academic Groups
With a multi-disciplinary leadership team that draws from the strength of the Partnership, our Clinical Academic Groups focus on networking, capacity building and research translation.
Sydney Health Partners believes that improving the translation of research evidence into sustained clinical practice requires more effective collaborations between researchers and clinicians. In 2021, we established the first six Sydney Health Partners Clinical Academic Groups (CAGs) and added a further five CAGs in 2022.
While each of our CAGs are unique, all are primarily focused on building capacity and capability, ensuring community and consumer involvement in research, fostering collaboration, and improving impact and competitiveness in research translation. Each CAG is united around a clinical problem or population group, and is working towards a key collaborative project.
Cardiovascular
Chairs: Professor Clara Chow & Professor Gemma Figtree
Working across SHP and the Cardiovascular Initiative (CVI) to provide a health system linked platform that brings together pre-clinical and clinical research hubs to facilitate outstanding researchers and clinicians.
Leadership Team
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Disciplines represented in leadership team: Cardiology, Physiotherapy, Nursing
SHP Organisations: Centenary Institute, Heart Research Institute, Kolling Institute, NSLHD, SLHD, WSLHD, University of Sydney

Child and Adolescent Health
Chairs: Profesor Russell Dale & Clinical Professor Sue Woolfenden
Delivering a translational research strategy that addresses implementation gaps, leverages funding opportunities, and allows scale-up through a strength-based and culturally capable approach.
Leadership Team
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Disciplines represented in leadership team: Paediatrics, Neuroscience, Nursing and Midwifery, Allied Health, Aboriginal Health, Oral Health, Public Health, Health Economics, Data Science, Implementation Research
SHP Organisations: Sydney Children’s Hospitals Network, SLHD, University of Sydney

Diabetes and Obesity
Chairs: Professor Stephen Twigg & Professor Louise Baur
Exploring research gaps in obesity, prediabetes and diabetes treatment and investigating research and outcome priorities for consumers.
Leadership Team
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Disciplines represented in leadership team: Endocrinology, Paediatrics, Reproductive and Perinatal Medicine Nursing, Allied Health, Public Health, Nutrition, Dietetics, Digital Healthcare, Exercise Physiology
SHP Organisations: NSLHD, Sydney Children’s Hospitals Network, SLHD, WSLHD, University of Sydney

Genomics and Precision Medicine Partnerships
Chairs: Professor Robyn Jamieson & Associate Professor Yemima Berman
Developing a translational research project focusing on genomic multidisciplinary models of care, genomic upskilling and ‘mainstreaming’ into non-genetics specialties.
Leadership Team
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Disciplines represented in leadership team: Ophthalmology, Paediatrics, Women's Health and Family Medicine, Nephrology, Metabolic Medicine and Neurogenetics, Implementation Science, Diagnostic Genomics
SHP Organisations: NSLHD, Sydney Children’s Hospitals Network, SLHD, WSLHD, University of Sydney

Geriatric Medicine
Chair: Professor Sarah Hilmer
Building capacity to provide research informed care for older people in hospital, at transitions of care and in the community (including residential aged care).
Leadership Team
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Disciplines represented in leadership team: Geriatric Medicine, Pharmacology, Public Health, Digital Health, Allied Health
SHP Organisations: Kolling Institute, NSLHD, SLHD, WSLHD, University of Sydney

Perioperative Care of Surgical Patients
Chair: Dr Sarah Joy Aitken
Facilitating patient-focused, equitable, and value-based surgical care through critical evaluation of current perioperative practices and implementation of evidence-based models of care to prevent adverse surgical outcomes in at-risk patient populations.
Leadership Team
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Disciplines represented in leadership team: Surgery, Nursing, Anaesthetics, Geriatric Medicine, Medical Information and Administration
SHP Organisations: NSLHD, SLHD, WSLHD, University of Sydney

Reproductive, Maternal and Newborn Health
Chairs: Professor Dharmintra Pasupathy & Professor Adrienne Gordon
Improving the quality of care for women and babies in NSW by measuring and understanding variations in care, and then systematically strengthening, developing, and evaluating interventions to reduce unnecessary variations.
Leadership Team
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Disciplines represented in leadership team:
Obstetrics, Women’s Reproductive Health, Perinatal Medicine, Nursing, Health Informatics, Translational Research, Social Science, Public Health
SHP Organisations: NSLHD, SLHD, WSLHD, University of Sydney

Sleep Health
Chairs: Professor Brendon Yee & Dr Sheila Sivam
Building collaborations amongst clinicians in SHP and other academic health centres, to grow capacity through translational projects focused on improving community sleep health.
Leadership Team
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Disciplines represented in leadership team:
Sleep and Respiratory Medicine, Neurology, Neurobiology, Polysomnographic Technology, Paediatrics, Exercise Physiology, Nutrition, Clinical Epidemiology
SHP Organisations: NSLHD, Sydney Children’s Hospitals Network, SLHD, WSLHD, University of Sydney

Sydney Cancer Partners
Chair: Professor Anna DeFazio
Strengthening the focus on connections between research activity and real-world clinical service delivery. Building capacity for research that is focused in areas with the potential for highest clinical impact and consumer need, with clear pathways to implementation of innovative therapies and improvements in practice.
Sydney Cancer Partners was established in 2021 through a $7 milllion Cancer Institute NSW Translational Cancer Research Capacity Building Grant awarded to Sydney Health Partners.
Leadership Team
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Disciplines represented in leadership team: Cancer Service Disciplines including Medical Oncology, Surgery, Haematology, Pathology and Paediatric Oncology; Translational and Basic Research, Implementation Science and Digital Health
SHP Organisations: Sydney Children's Hospitals Network, NSLHD, SLHD, WSLHD, University of Sydney, Children’s Cancer Research Unit, Children’s Medical Research Institute, Chris O’Brien Lifehouse

Sydney Musculoskeletal
Chairs: Professor Cathie Sherrington & Professor Manuela Ferreira
Facilitating research translation to improve musculoskeletal health across SHP by identifying issues of importance to health services and develop, implement and test solutions within clinical services.
Leadership Team
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Disciplines represented in leadership team: Physiotherapy, Geriatric Medicine, Rheumatology, Rehabilitation, Orthopaedic Surgery, Genetics, Emergency Medicine, Pharmacy, Public Health
SHP Organisations: University of Sydney, Sydney Children's Hospitals Network, NSLHD, SLHD

Virtual Care
Chairs: Professor Tim Shaw & Professor Clara Chow
Identifying priority implementation research questions in virtual care to address the research gaps and support the expansion of evidence-based virtual care across SHP acute and chronic disease services.
Leadership Team
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Disciplines represented in leadership team: Digital Health, Cardiology, Clinical Services, Medical Information and Administration, Evaluation, Health Economics and Policy, Consumer Engagement
SHP Organisations: Sydney Children's Hospitals Network, SLHD, NSLHD, University of Sydney
