La Trobe University Albury-Wodonga

14/10/2026

If you've ever looked in the mirror only to feel embarrassed or disappointed at the state of your teeth, it's likely some of the preventable issues stem back to how well your oral health was managed in childhood 🪥🦷

Cavities (or dental caries) are Australia’s most common chronic childhood disease — and if left untreated, they cause pain, can disrupt sleep, affect eating and learning, lead to hospitalisations and contribute to long-term health concerns well into adulthood.

Thee challenges of managing oral health can be amplified in rural and remote communities, where workforce shortages, travel distances and limited service availability can make accessing routine dental care more difficult.

For children already experiencing disadvantage - such as those in out-of-home care - these barriers can compound existing health inequities.

😁 The Protecting Smiles project, led La Trobe Violet Vines Marshman Centre for Rural Health Research, is collaborating with children and young people, their carers, practitioners and oral health services to find practical ways to address these barriers.

Funded by The Borrow Foundation, Protecting Smiles is based on a simple premise: when children experience trauma, moving between care placements and relying on multiple services, oral healthcare needs to be coordinated around their circumstances.

Learn more about how our researchers are working to improve the smiles of communities across Victoria 👇

For children and young people in out-of-home care, looking after their teeth is not always as simple as being told to brush twice a day. For one young person wh

13/10/2026

Associate Professor Erin Smith has been awarded a prestigious 2026 Tim Fischer Fellowship to develop an innovative education program that will help prepare future health professionals to respond to disasters and major emergencies in rural and regional communities.

Associate Professor Smith, Head of the Department of Rural Allied Health at La Trobe Rural Health School, is one of two Australians selected for the Fellowship, which recognises individuals with bold ideas to create lasting change in regional Australia.

The $50,000 Fellowship, awarded by the Country Education Foundation (CEF), will support the development of Rural Ready: Preparing the Next Generation of Rural Health Professionals for Disasters.

The project will expand an existing award-winning, game-based mass casualty simulation to include immersive rural disaster scenarios such as industrial incidents and severe weather events affecting rural hospitals.

Designed for students in paramedicine, nursing and allied health, the program will provide realistic but psychologically safe learning experiences that strengthen critical decision-making, communication, leadership, teamwork and disaster management skills before graduates enter the workforce.

Associate Professor Smith said rural health professionals often face unique challenges when responding to emergencies.

"Rural health professionals are often at the frontline when disasters strike, and they may be required to make complex decisions with limited resources and support," Associate Professor Smith said.

"By giving students the opportunity to experience realistic disaster scenarios before they enter the workforce, we can help build their confidence, strengthen teamwork across health disciplines and better prepare them to support rural communities when they need it most."

With more than 25 years' experience across higher education, research, disaster health and rural workforce development, Associate Professor Smith's work has focused on improving health, wellbeing and resilience in rural and regional communities.

The Fellowship-funded project will be embedded within programs at the La Trobe Rural Health School, with potential for the resources to be adapted and shared across other rural health education settings nationally.

07/10/2026

“I think I'd really love to work as a Paediatrician, especially in a regional area like Albury-Wodonga.”

Stella Feehan’s volunteering experiences at Albury Wodonga Health have helped bring that goal into focus.

She has volunteered in the fracture clinic and donated crocheted toys to the paediatric wards through her small business, Stella Bear Threads.

“Being able to be in an environment like the fracture clinic really gave a great look in at how health care clinics work & how hard working all the professionals are.”

“Donating toys to the paediatric ward has also been an incredibly rewarding experience. Getting to see the kids & also the nurses reactions to receiving the toys really meant a lot to me. I'm super grateful to have had some great experience at such a welcoming place.”

Stella’s interest in healthcare has grown from her longstanding passion for science and her experiences supporting family members through different health conditions.

“I've always been really interested in the sciences since I was in primary school. Throughout my childhood and teen years, I saw & supported multiple of my close family members through different health conditions which really inspired me to pursue a career where I could make a difference in people's lives.”

An open day in Year 10 introduced Stella to the Bachelor of Biomedical Science (Medical) - our rural medical pathway program.

“This course was introduced to me when I attended an open day in year 10 and it really just clicked with me.”

She has particularly enjoyed studying anatomy and physiology, and has found support from staff, lecturers and broader La Trobe services throughout her university experience.

“I've absolutely loved learning everything, especially anatomy & physiology. Understanding how the body works has been super interesting & fun.”

“I've found the staff really accommodating & the lecturers are always willing to help if I've got any issues with the coursework. The broader La Trobe services have also been fantastic & really helpful.”

Stella is also the recipient of the Vice Chancellor’s Excellence Scholarship (Aspire), which has supported her studies and university experience.

“I'm extremely grateful to have received the scholarship, it's allowed me to buy a new laptop among other things to help me with my university experience & life in general!”

Studying regionally has also helped Stella build meaningful connections within her community.

“The connection to community is amazing. I think sometimes when you go to the city, you just feel like a number, but living regionally is a completely different environment that's allowed me to make friends & connections with my community that I don't think you can get in metro locations.”

For students considering university, Stella’s advice is simple:
“I think the best piece of advice I can give is to just go for it. I really doubted myself & my ability to get into my course, especially because I'd come from a different path and had experienced some people doubting me aswell. Getting in really just showed me that it doesn't matter, as long as you apply yourself & give it your best, you can be happy with the result no matter what.”

05/10/2026

We often associate climate change with heat and drought.

But as the El Niño effect strengthens, Australian farming regions could also face increasingly severe and frequent frosts.

La Trobe's Professor in Plant Biology, Phil Brewer explains how frost can devastate crops — and what can be done to support Australian farmers.

Papua New Guinea’s frost disaster suggests heat and drought aren’t the only symptoms of a changing climate.

02/10/2026

New research shows most Australians are not prepared for the death of a loved one.

Researchers from La Trobe's Public Health Palliative Care Unit and the Death Literacy Institute surveyed more than 3,000 people to create a comprehensive view of the nation's understanding of death.

"Death happens to everyone but it's surprising how few people are actually prepared. About two-thirds of Australians haven’t discussed their end-of-life wishes with their families," said Dr Kerrie Noonan, Acting Head of La Trobe’s Public Health Palliative Care Unit and Director of the Death Literacy Institute.

The researchers have developed READYConnect, a new online tool to help people prepare better for end of life.

READYConnect provides a short digital quiz to assess a person's ‘death literacy’, providing personalised insights to help people start conversations with relatives and carers about dying.

Assess your own Death Literacy at: https://brnw.ch/21x66Et

30/09/2026

How can local partnerships and AI tools help strengthen STEM education in regional communities?

Social Lab 2 will bring together rural STEM educators, industry experts and community organisations to explore practical ways to sustain local networks and develop localised learning resources.

Participants will co-develop recommendations, critically examine AI-generated learning outputs and turn ideas into sustainable approaches for rural STEM education.

📅 Thursday 15 October 2026
🕝 2.30–5 pm
📍Campus Library

The session is part of a La Trobe University research project exploring how local knowledge, expertise and partnerships can support STEM education in rural communities.

If you’re a rural STEM educator or a local STEM expert from industry or a community organisation, register your interest and join the conversation.

Register now 👉 https://brnw.ch/21x63oq

24/09/2026

A huge congratulations to historian and author Professor Clare Wright OAM who has been inducted into the Victorian Honour Roll of Women 👏

✍️ As the author of five compelling books — including the bestselling 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘍𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘰𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘯 𝘙𝘦𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘌𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘬𝘢, winner of the 2014 Stella Prize, and 𝘕ä𝘬𝘶 𝘋𝘩ä𝘳𝘶𝘬: 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘉𝘢𝘳𝘬 𝘗𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴, which won 2025 Australian Political Book of the Year and Book of the Year at the 2025 NSW Literary Awards — and the co-host of the popular podcast 𝘈𝘳𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘍𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 and executive producer of 𝘏𝘦𝘺 𝘏𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺!, it's hard to overstate the impact Professor Wright has on public life.

"Through her scholarship, storytelling and public engagement, Professor Wright has transformed the way we think about our past, bringing overlooked voices and defining moments into the national conversation," said Vice-Chancellor, Professor Theo Farrell.

"She is an outstanding historian, a gifted communicator and a passionate advocate for making history accessible to all Australians."

Thanks again Prof Wright for helping to elevate our understanding of and admiration for so many of the underrepresented voices who might otherwise be lost to the pages of history! 📖

24/09/2026

Meet Sarah Hamill, a first-year Bachelor of Biomedical Science (Medical) student here at our Albury-Wodonga Campus.

For Sarah, the importance of accessible regional healthcare is something she has experienced firsthand.

“I grew up making regular trips to the Royal Children's Hospital in Melbourne due to a lack of accessible specialised care in the area I grew up. When I started receiving treatment in Shepparton, which cut my travel time in half, it became really apparent to me how impactful regional healthcare can be in improving patients' lives and health outcomes.”

That experience helped shape Sarah’s decision to pursue this Rural Medical Pathway to become a doctor — and her goal of one day serving a rural community herself.

“I applied for the Bachelor of Biomedical Science (Medical) because I was really drawn to the course's focus on rural and regional healthcare, which can strengthen healthcare in communities like my own. The Bachelor of Biomedical Science (Medical) became my goal for it's alignment with my values and aspiration to serve in a rural community.”

Now in her first year, Sarah has already discovered a new favourite subject.

“I've really enjoyed the content. Learning about the human body in Anatomy and Physiology has been really interesting. This was a new subject for me, but it very quickly became one of my favourites.”

University life has also brought new challenges — particularly learning to balance study, work and other commitments.

“The biggest challenge has been learning to balance uni study/coursework with work and other commitments. It's all very self-led, which has been pretty different to high school but by managing my own schedule, I'm now much more confident in my independence and abilities.”

Sarah has been commuting to university during her first semester and received a Regional Benefits Scholarship, helping her manage one of the practical realities of studying regionally.

“This scholarship has allowed me to afford upkeep of my car. Thus, ensuring reliable transport to uni, which is important in a rural/regional area.”

And while Albury-Wodonga is new to Sarah, studying regionally means the people and places that matter to her are still close.

“I have lots of support from my family, who live very close by. At the end of the day, I can decompress in nature on the farm. There is also a certain familiarity with living rurally; Albury-Wodonga is new to me, but home, family, and friends are not far away if I need them.”

“The next step in my career will be the University of Melbourne's Doctor of Medicine through the Rural Pathway. From here, I'm really hoping to pursue a career in women's health - especially with a new public Specialist Women's Health Clinic set to open in my local community.”

Her advice for other students considering a similar path?

“Stay passionate about your interests! My course required an interview for admission. These interviewers would have seen your passion and sincerity to whatever motivated you to apply for this course, stay true to that.”

18/09/2026

How prepared is your organisation for an AI-enabled future?

Join Regional Development Australia Hume and La Trobe University for a free, practical, hands-on conference exploring how artificial intelligence is transforming the way organisations work.

You’ll discover practical AI tools and techniques, learn from local business case studies, take part in a live AI readiness assessment and develop a roadmap for future implementation.

📅 Friday, 30 October
🕘 9:30am–3:00pm
📍 La Trobe University Albury-Wodonga

Business owners, leaders, professionals, team members and community organisations from all industries are welcome. No advanced technical knowledge is required.

🎟️ Register for free: https://brnw.ch/21x5McJ

11/09/2026

The people who know La Trobe best have had their say 💬

We're now Victoria’s number one university for postgraduate teaching quality and student experience — as ranked by our own students — according to the latest national Student Experience Survey.

🏆 That's #6 in Australia for teaching quality
🏆 And #9 in Australia for coursework experience

That’s their verdict, and we’re proud of it.
But that's not all:

⬆️ Our postgrads reported an 80.8% satisfaction rate — higher than before COVID

⬆️ Undergraduate student satisfaction has also risen to 77% — that's above the national university average, including the Group of Eight

You have high expectations. So do we. We’ll keep listening and working to make your experience at La Trobe better every day.