Event Report
Sydney Health Partners Introduces Three New Clinical Academic Groups
Sydney Health Partners (SHP) has established three new Clinical Academic Groups (CAGs) in Emergency Care, Mental Health, and Oral Health to help fast-track the translation of research into everyday clinical practice across the SHP health services.
Published date:
Each CAG will act as a hub for collaboration for clinicians (doctors, nursing and allied health professionals), researchers and consumers around three critical clinical challenges facing our health care system. The CAGs are designed to strengthen capability and support research translation to optimise the impact of research on patient and public health outcomes.
The new groups join SHP’s 12 existing CAGs, established since 2022. SHP provides funding and practical support including training in implementation science, health economics and consumer involvement in research.
The latest CAGs were selected following an open, competitive process launched in October 2025. The successful applications were peer reviewed, and following interviews, were considered for final approval from the SHP Board.
In the first year, the CAGs will focus on building an organisational platform to align research priorities with the needs and priorities of the health services, support early to mid-career researchers and clinician researchers and provide opportunities to strengthen skills in research translation across their membership.
SHP Executive Director Professor Don Nutbeam said the program has already proven its value: “the Clinical Academic Group program brings researchers and those at the front line of health care together to translate research into practice. Expanding the program allows us to extend these benefits to more priority areas for our health service partners.”
The new CAGs have been made possible following SHP’s success in winning an NHMRC Research Translation Centre grant in 2025.
About the New Clinical Academic Groups
Emergency Care
Co-Chaired by Professor Kate Curtis AO and Professor Margaret Murphy, the Emergency Care CAG aims to address challenges such as overcrowding, access block and delays in emergency care. The group brings together an experienced translational research team to build capability among emergency clinicians, integrate consumer engagement, and scale up tested emergency care interventions.
Mental Health
Co-Chaired by Professor Anthony Harris and Associate Professor Alyssa Milton, the Mental Health CAG will focus on addressing the significant burden of mental ill-health across SHP partner organisations. Clinician managers have identified a strong need for a unified framework that could be scaled locally. The group plans to strengthen capability through training, mentoring, and co-designed implementation planning, forming a unified translational network from acute to community care.
Oral Health
Co-Chaired by Associate Professor Shilpi Ajwani and Associate Professor Bradley Christian, the Oral Health CAG aims to respond to the burden of oral disease and the inconsistency in applying evidence-based interventions. The group will focus on three key pillars: integrating oral health into chronic disease management; improving care for priority populations; and using digital health technologies to enhance triage, referral pathways, monitoring and workforce support.
We look forward to working with these new groups and supporting them as they establish and grow their networks, build translational research capability, and deliver impact across our health system.
Professor Don Nutbeam
More information and calls for how to join the new CAGs will be shared in the coming months. Join our mailing list by becoming a site member to stay updated.