NHMRC success for grants commencing 2011

The NHMRC has announced the successful Program Grants for 2010-1015. There were 10 grants and 3 went to University of Sydney – 2 to Sydney Medical School & 1 to Faculty of Health Sciences.

NHMRC list of successful Program Grants

Professor Rick Kefford and his team received $12,065,000 over 5 years for Molecular determinants of risk, progression and treatment response in melanoma.

Melanoma is a major Australian health problem. It is the third most common cancer in men and women and has a disproportionately heavy impact on productive years of life because it is the commonest cause of cancer death in younger adults. The investigators are all associated with the Melanoma Institute Australia, incorporating the Sydney Melanoma Unit (SMU).

MIA is the world’s largest clinical service dedicated to the treatment of melanoma, treating more than 1,500 new melanoma patients annually and maintains a repository of clinical data on melanoma and a large melanoma tissue bank. The program has also recruited large numbers of people from the community, including people with a strong family history of melanoma, in order to study its causes.

It aims to utilise these internationally-recognised resources to develop a scientific basis for improved management of individuals at high risk for development and progression of melanoma, and improved treatment of patients with early and disseminated melanoma, in an era of rapid change in the prospects of successfully treating this dangerous cancer. The program will do this by consolidating and extending its existing collaborative research, supported by NHMRC since 2006.

Chief investigators
Professor Rick Kefford
Professor John F Thompson
Professor Peter Hersey
Associate Professor Graham J Mann
Professor Richard A Scolyer
Professor Nicholas K Hayward

News item: Multimillion dollar funding for research into the 'Australian cancer'

Professor Les Irwig and the STEP team received $8,915,000 over 5 years for Screening and Test Evaluation Program: improving the evaluation and use of tests for screening, diagnosis and monitoring in healthcare.

Medical tests - for screening, diagnosis, and monitoring - are often poorly evaluated and poorly used. This program, run by an established team with skills in public health, clinical epidemiology, biostatistics, health economics and behavioural science, addresses the under-researched issues of whether, when and how to use medical tests. The elements of the program follow the sequence in which testing is often done: for screening (early detection), for diagnosis on which to base treatment decisions, and for monitoring the effects of treatment.

A common approach throughout is the identification of the benefits and harms of testing and assessing their trade-offs; how benefits weigh up against harms. This research is relevant to all partners in healthcare - consumers, clinicians and policymakers - who currently are being tested or implementing tests without being fully informed about the accuracy and effects of these tests.

Chief investigators
Professor Les Irwing
Professor Paul Glasziou
Professor Jonathan Craig
Professor Glenn Salkeld
Associate Professor Petra Macaskill

News item: Another STEP forward in understanding the safety and efficacy of screening and testing for disease