Explore our past research projects and teams.
In 2023-24, ACPIR offered six research scholarships on the following three projects:
- Understanding the role of diviners and traditional healers in witchcraft and sorcery accusations in the Pacific with ACPIR supervisors Drs Barnaby Dixson & Georgia Kafer.
- Dietary intake methodology in the Pacific Islands with ACPIR supervisor Dr Sarah Burkhart.
- Samoan seaweed recipe book and resource suite development with ACPIR supervisors Drs Libby Swanepoel & Lee McGowan.
In 2022-23, ACPIR offered ten research scholarships to work on the following six projects:
- Fish assemblages at giant clam farms. Scholarship recipient Declan Macleod contributed to ACPIR supervisor Prof. Paul Southgate's project. See Declan's presentation of his project experience here.
- Variability in shellcraft products. Inali Lutschini contributed to ACPIR supervisor Prof. Paul Southgate's shellcraft project. See Inali's presentation of her project experience here.
- Development of consumer-facing resources to support village engagement in the seaweed value chain in Samoa. Recipients Mairead Rodgers and Noemie Legendre contributed to ACPIR supervisor Dr Libby Swanepoel's project. See Mairead and Noemie's presentation on their project experience here.
- Women’s Soccer in Oceania: Community Resource Development Project. Kyle MacKenzie, Juliette Sauvage and Taryn Whiley contributed to ACPIR supervisor Dr Lee McGowan's project. See the trio's presentation on their project experience here.
- Dietary intake methodology in the Pacific Islands. Crowther Bedow contributed to ACPIR supervisor Dr Sarah Burkhart's project. See Crowther and the NOVA team's presentation of their project experience here.
- NOVA: Developing a tool to measure consumption of ultra-processed foods in the Pacific Islands. Belinda Christensen and Dallas Thom contributed to ACPIR supervisor Dr Sarah Burkhart's project. See the NOVA team's presentation of their project experience here.
Hear from scholarship recipients
Briana Fahey
Past ACPIR scholarship recipient Briana Fahey credits her experience as igniting her appetite for a career in research. Learn more about her experience with the Australian Centre for Pacific Islands Research Summer Research Scholarship.
Monica Smith
The ACPIR SRS 2021 experience sparked a new passion for research in population-based health for UniSC researcher Monica Smith. Monica is now working towards her PhD and continuing the ACPIR project on school food environments.
Inali Lutschini
In a research team examining shellcrafts, SRS student Inali Lutschini evaluated intra- and inter-individual variability in Papua New Guinean shellcrafts. With the study underway, Inali conducted morphometric assessment of strands of shell beads.
Declan McLeod
“An amazing, valuable and unique experience for undergraduate students. It provided me with skills that I cannot only use in courses throughout my studies, but also those that I will use in my future career. I felt thoroughly supported by my advisors. I'm looking forward to future opportunities.”