Research Area

Health and Medical.

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Flinders’ researchers are at the forefront of health and medical knowledge, and best clinical and care practice. Through research, our academic and clinical experts investigate some of the most pressing challenges society faces today, with the view to prevent illness, treat patients, care for those in need, manage disease, and support recovery of individuals throughout the lifecycle.

Across our flagship health and medical research institutes and centres researchers coalesce to understand, find appropriate treatments for, and solutions to issues of societal importance including:

rising rates of chronic disease such as cancer
mental health disorders
healthy ageing and ensuring quality of life
delivering appropriate, consumer-centred care, and individualised support in dying through to death
understanding social determinants of health outcomes and overcoming disparity
environmental impacts on health.

Our research areas

Engineering and technology

Health and medical

People and society

Science, environment and natural resources

Emerging research: Defence

Fearless Research

Inspiring research stories

Microbes and us

Finding ways that could harness our microbiome to make vaccines and cancer treatment more effective.

Bacteria assassins

Sewage is the unlikely source of a vital resource in the fight against drug-resistant bacteria.

On the warpath

Professor Melissa Brown is finding ways to disable bacteria’s ability to fight back against antibiotics and antiseptics.

Cracking the code of gut-brain communication

How exploring the language of gut cells could lead to better health outcomes.

Intended consequences

Matthew Flinders Professor Jaquelyne Hughes is on a mission to deliver the best healthcare possible, wherever people live.

Amplifying an indigenous voice in health

Why we need a better framework for healthcare practice and models of care for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

Focused on the heart of the problem

Approaching our most common heart rhythm disorder from a new direction.

When brain matter affects money matters

People’s vulnerability to fraud and financial scams may reveal more than just an assault on their savings.

Challenging the system

Improving Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander male health and wellbeing.

Eye for danger

Tackling a devastating eye condition that comes in many forms.

Forget them not

New rays of hope for children with childhood dementia and their families.

Intestinal fortitude

In the fight against bowel cancer.

Surviving cancer

It takes more than treatment.

Cracking the code to unlock brain diseases

Bioengineering live brain tissue to uncover the mysteries of incurable brain disorders.

When stroke strikes

The impact of a stroke on loved ones and caregivers can often be overwhelming. New resources are improving carer support.

Behave your way to health

Life is complicated, and as humans sometimes our behaviours undermine our health.

Early warning system

How genetics and AI can keep an eye on glaucoma.

The worm lady's turn

Could worm brains hold the key to managing chronic pain?

Going viral

How research into dengue fever gave new insights into COVID-19.

Growing pains

Balancing chemical messengers holds clues to cancer and diabetes treatment.

Portable COVID-19 pathology passes the test

COVID-19 has afflicted global populations with devastating speed – and has exposed the vulnerability of Australia’s remote Indigenous communities. Fortunately, Flinders University’s Professor Mark Shephard devised portable and rapid diagnostic test systems that had been more than 20 years in the making.

Cultural care package

Help is at hand to navigate the thickets of dementia services.

Fuelling the fight against childhood obesity

Tackling rapid weight gain in childhood is a critical issue affecting more than 746,000 young Australians – but it can’t just focus on traditional approaches.

Developing essential care for aged care workers

Support for the aged care workforce has been sadly neglected. Poor wages and poor working conditions have been compounded by insufficient uptake of technological advances and innovative practices across the sector, resulting in a crisis of care within Australia’s ever-growing aged care sector.

The microbes that are key to our health

The microbes that are the sum of us.

A voice for change

People with disability know what is needed to improve their own lives, yet many assumptions are made on their behalf and change is largely introduced to their lives without their involvement.

Kids with disabilities zoom ahead

For many people working from home during the coronavirus pandemic, confronting teleconferencing software such as Zoom for the first time has presented disorienting challenges. Just imagine how that must feel for children with disabilities struggling with language and literacy.