Mary MacKillop Institute for Health Research (MMIHR) aims to address critical public health issues by identifying and responding with innovative programs that deliver better health outcomes and transform lives.
MMIHR brings national and international health experts together with leading organisations across a broad portfolio of health-related research areas. By fostering an environment of collaborative research, without discipline-based boundaries, the impact MMIHR can make is profound and extensive.
Our team of prominent researchers are driven to improve the quality of health interventions through research that tests and improves the effectiveness of existing health-related programs, health service delivery and health education, and community planning and design.
Our research enables us to develop and shape individual, social and community programs based on a rigorous analysis and synthesis of observational and experimental data, from the molecular to societal level.
To deliver world class research that promotes human health and performance across the life course, by informing large-scale multisectoral interventions, and promoting health and sustainability that directly impacts and can be translated to the Australian and global communities.
Our team of award winning, world-class researchers bring together their diverse strengths through each of our research programs.
Our research programs are always on the lookout for participants to join our studies.
You can view current studies calling for participants.
Want to join our database for future trial recruitment? We can save your details and contact you with particular trials that suit your preference. To join our list, sign up here
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The simple act of crossing a road could help shield the brain from dementia and other cognitive conditions.
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Join us for a timely public seminar bringing together leading clinical and research experts to cut through the headlines and provide practical, evidence-based guidance....
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The Centre for Human Metabolism and Performance has attracted an impressive lineup of international visiting professors and students.
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A World Cancer Research Fund grant will deliver new insights into exercise during immunotherapy.
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ACU has appointed four academics MacKillop Distinguished Professors, a new title inspired by the legacy of Australia’s first saint.
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The Aussie Stingers are shaping up to be our strongest women's water polo team yet ahead of the LA Olympics thanks to a world first research project led by ACU.
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Australian Catholic University researchers are partnering with Nestlé Health Science on a start-up incubator to advance innovation in nutrition.
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Professor Ester Cerin has been recognised with a prestigious Nobel Sustainability Trust award for her contributions to the Global Observatory of Healthy and Sustainable...
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Exercise has the potential to be as effective as medicine in preventing and treating a range of disease.
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ACU researchers will scientifically evaluate the metabolic health benefits of the popular Sydney-based Mrs. Toddy’s Tonic beverage range.
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Where you live plays a powerful role in how your brain ages
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Regular exercise changes the bacteria living in the gut which helps the body to fight illness and stay healthy.
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Lack of green space and air pollution play a pivotal role in shaping cognitive health and can contribute to developing dementia.
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New ACU research found time-restricted eating was as effective as the diet intervention to control blood glucose levels in people with type 2 diabetes.
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Exercise can improve quality of life and reduce fatigue and pain in patients with metastatic breast cancer.
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Our $5 million state-of-the-art human metabolic chamber – the only one of its kind in the southern hemisphere – has opened on the Melbourne campus.
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Leading exercise and nutrition expert Professor John Hawley will join Manchester Metropolitan University as one of its two first ever Global Chairs.
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Structured exercise can reduce fatigue and improve quality of life in patients with metastatic breast cancer.
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Athletes who don’t eat as much energy as they expend put health and athletic performance at risk.
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Australian Catholic University will open a state-of-the-art human metabolic chamber at its Melbourne campus – the only one of its kind in the southern hemisphere.
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ACU researchers have once again been named global leaders in psychology, education, humanities, social sciences, and medical sciences based on prestigious new internati...
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Time restricted eating is a popular dietary trend for those wanting to hack their health but does it affect muscle health?
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Researchers from ACU have been awarded more than $1.3 million in the highly competitive Australian Research Council Discovery Projects scheme.
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ACU study finds TRE and HIIT together deliver health and metabolic changes that unsustainable diets cannot.
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ACU bone health researchers will investigate if probiotics can slow bone thinning in early menopause.
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An ACU research team is looking at the impact of periods and hormonal contraceptives on elite female athletes.
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New ACU research finds potatoes are just as good as pasta when it comes to powering elite athletes.
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Australian cities failed to meet health and sustainability thresholds in the new Lancet Global Health series.
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ACU researchers have been awarded more than $2 million in Australian Research Council grants.
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Dr Evelyn Parr from the Mary MacKillop Institute for Health Research has been honoured for her research into chrono-nutrition.
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A telehealth exercise program for palliative cancer patients with the muscle wasting syndrome cachexia is improving their quality of life, physical function, and streng...
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When all else is equal the difference between Olympic gold and silver may come down to something as seemingly simple as what an athlete eats.
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Standing up and moving for three minutes every half hour may lessen the health impacts of sitting too much, a new study shows.
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The ketogenic diet may turn elite Olympic athletes into fat-burning machines but new ACU research has found it does not improve endurance.
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Eating isn’t cheating, according to an Australian Catholic University study that found inadequately fuelled cyclists could be sabotaging their most important rides.
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Green space around primary schools may improve students’ academic performance.
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Men who were overweight and at risk of diabetes had better overnight blood sugar control when they exercised in the early evening rather than in the morning.
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Time-restricted eating could be a game changer for more than one million Australians with type 2 diabetes.
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A six-week exercise program of either high-intensity interval training (HIIT) or resistance training can build and maintain muscle mass and strength in middle-aged men,...
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The muscles of elite endurance athletes boast high numbers of extra-efficient mitochondria, the ‘energy’ powerhouse of muscle cells. Unlocking the secrets of these cell...
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Australian Catholic University Professor Jim Sallis, has called for a heightened focus on exercise as a pandemic control after his research revealed physically inactive...
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When it comes to metabolic health, it's not just what you eat, it's when you eat it. New ACU research has added to the growing body of evidence showing how time-restric...
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Carb loading in the week before a marathon is an old school approach and not the ideal way to prepare for an endurance event according to exercise physiologist Andy Kin...
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There’s good news for more than one million Australians who have type 2 diabetes with new ACU research starting to tease apart how changing the time you eat might benef...
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Whether baked, mashed, fried, boiled, or steamed, potatoes are one of the most popular foods in Aussie diets, but the humble spud is a carbohydrate-based food that peop...
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Both elite and amateur athletes would get better performance bang for their buck using traditional carbohydrate drinks/sports foods rather than costly hydrogel drinks, ...
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Ester Cerin, program leader of the Behaviour, Environment and Cognition Research Program at the Mary MacKillop Institute for Health Research (MMIHR) at ACU, has been aw...
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ACU researcher Imre Kouw has received the British Nutrition Foundation's prestigious 2020 BNF Drummond Early Career Scientist Award which recognises early career excell...
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Regular exercise changes the composition of the gut bacteria and may play a crucial role in skeletal muscle function and endurance.
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Endurance athletes on a low-carbohydrate, high-fat or keto diet for its alleged benefits to performance may be sacrificing their bone health.
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It's no secret that being in nature is good for your health. Something as simple as a walk in the park can boost well-being and deliver benefits ranging from better sle...
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ACU researcher Evelyn Parr will explore if delaying breakfast and consuming an early dinner – known as time-restricted eating – can improve the symptoms of lifestyle-re...
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Five academic researchers from the Mary Mackillop Institute for Health Research have been named in the 2019 Web of Science Global List of highly cited researchers.
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Australian Catholic University (ACU) has performed remarkably well over the last three years in the 2018 Excellence in Research for Australia (ERA) evaluation.
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Australian Catholic University’s Doseena Fergie and Bruce Kemp have received some of the nation’s highest honours in this year’s Australia Day awards.
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Time-poor parents are creating a “backseat generation” of children who don’t walk to school even when they live close by.
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ACU has been awarded over $2.6 million in prestigious Australian Research Council funding in 2018.
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The Exercise and Nutrition Research Program (ENRP) is based at the Mary MacKillop Institute for Health Research, Australian Catholic University, Melbourne. The ENRP is ...
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Diabetes is a National Health Priority area and the sixth leading cause of death in Australia. Currently 280 Australians develop diabetes every day – that is one person...
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Excess storage of fat is linked to many different chronic diseases. But some areas of fat storage on the body are worse than others.
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Combining a high protein diet with cardio and strength training could be the key to staving off debilitating muscle loss.
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I recently led a “walkshop” – a walking workshop – that taught cardiac rehabilitation experts how to assess the pedestrian-friendliness of streetscapes, including desig...
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The verdict is in: it is possible to be fat and fit. And it might be better for your health than being skinny and sedentary.
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Gone are the days of gently cocooning cancer patients in cotton wool – when rest and relaxation was an essential and endorsed part of care. A little drug called exercis...
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Professorial Fellow, Professor James (Jim) Sallis was recently featured on The Conversation for his latest article ‘Electric scooters on collision course with pedestria...
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ACU researcher Evelyn Parr is seeking Melbourne-based participants to take part in a research study exploring whether time-restricted eating can reverse the symptoms of...
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People with type 2 diabetes are often advised to avoid high glycaemic index (GI) foods such as potatoes. However, wide variability in GI testing results and limitations...
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In a world first research-led call for exercise to be prescribed as a vital part of cancer treatment, 25 leading Australian cancer organisations and health experts have...
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Leading ACU exercise and sport science experts John Hawley and Prue Cormie co-chaired the prestigious Research to Practice 2018 conference, which drew 800 global and na...
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Obesity warrior Jim Sallis has been presented with the prestigious 2018 Elizabeth Fries Health Education Award in the US. Professor Sallis, an ACU professorial fellow,...
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Targeted exercise programs for older men with prostate cancer are emerging as a crucial therapy to ease long-standing depression, anxiety and psychological distress. N...
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Prue Cormie among leaders in exercise and sports science Leading exercise oncology expert Prue Cormie has been named as one of Exercise & Sports Science Australia’s thr...
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Research to Practice is Exercise & Sports Science Australia’s (ESSA) biennial conference, and features international leaders in the Exercise Science, Exercise Physiolog...
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