Nearly £1 million has been awarded to a research group including Sheffield Hallam University and partner La Trobe University by the Australian National Health Medical Research Council (NHMRC) to undertake a clinical trial exploring the effects of a Mediterranean diet and regular exercise on those living with dementia.

Hallam will collaborate with its Australian strategic partner, La Trobe University, and five other universities in an international two-year research project investigating the disease.

La Trobe University is based in Melbourne, Australia, and the new dementia research partnership is an example of the unique relationship between Hallam and La Trobe which is strengthening global research collaboration and providing international exchange opportunities for staff and students, as well as the development of dual degrees.

Featured in the top 400 of all three major world university rankings, La Trobe is one of only 12 universities to achieve 100 per cent world-standard success in the 2018 Excellence in Research for Australia report. All broad areas of research were rated at, above or well above world standard.

La Trobe and Hallam both share a vision of the transformative potential of universities, believe in the importance of providing students with opportunities to succeed at whatever they choose to do irrespective of their backgrounds and personal circumstances and consider education and research as having the potential to address the most significant social, cultural and economic challenges.

Both universities are also in and of our regions, drawing a significant proportion of our student bodies from local areas and providing opportunities for students who are from disadvantaged neighbourhoods and/or the first in their family to attend university. Alongside this, both universities have an international profile, connecting globally to provide an international perspective to learning, teaching and research.