High impact stroke research wins Vice-Chancellor’s Award

Assoc Prof Cadilhac

Research improving the prevention and treatment of stroke has earned School of Clinical Sciences’ Associate Professor Dominique Cadilhac a prestigious Vice Chancellor’s Award for Research Impact.

Professor Cadilhac’s research program over the last 17 years has focussed on stroke, the leading cause of adult disability and second leading cause of death in Australia.

Using a range of methodologies including mixed-methods health services research, program evaluation and health economics, Professor Cadilhac has provided evidence to improve outcomes for patients with stroke at an acceptable cost.

“Most recent examples of the impact of my research include the establishment of the Australian Stroke Clinical Registry, the Victorian Stroke Telemedicine  (VST) program and providing, for the first time, the greater opportunity to understand unwarranted clinical variation in acute stroke care and the impact on longer-term patient outcomes including quality of life,” said Professor Cadilhac.

“Using decision-analytic modelling in 2007, I showed that by closing recognised gaps in practice and providing improved access to evidence-based therapy, approximately 27,000 (or 38 per cent) of strokes in 2015 could potentially be prevented.

“I calculated $1.06 billion could be recovered in lifetime cost-offsets through this modelling,” said Professor Cadilhac.

“Professor Cadilhac is the leading health services researcher undertaking this important work in Australia, and this work has led to significant economic and social impact,” said Head of Stroke and Ageing Research, Professor Velandai Srikanth. 

When Professor Cadilhac first began tracking access to stroke unit care in 1999 there were only 35 stroke units in this country.

Based on her evidence and consequent lobbying of government to improve health services for stroke, there are now 92 stroke units in Australia, directly contributing to reductions in death and disability.

“This award provides important ratification of the work I have done over the last 17 years with my exemplary team of researchers and collaborators, and it makes me very proud to receive this recognition from the University,” said Professor Cadilhac.

“My outstanding research and professional academic teams have been the invaluable cogs in a very well-oiled and busy machine, and my success is a reflection of their dedication, enthusiasm and broad interdisciplinary expertise that make our work and contributions so well regarded in the field.”