Medical Research

What are your research interests?

• To investigate the relationships between individual foods, dietary patterns and the development of cardiovascular disease. 
• Measuring what people eat is a complex problem. It can also be time consuming. 
• Rural populations have a different set of challenges towards accessing health care that generally requires a local solution. 
• Many diseases are preventable, however there is no single time or age where health needs to be a priority. It extends across the lifespan.

Why did you get into research?

Curiosity. And a desire to find a job that was ever-changing and could never be conquered. The day you think you have learned it all is the day you need to leave research.

What would be the ultimate goal for your research?

There will always be questions that need answers. Answering one question generally raises others. It would be great if my research meant that someone didn’t develop a disease that restricted the life they lead.

Biography

Dr Tracy Schumacher is an early career researcher and postdoctoral research fellow with the Gomeroi gaaynggal (babies from Gomeroi lands) research program and the University of Newcastle Department of Rural Health. Before moving to take up her rural postdoctoral position, she worked as a project officer on the development of a new multidisciplinary qualification for Aged Care workers. She is also a qualified dietitian and secondary education teacher.

Dr Schumacher was awarded her PhD in 2016, which investigated translational dietetic strategies for the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular disease. She is now working to improve health outcomes in rural populations, with a focus on the role food and nutrition plays in the development of chronic diseases.

Future Focus

Working towards a time when making the easiest food decision is also the one that adds to a person’s overall health.

Specialised/Technical Skills

• Measurement of dietary intakes
• Translation of dietary advice for prevention of cardiovascular disease
• Nutrition and prevention of chronic disease

Affiliations

• Priority Research Centre for Physical Activity and Nutrition
• Cardiovascular Health and Rehabilitation Association (NSW/ACT) Professional Development Committee
• Tamworth Cardiovascular Working Group