Welcome to the June 2021 edition of the Raine Study Newsletter. We hope this email finds you safe and well, and adapting to the new pandemic "normal" in your part of the world. 
 
In this issue:

• Save the Date: 2021 Annual Scientific Meeting
• Workshop for Early and Mid-Career Researchers
• Raine Study PhD Top-Up Scholarship - Updates
• How to Promote Your Research (Hint: Don’t forget the Raine Study!)
• Latest Follow-Up News
• Raine Study Terminology
• Qualitative/Mixed Methods Research in the Raine Study
• In case you missed it (News Review)

As always, if you have any questions please email [email protected] and we will respond as soon as we can. 

Save the Date: 2021 Annual Scientific Meeting

Mark your calendars – our 2021 Annual Scientific Meeting will take place on Friday 29 October. We’re still in planning mode, and will be posting the call for abstracts very soon, so stay tuned for more details.

Workshop for Early and Mid-Career Researchers

One of our strategic priorities for 2021 has been to increase levels of knowledge about the wonderful resource that is the Raine Study across the community, and specifically amongst researchers in Western Australia and beyond. To help us do this, we hosted an interactive workshop for early and mid-career researchers on Wednesday 23 June at the QEII Medical Centre.
 
This invite-only event was designed to give participants the opportunity to work with members of the Raine Study scientific management team, as well as partners from the University of Western Australia and Curtin University. Each participant had the opportunity to workshop an early concept for use of Raine Study data into a feasible plan on a page, helping them take their first steps as a Raine Study researcher.
 
Even if you missed out on this event, we’re always interested in meeting new researchers as well as talking to our existing contacts who might want to explore new ways of working with us. If you’re looking for inspiration, check out these testimonials from a few of the researchers who have worked closely with us, whose careers have been positively impacted as a result. 
 
Further details about opportunities for all levels of researcher to work with the Raine Study can be found in the Researcher section of our website, or contact the Raine Study Science team at any time. 

Raine Study PhD Top-Up Scholarship - Updates

Congratulations to University of Western Australia PhD candidate Kelly Sansom who was awarded the Raine Study PhD Top-Up Scholarship for 2021. Kelly is using the scholarship funding to progress her research into the connection between sleep-disordered breathing and cardiovascular disease.

Stay tuned for updates from our two 2020 scholarship recipients, Dr Ashish Yadav (The University of Western Australia) and Bereket Adema (PhD candidate, Curtin University) - coming soon.
 
The Raine Study PhD Top-Up Scholarship is a merit-based scholarship to support the highest quality research students to utilise the Raine Study. Applications for the 2022 scholarship will open soon – find out more. 

As a researcher, you likely understand that publishing your research is not in fact the final step of the process, but the first step in sharing your research findings with the world.
 
What you might not also be aware of is that the Raine Study team is also very committed to helping make sure your research gets shared – not only to help the scientific community better understand the factors impacting human health and wellbeing, but also to help people understand the unique value of the Raine Study that supported your research.
 
The Raine Study’s Communications team has done some research of its own and created a handy list of top tips for promoting your research, as well as updating our guidelines on how to refer to and include the Raine Study when promoting your work.  Find out more in our Researcher Engagement Policy and the Commonly Used Resources page, and be sure to contact us with any questions you might have.

Latest Follow-Up News

We’re currently full speed with our current follow up, the Gen2-28 Heart Function follow-up. This round of testing is a continuation of the Gen2-28 Vision and Vessels follow-up from 2018-2020, with a focus on Gen2 participants who attended the Gen2-28VV follow-up but did not have a heart ultrasound. We’re hoping to see between 10 and 12 participants a week, with the follow-up estimated to run until mid-2022.

Planning Underway: The Generations Follow-Up 
By now you should have heard about the unfortunate malfunction at one of our storage facilities last year, which resulted in damage to a number of biological samples. One outcome of the investigation into what happened is that our insurers have come through for us. 
 
This will enable us to conduct a new follow-up with both Gen1 and Gen2 participants (something we had not been able to commit to before now), with estimated data collection to start in 2023. We believe that it will open many new avenues for future research using Raine Study data, which in turn will add significantly to the ongoing value of the Raine Study to researchers in Australia and around the world.
 
The informal name for this follow-up will be the Generations Follow-Up, with official nomenclature as follows:

• Gen1-33-year follow-up
• Gen2-33-year follow-up

 
While there are still many details to be finalised, we encourage you to start thinking about grant applications that would allow you to add additional measures to this two-generation follow-up. We hope that research grant funders will see the value in leveraging this follow-up, efficiently and cost-effectively to produce new knowledge. Contact our Scientific Management team with any queries.

Raine Study Terminology

Here’s a reminder on the correct terminology to use when referring to the various cohort groups and follow-ups undertaken at the Raine Study:
 
Gen2: The original Raine Study babies born 1989-1992, aka “the kids”
Gen1: Parents of the original Raine Study babies; the women originally recruited into the study and their partners 
Gen0: Grandparents of the original Raine Study babies
Gen3: Offspring of the Gen2 babies/participants
 
Current Follow-Up: Gen2-28 Heart Function
 
Proposed (in planning) Follow-Up: Gen1/2-33 Year Follow-Up; the Generations Follow-Up
 
For full details on the terminology around all the follow-ups that have been completed, please go to our Available Data page on the website. 

Qualitative/Mixed Methods Research in the Raine Study

In recent years, the Raine Study has experienced increased interest from researchers on the possibility of conducting qualitative or mixed-methods research with the Raine Study cohort. One recent example of this type of research in the Raine Study was a project aimed at understanding participants’ experience of being involved with the Raine Study to inform retention and engagement strategies. Researchers interviewed 29 active (i.e. those who agreed to attend their 27 year follow-up) and inactive (i.e. those who had not attended either of the past two follow-ups) Gen2 participants. The first paper for this project, published in 2020, provides valuable descriptions of what participation in a long-running study means to participants.
 
In principle, the Raine Study supports project applications involving qualitative research, in the context of mixed methods research, when these:

1. Have a good rationale for the need to conduct the study with Raine Study cohort members instead of the broader population;
2. Consider the burden on participants and any potential impact on quantitative data collections (i.e. ‘traditional’ follow-ups);
3. Demonstrate qualitative/mixed-methods expertise within the investigator team.

If you would like to discuss project ideas related to qualitative/mixed-methods research, please contact the Scientific Management team.

The Raine Study Supports the Panel Pledge for Gender Equity

 The Raine Study 2020 Annual Activity Report Now Online

 The Raine Study Welcomes New Board Members
Since December 2020, there has been a number of changes in membership of the Raine Study Board. They are:

• Notre Dame University: Prof Gervase Chaney, GP and Head of School of the National School of Medicine, Notre Dame University, replaces Prof Greg Blatch. 
• Edith Cowan University: Prof John Olynyk, Gastroenterologist and Dean of Clinical Research, Edith Cowan University, replaces A/Prof Therese O’Sullivan. 
• Gen1 Community Representative: William Aitken replaces Charlotte Diaz
• Prof Romola Bucks is the new Director of the Raine Study
• A/Prof Rebecca Glauert is the new Scientific Director of the Raine Study 

The Raine Study Helps IVF Kids

The Raine Study Powers New Heart Health Research

Lastly, please enjoy these photos of the Raine Study team from a recent photo shoot - "new" Directors Romola and Bec, as well as a new core team picture to match the changes in staff we've seen since our last photo was taken. Much fun was had by all! 😀