Grants & Awards
San Foundation Research Grants
San Foundation offers funding annually for work that will showcase AHCL research leading to improvements in patient experiences, patient outcomes and / or health systems. Research projects must be clearly aligned to the mission, vision and values of AHCL and our research priority areas:
- Living with Cancer
- Healthy Living
- Optimising Healthcare
2026 Grant Recipients
In 2026 there were two grant recipients:
- A/Prof Saurabh Gupta and team for the Foundation Model-Based Analysis of EUS for Accurate Diagnosis of Pancreatic Lesions project, whch will develop and validate an AI model using endoscopic ultrasound imaging to improve the diagnostic accuracy of pancreatic lesions, with histopathology as the reference standard.
- Prof Tristan Yan and team for the Cadaveric Validation of Telepresence Robotic Mitral Valve Repair, Atrial Septal Defect Closure, Coronary Artery Bypass, Thymectomy and Lung Resection project. This pioneering work will test the feasibility and reliability of remote robotic surgery at the San.
Previous recipient & finalists
The 2025 grant was recently awarded to a team of San doctors and staff led by cardiologist Dr Sonali Gnanenthiran for The INFORM trial: A randomised controlled trial of usual care vs patient educational video guided INFORMed consent in patients undergoing coronary angiography. Prior research has identified that a significant portion of patients do not feel well informed or satisfied with consent processes. Improved consent may not only better educate patients about the risks of treatment, but may also support shared medical decision-making, an ethically-mandated part of treatment decisions. This trial has the potential to transform informed consent processes and aligns with the AHCL research priority of optimising healthcare.
The 2024 grant recipient was a project proposed by a research team including Orthopaedic surgeons, Research Affiliates at the San and the Australian National University with support from a Clinical Psychologist titled 'Effect of pre-operative antidepressant and antipsychotic use on revision rates and patient reported outcomes following total hip and knee arthroplasty'. With the understanding that up to 1 in 3 patients undergoing hip or knee replacements are affected by mental health, the team hope that by investigating the use of antidepressant and antipsychotic medications pre-op, they may be able to identify how to improve clinical practice outcomes.
In 2023 the grant was awarded to a project titled 'The introduction of a new model of care in the acute care setting in people with dementia: pre and post intervention analysis.' The project aims to explore whether patient outcomes are improved by caring for patients with dementia in a physical environment that better caters for their needs, and will be led by an AHCL cognition nurse and a Geriatric Medicine physician.
Research Project Awards
Adventist HealthCare also established a Research Awards program in 2020. Proudly supported by San Foundation, these awards recognise outstanding work by individuals or departments in areas that align with our research framework and key themes. They have been awarded in the categories of Allied Health & Diagnostic staff, Nursing staff and Support Services & Hospital Management.