A bumper crop of research grants for 2005

We are off with a bang in 2005 with a bumper crop of research grants. Here we list the awards, awardees and their research titles.

NSW Cancer Institute Grants
NSW Cancer Institute Career Development and Support Fellowships.
The Fellowship provides each successful applicant funding of $147,000 per annum for a period of three years.

Dr Josephine Clayton, Central Clinical School
Title: Discussing prognosis and end-of-life issues with incurable cancer patients; current practice, development and evaluation of an evidence-based training program

Dr Deborah Marsh, Kolling Institute, Northern Clinical School
Title: Functional genomic analysis of human tumorigenesis

Dr Qian Dong, Cancer Genetics Group, Central Clinical School
Title: Develop a cocktail treatment for the lethal form of prostate cancer

Dr Linda Bendall, Discipline of Medicine, Western Clinical School
Title: CXCR4 antagonists in acute lymphoblastic leukaemia in NOD/SCID mice

Dr Jennifer Byrne, Discipline of Paediatrics & Child Health, Children’s Hospital Westmead
Title: Tumor protein D52 in cancer initiation and diagnosis

Dr Diona Damian, Discipline of Dermatology, Central Clinical School
Title: Mechanisms and prevention of ultraviolet radiation-induced immuno-suppression and cutaneous carcinogenesis in humans

NHMRC
NHMRC Centres of Clinical Research Excellence

Professor Tania Sorrell, Western Clinical School
Title: Interdisciplinary clinical and health ethics research and training to improve outcomes in immunosuppressed haematology patients

The Centre will improve Australia’s capacity to combat and prevent life-threatening infections, and reduce adverse social outcomes, in high-risk children and adults with heavily suppressed immune systems. Infections cause most preventable disease and death in these patients. We will establish multidisciplinary training programs in clinical and ethics research and build on our expertise in infectious diseases and microbiology, diagnostics, haematology, immunisation, health informatics and bioethics to improve patient outcomes. These outcomes will be translatable to other high-risk patients such as those with cancer and the critically ill.

Funding : $2M – for a period five years (2005-2009)

NHMRC Project Grants & Fellowships
The Faculty of Medicine has been successful in receiving 41 NHMRC projects, 6 Fellowships and 5 Training Fellowships commencing in 2005.
Full list of the successful projects can be viewed on the Research Office website.

Professor Stephen MacMahon, Professor John Chalmers, Associate Professor Bruce Neal, Professor Mark Woodward, Professor Craig Anderson,
The George Institute of International Health, Central Clinical School
Title: New evidence to guide decisions about the prevention and treatment of common cardiovascular diseases

The Program brings together clinicians, epidemiologists and statisticians in a unique endeavour designed to improve the prevention and treatment of heart attack and stroke. For the foreseeable future, these conditions will remain leading causes of death and disease in Australia and most other countries in the region.

Funding: $8,680,875 over 5 years


Professor Geoffrey Farrell, Professor Geoffrey McCaughan, Associate Professor Jacob George
Storr Liver Unit, Western Clinical School
Title: Molecular and cellular pathogenesis of human liver disease

In humans, chronic liver diseases cause cirrhosis of the liver in some but not all individuals. This leads to protracted ill health, complications (fluid retention in the abdomen, confusion, bloodstream infections, kidney failure, liver cancer) resulting in hospitalisation, liver transplantation and premature death.

Funding: $4,634,965 over 5 years


Professor Anthony Cunningham, Professor Bruce Brew, Proessor Suzanne Crowe, Dr Sharon Lewin, Dr Barry Slobedman, Professor Steven Wesselingh, Westmead Millennium Institute, Western Clinical School
Title: Pathogenesis of Persistent Human Virus Infections of Global Significance.

The study will investigate why humans cannot eradicate particular viruses (HIV/AIDS, cytomegalovirus and herpes simplex virus), the long term effects of these viruses and ways to improve control. Current treatments can only partly suppress the levels of these viruses, because they persist in certain parts of the body called reservoirs, only to resurge later causing disease.

Funding: $6,180,170 over 5 years

Professor Ian Hickie
The Brain & Mind Research Institute, Faculty of Medicine
Title: Emerging severe mental illness in young people: clinical staging, neurobiology, prediction & intervention from Vulnerabi

Mental disorders, such as psychotic and severe mood disorders, are the largest cause of disability in Australia. However, there is still little known about illness onset, relapse and progression. We have developed a clinical staging model with transition points from symptom free to sub-threshold status, to threshold disorder to chronic disability. This Program will investigate neurobiological and psychosocial factors which increase the risk of progression through these stages and use this model as a basis for examining the effectiveness of interventions, for example to prevent, delay or ameliorate onset and relapse, and promote vocational recovery. Thus major clinical and public health benefits and an understanding of factors that contribute to the onset and progression of illness will result.

Professor MacDonald Christie
Pain Management Research Institute, Northern Clinical School
Title: Dissecting pain pathways with conopeptides

A major obstacle to the development of safer and more effective pain treatments is the poorly defined nature of the different pathways involved in chronic pain.

CRC Programme 2005

Woolcock Institute of Medical Research, University of Sydney
CRC for Asthma and Airways, Medical Science and Technology Sector (Developing from an existing CRC) – NSW

Asthma is one of the most prevalent chronic diseases and Australia has one of the highest incidences of asthma in the world. Despite this high prevalence, asthma remains a poorly understood disease, and there is a recognised need for more definitive diagnosis and more effective and safer asthma treatments. The CRC for Asthma and Airways will identify key pathways in asthma mechanisms involving unique sets of genes, inflammatory molecules and proteins that will underpin a rational commercial approach to the better use of existing treatments and the development of novel, improved therapeutic strategies for asthma. In addition, the CRC will improve our understanding of the environmental factors that influence the high and increasing rates of asthma with the goal of developing air quality guidelines and policies that will be implemented through state government partners.

Funding: $26.44 million