Research

MERRC has a diverse research profile, including research focused on the following themes.

Co-Design and Community Translation
Concussion
Moderate to Severe TBI
Multidisciplinary Rehabilitation
Paediatric TBI
Stroke and Telehealth
Translational Neuroscience
Trauma Research

Research studies

MERRC undertakes an extensive range of research studies.
Research studies seeking recruits

Interested in joining one of our studies? View our studies that are currently recruiting.
Collaborations

We collaborate with a wide range of government, industry and community groups, both national and international.
Projects and collaborations map

Explore and download our detailed projects and collaborations map.

Research themes

Moderate to severe TBI - Associate Professor Adam McKay View

Theme lead - Associate Professor Adam McKay

We aim to understand the impacts of moderate to severe brain injury on people’s lives, to develop innovative rehabilitation interventions to improve outcomes after brain injury, and support translation of these interventions into clinical practice.

Improving early rehabilitation View

Treating cognitive, psychological, and behavioural changes View

Stroke and Telehealth - Associate Professor Rene Stolwyk View

Concussion - Associate Professor Catherine Willmott View

Translational Neuroscience - Dr Gershon Spitz View

Theme lead - Dr Gershon Spitz

The Translational Neuroscience theme seeks to discover innovative biomarkers and individualized therapeutic strategies designed to enhance psychological, neurological, and overall brain health in individuals recovering from brain injuries.

Transdiagnostic project View

Traumatic brain injury aging study View

Mapping individual-level neuropathology using normative modelling View

Trauma Research - Professor Jennie Ponsford, AO View

Multidisciplinary Rehabilitation - Dr Pam Ross View

Theme lead - Dr Pam Ross

The research focus of the multi-disciplinary group seeks to optimise vocational rehabilitation services for people who have sustained major traumatic injuries including traumatic brain injury (TBI), spinal cord injury (SCI) and multi-trauma orthopaedic (MTO) injuries including amputation.

Impact of a dedicated early intervention vocational rehabilitation View

Return to work experiences of TBI individuals who received vocational support View

Co-Design and Community Translation - Dr Kate Gould View

Theme lead - Dr Kate Gould

Led by Dr Kate Gould, a clinician-researcher, this theme reflects MERRC’s growing expertise and projects that strongly emphasise co-design of research projects and community translation to support evidence-based practice. A key aspect of this theme is supporting a genuine and sustained partnership between MERRC researchers, relevant community organisations and people with living expertise of brain injury in the design, production and dissemination of brain injury research. At present, there are two major studies which fall under this theme (described below), with Dr Gould also consulting on several other projects requiring co-design and clinical translation expertise.

CyberAbility View

PBS+PLUS View

Paediatric TBI - Dr Michael Takagi View

Theme lead - Dr Michael Takagi

The paediatric TBI theme is focused on understanding factors that predict delayed recovery following concussion and developing interventions for children to support a return to school/sport after concussion. We collaborate closely with the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute and partners in the USA and Canada.

Recent publication: Examining post-concussion white matter change in a pediatric sample - ScienceDirect

Monash-Epworth Rehabilitation Research Centre (MERRC)

Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences