Symposium 5: Consumer and Community Involvement in Hypertension and Pharmacology Research
Tracks
Track 1
| Thursday, December 11, 2025 |
| 11:00 AM - 1:00 PM |
Details
Participatory research methods, including ‘codesign’, actively engages all stakeholders in the research process to ensure that the work addresses a priority area of patients, carers and the communities and promotes impactful research. Consumer-led research and/or community engagement throughout the research process is an increasing priority area for major national funding organisations so greater awareness of these research methods and how to effectively engage with communities is needed to support researchers to undertake high-quality work.
In this symposium, three researchers and one consumer will provide diverse insight into the key concepts for effective community engagement and share first-hand experience of community engagement with diverse communities in practice.
Participants attending this symposium will:
- Gain an appreciation of the challenges and rewards of community engagement throughout the research process;
- Learn practical tips, the “how-to’s” and the common pitfalls of community engagement in hypertension and pharmacology research;
- Opportunity to exchange knowledge and ideas, and reflect on the principles of community engagement in their own research and practice.
Community engagement in hypertension and pharmacology research provides the opportunity to foster inclusivity, relevance and ethical considerations, whilst promoting innovation and empowering all stakeholders involved in the research process. The symposium will provide an interdisciplinary perspective on the role of ‘lived experience’ in research and the benefits of knowledge exchange between patients, carers and researchers. The session will provide an opportunity for participants to engage with the speakers to reinforce their learning.
Speaker
Dr Niamh Chapman
Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney
Ingredients for successful partnerships between researchers and consumers
Biography
John Stevens
Consumer advisor
University of Sydney
Ingredients for successful partnerships between researchers and consumers
Biography
Dr Niamh Chapman
Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney
Co-presenter
Biography
Dr Andrew Goodman
Postdoctoral Fellow
Digital Therapeutics and Care, The Australian e-Health Research Centre, CSIRO
Meaningful engagement to develop culturally relevant digital health interventions with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people
Biography
My research seeks to explore novel approaches and/or solutions to improve Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ health and wellbeing using eHealth. My PhD (conferred November 2023, The University of Queensland) focussed on the co-design of a mobile health (mHealth) platform specifically tailored for the clinical management of CVD risk factors, in partnership with two ATSICCHOs in Far North QLD. Previous to my PhD journey (commencing in 2019) I spent more than 13 years as an Indigenous Healthcare Worker in Queensland alongside rural and remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in the discipline of cardiac and healthcare services.
Prof Grant Drummond
La Trobe University
Consumer involvement in hindsight: reflections from a discovery scientist
Biography
Professor Grant Drummond is a pharmacologist and vascular biologist with over 30 years of experience in research and tertiary education.
He holds senior leadership positions at La Trobe University including Co-Director of the Centre for Cardiovascular Biology and Disease Research and Associate Dean (Research Partnerships) for the School of Agriculture Biomedicine and Environment.
Grant Drummond’s research is focussed on understanding the roles of oxidative stress and the immune system in hypertension and its downstream complications including kidney disease, heart failure and atherosclerosis.
His work has shown that hypertension is associated with activation of T cells, B cells and macrophages. These immune cells then accumulate in key blood pressure-regulating organs such as the blood vessels, kidneys, heart and brain, where they promote inflammation and tissue damage via the release of pro-inflammatory cytokines (e.g. interleukin 18, interferon-g) and autoantibodies.
The long term goals of Grant Drummond’s research are to develop novel therapies that alleviate hypertension and end organ damage by dampening inflammation.
Grant Drummond has over 180 publications and his work has received more than 17,500 citations. His work has been continuously supported by the NHMRC and Heart Foundation of Australia for >20 years.
He is a Fellow of the American Heart Association, and Associate Editor for the British Journal of Pharmacology, Cardiovascular Research and Pharmacology and Therapeutics.
Chair
Lisa Kouladjian O'Donnell
Lecturer
School of Pharmacy, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney
Mouna Sawan
Senior Lecturer
School of Pharmacy, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney
