2018 Winner of the Capstone Editing Grant for Mid-Career Researchers
Capstone Editing is excited to announce the winner of its mid-career researcher grant: Dr Rachel L Duckham.
Nominating a winner was a difficult task due to the high calibre of applications. Dr Duckham from the Institute for Physical Activity and Nutrition at Deakin University in Melbourne will receive the funds to contribute to her worthy research into the dietary patterns, bone and gut function of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).
Dr Duckham pointed out that children with ASD have a greater risk of hip fracture and hospitalisation than children who do not have ASD. Her research aims to generate data that can be used as a foundation for a future collaborative study with researchers in the US. As a passionate researcher in child and adolescent health, Dr Duckham believes that research should have a direct and beneficial impact on the community, which is a value shared by the Capstone family.
Thank you to all of our applicants. We wish you all the best for your future projects.
Congratulations Dr Duckham and thank you for your community-minded approach to research!
Dr Rachel L Duckham
Dr Rachel Duckham is a research fellow (PhD 2011) and lecturer in exercise, growth and development within the Institute for Physical Activity and Nutrition (IPAN), Deakin University. Following a career as an exercise scientist to elite athletes, Dr Duckham earned her PhD in Human Biology from the Center for Global Health and Human Development at Loughborough University, UK. Since 2011, she has completed post-doctoral training at the University of Saskatchewan in Canada and at the University of Massachusetts Medical School in the US, before moving to IPAN in 2013.
Dr Duckham’s research focuses on childhood bone growth, with a vision to establish effective interventions to recognise precursors of osteoporosis risk during childhood, to prevent the onset of osteoporosis later in life. In 2014, she was awarded the Aspire Academy Early Career Award in Exercise Science and Health as well as a Young Investigators Plenary Poster award at the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research for her work in bone health for adolescence and young women.
In 2017, Dr Duckham was recognised for her work in paediatric bone health and was affiliated with the Australian Institute for Musculoskeletal Science (AIMSS) as a Project Director in the Musculoskeletal Health for Children and Adolescents Research Program. More recently she was awarded a highly competitive Endeavour Fellowship to work with Prof Richard Lewis at the University of Georgia in 2018.
