A $2.5 million research centre will be established in Australia to study the possible health effects of electromagnetic energy emissions from mobile phones and mobile phone towers.
The National Health and Medical Research Council will support an actual (a single physical entity or institute) or 'virtual' (linking a collaborative research effort from several different organisations) Centre of Research Excellence in Radiofrequency Electromagnetic Energy, with $500,000 a year for a period of up to five years.
NHMRC CEO, Professor Alan Pettigrew, says the NHMRC has funded, and continues to fund, a number of studies related to radiofrequency electromagnetic energy (EME) in such areas as neurophysiology, neuropsychology and cancer biology.
"More studies are required to provide comprehensive evidence. The NHMRC's EME Expert Committee is now at a point where it wants to broaden and strengthen Australia's research effort in this area," he said
EME Expert Committee co-Chair, Professor Judith Black, said the Expert Committee believed an integrated and continuous program could more readily provide a greater weight of comprehensive research, than could be provided by separate research groups working in isolation.
"The establishment of such a Centre will provide an ideal opportunity to build up and add research expertise by including research training and career development programs in EME-related areas," she explained.
"There is an apparent shortage of expertise in Australia in some EME-related fields. For this reason, the committee believes it is essential to encourage the current small number of experts to share their skills through collaboration and interaction with other researchers and other organisations.
"Such a Centre will offer a unique opportunity for investigators from diverse areas and organisations to work cooperatively in a challenging and new environment," Professor Black said.
The NHMRC has advertised for Expressions of Interest as part of a two-stage application process. It is particularly encouraging interest from investigators who would not normally apply for NHMRC grants.
Note:
Information on the process for the submission of Expressions of Interest can be obtained from www.nhmrc.gov.au.