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One year ago, we launched Health Hive at Australian Parliament House with the goal of supporting young people to meaningfully engage in public health research and advocacy. Since then, we've welcomed more than 1,450 learners from 66 countries 🌏 We recently celebrated this milestone at the BIOTech Futures Symposium at the University of Sydney, where we connected with high school students and learned about their inspiring projects. Next up: our one-year evaluation. The finding

PhD candidate and Youth Engagement Lead Allyson Todd has returned from a busy week at the World Federation of Public Health Associations (WFPHA) 18th World Congress on Public Health in Cape Town, South Africa. Allyson presented her PhD research across several sessions: Youth-led organisation showcase: Allyson co-hosted a booth with A/Prof Stephanie Partridge, promoting Health Hive's free online course for young people interested in public health research and advocacy. Digital

The Youth Well Lab is proud to announce the launch of The Health Hive, a national, youth-designed digital platform and free online course supporting young people to build skills in public health research, advocacy and leadership. Co-created with young people and grounded in best-practice youth engagement, The Health Hive provides a safe, accessible entry point for adolescents to take an active role in shaping the research and policies that affect their health and wellbeing. O

Dr Raeside presenting on community partnerships The Cardiac Society of Australia and New Zealand Annual Scientific Meeting showcased Youth Well Lab’s work on prevention and youth health: Dr Rebecca Raeside co-chaired the breakfast session “What’s Hot in Nutrition”, delivered an invited presentation in the Community Partnerships session on engaging youth in cardiovascular health, and shared a poster on the primary outcomes of the MRFF Funded Health4Me RCT, which she has led wi

The Youth Well Lab at the University of Sydney has been featured as a national case study by the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) and the Consumers Health Forum of Australia (CHF) for excellence in consumer and community involvement in health and medical research alongside the updated Statement on Consumer and Community Involvement in Health and Medical Research. Our team was recognised for co-designing research and interventions with young people aged 10–

Allyson Todd, PhD Candidate and Research Officer in the Youth Well Lab, has been selected to represent Australia as part of the UNESCO Chair Global Health & Education initiative. This initiative has brought together young professionals from around the world to understand what genuine participation means to them. A new milestone in our journey for youth empowerment! Check out the video below

What was the workshop about? "The everyday consumption and management of food, nutrition and health are increasingly influenced and mediated by digital technologies, ranging from online shopping to digital food activism. 25 invited participants from around the world Many of these digital food practices take place in seemingly private realms such as the home that are commonly difficult to access and study for researchers. Yet, at the same time these private spaces become publi

Sara Wardak, Research Assistant at Youth Well Lab Sara Wardak joined the Youth Well Lab as a youth advisor in Year 10 and became a Research Assistant in 2021. She published her first first-author paper in 2023, focusing on adolescent rights-based approaches to health research. Sara also served as Head of the Student Committee for the Australasian Council for Undergraduate Research and as a consumer representative on the MRFF Grant Assessment Committee. She is an integral memb

Dr Rebecca Raeside, Research Fellow and Digital Innovations Lead from Youth Well Lab was selected as one of four national finalists for the Public Health Association of Australia National Student Think Tank. Rebecca examined efforts to support participation of young people in decisions that impact their health and wellbeing. Read her invited essay on the topic published in Croakey Media: To improve health policies, programs and outcomes, young people must be at the table.

We had an fantastic afternoon at the University of Sydney #AlumniFestival, sharing how our team’s research is creating healthier societies and improving the health of #adolescents. Nice to have friends and family come to support us as well. Youth Well team at Researcher Alley! Left to right: Julian, Stephanie, Ally, Sara, Rebecca and Sisi. Youth Well team at Researcher Alley! Left to right: Ally, Rebecca, Sisi, and Sara. We showcased our Medical Research Futures Fund Grant, T

Allyson Todd, PhD Candidate and Research Officer from the Youth Well Lab has been recognised as a national finalist at the 2024 Youth Health Conference for her outstanding contributions to adolescent health! Read more on the Australian Association for Adolescent Health Website.

Pictured: Professor Robyn Ward (Executive Dean FMH, left) with Allyson Todd (centre) and Sara Wardak (right) Congratulations to Youth Well Lab members, Sara Wardak and Allyson Todd, who were awarded the 2024 Semester 1 Faculty of Medicine and Health Makers and Shapers Research Support Excellence Team award for exceptional collaboration and support of the delivery of impactful research outcomes for young people and strengthening the research capabilities in Sydney Nursing Scho