NHMRC welcomes today’s announcement by the Australian Government of outcomes of the 2022 Centres of Research Excellence scheme.
Fourteen new Centres of Research Excellence will be funded with a total of $35 million, including the Centre for Safe Air that will address the health effects of air pollution, such as bushfire smoke.
Each Centre of Research Excellence receives $2.5 million over five years.
Centres bring together some of Australia’s best health and medical researchers in collaborations to explore and develop new solutions to significant health problems.
They support clinical, health services and public health research that aims to improve health outcomes for Australians and promote the translation of research outcomes into policy and/or practice.
The Centre for Safe Air will be led by air pollution researcher Professor Fay Johnston at the University of Tasmania.
The Centre for Safe Air will bring together experts, policy makers and consumers to create innovative solutions to protect community health in the face of existing and escalating airborne threats such as allergens, traffic emissions and smoke. These hazards cause a substantial health burden by contributing to diseases of the lungs, heart and brain. The Centre will also address the threat of bushfire smoke, an issue where research and policy responses remain fragmented across health and environmental fields.
Professor Johnston led a team that collected data on the average number of emergency department admissions, hospitalisations and deaths in the year of the unprecedented 2019-2020 bushfires, revealing the scale of the health impact of the bushfire smoke.
Also funded is a Centre of Research Excellence focused on eradicating food allergy led by Associate Professor Kirsten Perrett who is Co-Group Leader of the Population Allergy Research Group and Deputy Director of the Melbourne Children's Trials Centre, Murdoch Children's Research Institute.
Australia is reported to have the world’s highest rate of food allergy. The Centre is testing strategies to prevent food allergy through clinical trials, with the aim of reducing the number of children developing allergies, understanding how best to treat and manage allergy to improve the lives of those living with food allergy, and rapidly transferring research findings into public health policy and clinical practice changes.
Three of the new Centres of Research Excellence are focused on improving health outcomes of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
“The 14 Centres of Research Excellence announced today focus on health issues of profound significance for patients and communities,” said NHMRC CEO Professor Anne Kelso AO.
“The Centre for Safe Air is an example of Australia’s researchers responding to the health needs of our time. The pall of smoke from the 2019-2020 bushfires will live in the memory of many Australians for years to come.
“NHMRC’s Centres of Research Excellence are an important part of the health and medical research system in Australia. They bring together the best and brightest researchers who work collaboratively to find innovative and practical solutions for better health.”
Centres of Research Excellence announced today are:
| Chief Investigator | Title | Administering Institution | Budget |
|---|---|---|---|
| Associate Professor Tamera Corte | CRE for Interstitial Lung Disease - towards Individualised Care | University of Sydney | $2,500,000 |
| Professor Rachelle Buchbinder | Australia and New Zealand Musculoskeletal (ANZMUSC) Clinical Trials Network | Monash University | $2,500,000 |
| Professor Jeannette Milgrom | Science Translation for e-Psychological Perinatal Supports (STePPS CRE) | Institute for Breathing and Sleep | $2,500,000 |
| Professor Richard Lindley | A Centre of Research Excellence to Accelerate Stroke Trial Innovation and Translation | University of Sydney | $2,500,000 |
| Professor Angela Morgan | Translational Centre for Speech Disorders | Murdoch Children's Research Institute | $2,500,000 |
| Professor Susan Cotton | The Centre of Research Excellence in Bipolar Disorder (CORE-BD) | University of Melbourne | $2,500,000 |
| Professor John Wakerman | CRE for STrengthening Health Systems in Remote Australia (CRESTRA) | Menzies School of Health Research | $2,500,000 |
| Professor James Ward | Centre of Research Excellence in Urban Indigenous Health | University of Queensland | $2,500,000 |
| Professor Ruth Hubbard | Frailty ADD: Improving Hospital Outcomes for Frail Patients Across Different Disciplines | University of Queensland | $2,500,000 |
| Professor Iona Novak | DRIVE CP: Directing Research In Very Early Cerebral Palsy | University of Sydney | $2,500,000 |
| Professor Fay Johnston | Centre for Safe Air | University of Tasmania | $2,500,000 |
| Professor Tony Butler | Violence Perpetration: Profiling, Prediction and Prevention | University of New South Wales | $2,500,000 |
|
Associate Professor Kirsten Perrett |
Towards eradicating food allergy: from population to precision prevention, early intervention and management | Murdoch Children's Research Institute | $2,500,000 |
| Professor Karen Canfell | Centre for Research Excellence in Cervical Cancer Control (C4) | University of Sydney | $2,500,000 |
| TOTAL | $35,000,000 | ||