The Minister for Health and Ageing, Tony Abbott, today announced $42 million in funding through the National Health and Medical Research Council’s Development Grants Scheme and Researcher Support Awards.
These grants and awards will strengthen Australia’s research into the cause and treatment of diseases such as cancer, obesity, asthma, diabetes and heart disease.
“The Development Grants Scheme helps researchers translate their results into new products or treatments,” Mr Abbott said.
“As well as having health benefits for the community, the successful projects have commercial potential.”
In New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland, ten research teams will receive total funding of $2.1 million to develop promising initial research. Four projects have already attracted an industry partner.
Some of the innovative projects include:
- researchers at the University of Queensland are working on a new cancer treatment that only kills cancer cells, without damaging normal healthy cells. Another UQ research team is working to develop a device to provide advance warning of seizures in newborn babies;
- in Victoria, researchers at the University of Melbourne will try to combat chronic infections, such as Hepatitis C and AIDS by harnessing the body’s own immune system, while a team at Monash University will work on a new test for prostate cancer;
- in New South Wales, a team from the University of Sydney are working to produce a more reliable test for asthma giving younger children the benefit of early diagnosis and treatment.
Mr Abbott also announced that 277 young Australian researchers would receive $38.3 million in training Scholarships and Fellowships.
For example:
- Dr Clinton Bruce, from the Garvan Institute of Medical Research in NSW will explore the link between obesity and diabetes. In particular, he will examine how fatty acid oxidation in skeletal muscle protects against the development of insulin resistance. Understanding this link could help develop ways of preventing Type 2 diabetes;
- Dr Jerry Greenfield, also from the Garvan, will study early-onset obesity at the University of Cambridge. This research could also shed light on insulin resistance and may lead to new therapies for obese patients;
- Dr Andrew Wilson, from St Vincent's Hospital in Victoria, will progress a campus-wide program in vascular biology at Stanford University in the US, concentrating on arterial disease. It is expected that this study will increase understanding of vascular risk, and lead to screening and targeted treatment of high-risk subjects;
- Dr Peter Kistler, from the Royal Melbourne Hospital, will work at St Bartholomew’s Hospital in London, to produce a detailed image of electrical activity in the heart. This tool will improve current treatments for defective heart rhythms, a leading cause of stroke and heart failure.
In addition, the Federal Government will award more than $1.7 million for four Career Development Awards; $80,000 for five Travelling Awards and $113,028 for eight International Collaborative Indigenous Health Research Program Seeding Grants.