Rehabilitation initiatives

Fellowships and research chairs

• Queensland Brain Institute – Professorial Research Fellowship
  The role of the Queensland Brain Institute Professorial Research Fellowship is to develop an objective technique for assessing the extent of brain damage following a traumatic brain injury. Professor Fatima Nasrallah currently holds this position.
• Queensland Children’s Hospital and Child Health Research Centre at the University of Queensland – Paediatric Chair in Rehabilitation
  The Paediatric Chair in Rehabilitation is a joint research and clinical role between the Queensland Children’s Hospital and Child Health Research Centre at the University of Queensland, focusing on traumatic brain injury and rehabilitation in paediatric patients. Professor Karen Barlow holds this position.

Projects

• Queensland Brain Institute — PREDICT-TBI
  The PREDICT-TBI study focuses on developing an early assessment and prognostic model to predict a patient’s diagnosis and recovery following a moderate to severe traumatic brain injury. This model will be focused on combining blood-based molecular biomarkers, blood biospecimens, computer tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, clinical and patient data and artificial intelligence. Participants will be sourced from four Queensland hospitals.
• Metro South Hospital and Health Service (MSHHS) – Acquired Brain Injury Transitional Rehabilitation Service (ABI TRS)
  ABI TRS is a specialist community-based rehabilitation service designed to improve quality of life, increase independence, and maximise community integration for adults with an acquired brain injury. MAIC funded the service as a pilot in 2016 at the Brain Injury Rehabilitation Service at Princess Alexandra Hospital, Woolloongabba. Following its demonstrated success, the program has been adopted as a permanently funded service by Queensland Health.
  

Projects

• Metro North Health and Hospital Service – Optimising management of open tibia fractures
  This project is conducting a review of open tibia fracture management with the goal of reducing infection rates and healing time, to improve patient outcomes and lessen the economic burden on the healthcare system.
• Metro North Health and Hospital Service – Pelvic Ring Injury Management Evaluation (PRIME)
  Pelvic ring injuries are very commonly caused by motor vehicle crashes and in up to 35% of cases, result in mortality. This project is mapping the trends, risk factors, and costs associated with pelvic trauma hospitalisation in Queensland, to inform best practice and service delivery for injured Queenslanders.
  
• University of Queensland – Whiplash Clinical Pathway
  MAIC provided funding to support this NHMRC project that supported the development of a novel clinical pathway of care to improve health outcomes following whiplash injury.
• University of Queensland – My Whiplash Navigator
  My Whiplash Navigator is a self-directed, evidence-based online program designed to support recovery from whiplash. Developed by researchers, clinicians and individuals with lived experience, it provides guided exercises, educational resources, and recovery‑tracking tools to optimise outcomes for people with whiplash injuries.

Projects

• Griffith University – BioSpine
  Since 2019, MAIC funding has supported the development of BioSpine at Griffith University. BioSpine integrates brain-computer interfaces, electrical stimulation, virtual reality and drug therapies to harness neuroplasticity and reconnect brain/muscle pathways to restore movement and sensation in people with spinal cord injury.
• Spinal Life Australia – Healthy Living Centre Cairns
  The Healthy Living Centre Cairns represents a first‑of‑its‑kind facility in North Queensland, providing a fully accessible short- and medium-term accommodation and allied health rehabilitation services for people with spinal cord injury and other physical disabilities. Predominantly used for the provision of therapy and transitional respite for patients and families, MAIC’s funding supported the opening of the Centre in 2020.
• Spinal Life Australia – Back2Work vocational rehabilitation program
  The Back2Work program provides early intervention vocational rehabilitation for people with a newly acquired spinal cord injury, or damage.

Research centres

• University of Queensland – RECOVER Injury Research Centre
  The RECOVER Injury Research Centre has a strong focus on improving health outcomes following musculoskeletal injuries, understanding the recovery journey for people with compensable injuries, and investigating the implementation of technology-enabled health services.

Projects

• Townsville Hospital and Health Service – Trauma Connect
  Townsville University Hospital is the sole major trauma centre for adults and children outside of South-East Queensland, with a high proportion of major trauma cases arriving from inter-hospital transfers. MAIC has established a funding agreement to enhance trauma care across acute, rehabilitation, and post-discharge phases of care specifically tailored to the North Queensland community.
• Gold Coast Hospital and Health Service – Gold Coast Trauma Project
  This partnership with the Gold Coast University Hospital (GCUH) will review outcomes of GCUH major trauma patients to enhance healthcare services during admission and post-discharge, coordinate patient care and provide mental health supports to its cohort of trauma survivors.
  

Research centre

• Jamieson Trauma Institute
  The Jamieson Trauma Institute (JTI) is jointly funded by MAIC and the Metro North Hospital and Health Service. JTI provides research services in relation to all aspects of trauma care in Queensland.

Fellowship

• Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital/MAIC Trauma Fellowship
  MAIC funding is supporting a full-time trauma surgical fellow at the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital (RBWH) with a 60/40 split between clinical work and research. The Fellow is expected to improve treatment and rehabilitation for patients moving through the RBWH and contribute to dedicated research at Jamieson Trauma Institute, all with the goal to improve healthcare outcomes in Queensland.
• University of Queensland’s Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (AIBN) Research Fellowship
  The University of Queensland’s Wound Management (formerly Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology [AIBN]) Research Fellowship, is investigating novel approaches to improve wound healing, particularly in the pre-hospital setting. Researchers are investigating the use of snake venom protein in a topical gel or patch to accelerate blood clotting and promote tissue regeneration.

Projects

• University of Queensland – Road Trauma Patients: promoting recovery, repair and rehabilitation
  Professor Mark Midwinter at the University of Queensland is leading this project, exploring the role of platelet dysfunction in severe trauma, and how new therapeutic targets and/or biomarkers could be uncovered and exploited to improve patient outcomes.
  
• The Prince Charles Foundation – ICU of the Future Pilot Project
  With advances in modern medicine leading to increased survival rates for intensive care patients, attention has shifted to optimising Intensive Care Unit (ICU) environments to better support recovery. This project is exploring redesign possibilities through a trial at the Prince Charles Hospital ICU, with changes targeting noise reduction, improved lighting, and facilitating better sleep.
• Emergency Medicine Foundation – Trauma care in regional, rural and remote Queensland special research grants program
  In 2021, in collaboration with Emergency Medicine Foundation, MAIC established the Trauma care in regional, rural and remote Queensland special research grants program to empower frontline clinicians delivering emergency trauma care in regions across the state. While road trauma is one of the main causes of traumatic brain injury, the geographic spread of Queensland’s population poses challenges to delivering life-saving emergency care for time-critical injuries. MAIC extended funding for a further three years from 1 July 2024 to provide three grant rounds to clinicians to explore their ideas and develop and evidence-based program to stimulate improvements in the treatment of trauma patients. As part of this funding, dedicated support and expertise from experienced researchers will be provided to these clinicians.

Fellowship

• Queensland University of Technology Data Linkage Fellowship
  This fellowship aims to establish a road crash injury database linking information from the Queensland Police Service, MAIC, and Queensland Health to help inform road safety priorities and countermeasures. Dr Angela Watson holds this position.

Projects

• The Road Safety Data Bureau
  In 2019 MAIC, the Queensland Department of Transport and Main Roads (TMR), Queensland Police Service (QPS), and Queensland Health through the Jamieson Trauma Institute signed a Memorandum of Understanding to establish The Road Safety Data Bureau. The first of its kind in Australia, the cross-agency specialist team was created to identify and address knowledge gaps in Queensland road trauma data. Reports provided to date have provided enriched perspectives into various domains such as serious and fatal injury, motorcycle users, older drivers and impaired driving.
• Queensland Health – Pilot positions at Retrieval Services Queensland
  A pilot research program in collaboration with Jamieson Trauma Institute, this partnership was created to increase research and data analytics in the planning and delivery of pre-hospital, trauma, and retrieval services to better support Queensland’s regional and remote patients.