LIMS Community VOICES
Bringing together lived experience voices and views with world-class scientists to develop equitable health solutions with meaningful impact.
Our researchers are committed to pioneering health, agricultural and environmental research which delivers meaningful impact for the communities we serve. Essential to this is working closely with those who have lived experience relevant to our research to ensure our work is equitable, impactful and relevant.
If you have lived experience of issues in health and illness, healthcare access and/or delivery, agriculture or the environment, and would like to share your experiences to guide our research, we invite you express your interest in joining our LIMS Community VOICES panel.
A community voices panel contributes a critical perspective in health and environmental research: the day-to-day impact on the community, whether it be a health condition, challenges in accessing or delivering healthcare, and even issues which impact agriculture or the environment.
Scientists have specialist knowledge in how these systems behave. However, how these issues impact communities can differ greatly from person to person across different contexts. This variation may reflect biological differences, but other factors include access to healthcare or other services, environment, geographical location, economic circumstances, cultural contexts, individual priorities and more.
By bringing lived experience perspectives together with scientific and technical expertise, we can explore new approaches, or improve existing approaches, to combat biomedical, agricultural, and technological issues. Through integrating these perspectives in our research, we aim to ensure that we develop solutions which are not only effective, but also relevant and accessible to the end users and communities they are designed to serve, and have a meaningful and equitable impact on day-to-day living.
Your voice will help our researchers better understand the needs of those with lived experience to ensure their work leads to meaningful, real-world impact.
By getting involved, you’ll be helping to shape research that is more relevant, inclusive and responsive, and makes a positive difference for you, your community, and society.
As a member of the LIMS Community VOICES panel, you will:
- Be a part of a diverse group of community members who are passionate about sharing their lived experiences and contributing to research
- Attend meetings to help shape the role and direction of the LIMS Community VOICES panel
- Play an active and meaningful role in guiding research by sharing your experiences in a group setting, as well as one-on-one with a LIMS researcher whose work aligns with your experience
- Receive education and training to support your role in the LIMS Community VOICES panel.
We warmly invite expressions of interest from anyone aged 18 years and over whose experience matches any of the following:
- Lived or carer’s experience of a disease or health condition
- Lived experience of healthcare access challenges
- Clinicians whose work is relevant to our research areas
- Agricultural workers with experiences relevant to our research areas
- Lived experience of environmental impacts.
No prior experience in science, research, or on consumer/community panels is required; just your own experience of the issues which have impacted you.
Please see a list of lived experience perspectives we are currently seeking. If your experience is not listed, please sign up to our mailing list and check back regularly for new opportunities, as we will be looking for members of the communities with experience of different issues in the future.
We are currently seeking those who have lived or carer experience of:
- Alzheimer's and dementia
- Antibiotic Resistance (AMR)/Treatment-resistant infection
- Lymphoedema.
If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us at LIMSCommunityVOICES@latrobe.edu.au.
If you would like to share your experience and help to guide our research, we would love to hear from you.
To register your interest in joining the panel, please:
- Download and read the LIMS Community VOICES panel information pack
- Download and fill out the Experession of Interest form
- Email the completed form to LIMSCommunityVOICES@latrobe.edu.au
Find out more
If you would like to learn more about joining LIMS Community VOICES, please contact:
Dr Emma Grant (LIMS Community VOICES panel coordinator)
- T +61 3 9479 1148
- E LIMSCommunityVOICES@latrobe.edu.au
Are you a LIMS researcher?
If you are a LIMS researcher and would like to collaborate with community for your research project, please download the LIMS Community VOICES Researcher Information Pack and contact Dr Emma Grant for more details.