THE inaugural Health in Preconception, Pregnancy and Postpartum Early- and Mid-Career Researcher Collective (HiPPP EMR-C) was held in early December 2020.

Despite a year of much upheaval and uncertainty due to the global pandemic of COVID-19, the virtual conference signalled the strength and passion of its members to continue forward with their goals of collective action in maternal obesity prevention and capacity building in early- and mid-career researchers (EMRCs).

The full-day event saw 86 registrants from eight countries join online to hear from some of the world’s leading researchers in the field of maternal obesity prevention, including keynote addresses from CRE HiPP Chief Investigator, and HiPPP EMR-C Lead Mentor Professor Helen Skouteris, who shared her professional path: “From a randomised control trial to a Centre of Research Excellence in Health in Preconception and Pregnancy: My collaborative journey of generating impact” 

Professor Leanne Redman, of Pennington Biomedical Research Centre in Louisiana, USA, also inspired and challenged the audience with her keynote: “Stakeholder engagement for successful implementation of perinatal research – a S.W.O.T analysis”.

Close to 30 EMRCs presented their work on the day with enthusiastic and thought-provoking receptions from all.

“The quality of the research presented by EMCRs was really high, trail-blazing work,” HiPPP EMR-C Co-Chair Dr Heidi Bergmeier said. “It was such a professional conference – exactly what I’d expect to see at any global scientific meet, and this just happened to be from some of our earliest career researchers. I’m excited and inspired to see where this group can take their collaborations to next.”

HiPPP EMR-C Chair Dr Briony Hill echoed Dr Bergmeier’s sentiments. “The research delivered was competitive but the spirit was very collegial,” Dr Hill said. 

“Every presentation was engaging, relevant and so well-presented. Even with the challenges presented by a Zoom conference, it was evident that all participants were engaged through the entire day, and that is a real credit to the quality of our speakers and their work.”

Highlights of the day included Professor Skouteris’ “inspiring” words, encouraging EMRCs to “take hold” of their careers, Dr Hill said.

Themes of taking action “now”, and translating knowledge gained into tangible options for improving women’s lives prior to conception were clear throughout the day, as was the message that stakeholder engagement was integral to creating effective solutions.

“We also heard about the importance of turning our lessons into successes, and stepping out of silos to solve wicked problems,” Dr Bergmeier said.

“Joining at the conference was one step forward in moving out of our familiar zones for greater collaboration and knowledge gain. I am confident those at the conference walked away with not just new knowledge but an open mind about what they don’t know – and the teams and skills needed to come together to fill those gaps.”

A number of awards were presented on the day:

Rapid Fire Presentation Award

• Anne Timm, Health Promotion Research, Steno Diabetes Centre, Copengagen, Denmark.
  Strategies to promote health behaviours in families with small children – a systematic review and realist synthesis of behavioural interventions
• Maureen Makama, Monash Centre for Health Research and Implementation, Monash University, Victoria, Australia.
  Assessing changes in lifestyle behaviours after birth

Oral Presentation Award, PhD Student Award

• Maureen Makama, Monash Centre for Health Research and Implementation, Monash University, Victoria, Australia.
  Barriers and facilitators to a healthy lifestyle in postpartum women using the TDF and COM-B model – A systematic review

Oral Presentation Award, Early- and Mid-Career Award

• Dr Siew Lim, Monash Centre for Health Research and Implementation, Monash University, Victoria, Australia.
  Barriers and facilitators to a healthy lifestyle using the COM-B model: perspective of postpartum women

See the HiPPP EMR-C section of this website for more information on the Collective, its members and how to join.

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