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The Bamboo Parenting Program: Promotion of a Randomised Pilot Trial
The Bamboo Parenting Program is an online social support program for first-time mothers in the perinatal period. The program has been designed to prevent mental illness during this vulnerable period, and by leveraging social support, Bamboo targets one of the most significant predictors of mental health for perinatal women. The program pairs first-time mothers with volunteer mothers or with mother-nominated individuals (with support training provided in program). Pairs work together to navigate the critical and difficult perinatal period. Funding from this seed fund will be used to promote a pilot randomised trial in North Queensland.
JCU College of Healthcare Sciences Research Seed Grants
Small Equipment PC2 Aquatic Recirculation research system
PC2 Aquatic Recirculation system.
Molongle Creek Seagrass Monitoring (Old ID 22917)
The aim of this research is to survey seagrass habitats in areas around Molongle Creek. The objectives include conducting seagrass assessments, comparing results of previous surveys and assessing changes in seagrass distribution and abundance in relation to natural events or human induced activities.
Advanced Developmental and Cellular Imaging Platform for Aquatic Reproductive Biotechnology
This project will establish an Advanced Developmental and Cellular Imaging Platform for Tropical Aquatic Organisms at James Cook University. The platform will provide high-resolution time-lapse imaging of eggs, embryos and larvae, enabling quantitative assessment of developmental performance, hatchery outcomes and reproductive interventions across aquaculture and marine species. The system will support current research in aquaculture breeding, reproductive biotechnology, cryopreservation and an Australian Economic Accelerator-funded gene-editing project in barramundi, while providing future fluorescence imaging capability for cellular tracking and germ-cell research. The infrastructure will be operated as a shared resource supporting researchers, HDR students and industry collaborations across JCU.
Using radiocarbon to measure microbial respiration of charcoal (Old ID 22994)
Building on previous AINSE funding, this project aims to determine the contribution of indigenous charcoal carbon to CO2 respired from the charcoal after three years environmental exposure on a tropical rainforest soil surface at the Daintree Rainforest Observatory, Cape Tribulation. The results will unequivocally demonstrate the degree to which the microbial carbon pool contains carbon derived from radiocarbon dead charcoal.
Get Online Week Grant 2026
Get Online Week Grant 2026: Supporting CALD communities to improve their digital skills.
Strengthening the resilience of ICU nurses: Co-designing an online education intervention.
Led by Tracey Gooding. ICU nurses face elevated risk of burnout, compassion fatigue, depression, and PTSD due to repeated exposure to trauma, death, and ethically complex care. While existing wellbeing interventions (mindfulness, positive psychology, exercise, reflection, peer support, CBT, psychoeducation) show promise for building resilience, they often fail to reflect ICU nurses' lived experiences, and their effectiveness when delivered online remains untested.
This study used a participatory co-design approach — focus groups with ICU nurses across experience levels, followed by thematic analysis and a mini-Delphi consensus process — to explore nurses' psychosocial challenges, coping strategies, and preferences for content. Findings will inform the design of an online education intervention aimed at strengthening ICU nurse resilience.
Ethical GenAI use by design: Co-Creating assessment with students and industry in postgraduate nursing online course
This SoLT participatory project comprises activity-orientated focus groups with students and industry representatives to integrate ethical use of GenAI into assessments in NS5333 Synthesising Evidence for Healthcare. Collaborative redesign builds upon JCU's core principles of learning and teaching, including partnership with students, futures-oriented learning, and assessment that upholds academic integrity. Informed by current TEQSA assessment reform guidance and Accord recommendations, this project will also contribute to academic knowledge through exploring the pedagogical implications of such collaborative assessment redesign. Students who completed NS5333 in 2024 or 2025 have the opportunity for experiential learning about assessment design through participating in this collaborative project.
Culturally safe fetal diagnosis
CoPI with Skye Stewart. This multidisciplinary seed project explores First Nations perspectives on fetal anomalies to address a paucity in knowledge. Using Indigenous methodologies, particularly Yarning, led by Aboriginal midwife and researcher Stewart, participants will share insights through culturally meaningful conversations. The project strengthens allyship among non-Indigenous researchers while generating foundational knowledge to support future large-scale studies. This project will facilitate the development of a competitive research grant, advancing efforts to ensure Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families receive respectful, informed support during prenatal diagnosis. The project provides an experiential opportunity for CHS researchers to undertake ethical research with Indigenous peoples (1).
STEP-CMV: Serological Testing and Education to Prevent CMV Infection in Early Pregnancy, Norman Beischer Medical Research Foundation
Led by Professor Lisa Hui - University of Melbourne. Congenital cytomegalovirus (cCMV) is the most common infectious cause of disability in Australian newborns, yet it remains under-recognised by both clinicians and the public. CMV is a common virus that is passed from person-to-person, usually causing no illness in healthy individuals. However, if a woman acquires CMV during pregnancy, the virus can cross the placenta and infect the developing baby, leading to severe complications such as brain injury, stillbirth, or neonatal death.1 Children born with cCMV may experience lifelong disability, including hearing loss, developmental delay, epilepsy, and cerebral palsy.2 This study seeks to address to issues: Lack of Australian data on maternal CMV infection rates in early pregnancy. No
robust Australian data exist on CMV infection rates during the first trimester—the most
critical period for fetal harm. These data are essential for health economics modelling
and policy recommendations.
• System barriers to CMV counselling, testing and referral in primary care. Despite excellent GP engagement with CMV eLearning modules, our research revealed structural barriers to GPs implementing CMV education in antenatal care.