Funding success for vital health and medical research

Minister of Health, the Hon. Greg Hunt, announced the successful National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Investigator Grants and Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF) priority projects today.

Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research), Professor Duncan Ivison congratulated the researchers awarded funding and noted the importance of continuing investment in health and medical research.

“Research conducted in universities and institutes not only advances knowledge but helps communities respond to challenges and improves the lives of Australians and many around the world,” said Professor Ivison. "It’s never been more important to support excellence in health and medical research."

“Our researchers should be proud of this outstanding result which reflects the University’s strength in these disciplines,” he said, adding that the University was recently ranked first in Australia and second in the world in the Times Higher Education’s Impact Rankings, which assesses the impact universities are having in addressing some of the world's greatest challenges.

“As the NHMRC’s flagship scheme, it’s pleasing to see our strong success rate with the University being awarded the second highest number of Investigator Grants of any single institution nationally.”

Highlights of Investigator Grants awarded to Sydney researchers in this round include:

• Professor Simon Lewis was awarded $3.7 million for research into predicting, diagnosing and treating Parkinson's, Dementia with Lewy Bodies and Multiple System Atrophy.
• Professor Allison Tong was awarded $3.2 million for a research project in chronic kidney disease which hopes to partner with patients to transform practice and policy for improved patient-centred outcomes.
• Professor Tony Weiss was awarded $2.9 million to explore the hypothesis that biomaterials based on tropoelastin have the potential to harmonise with surrounding tissue and promote repair.
• Professor Maree Teesson was awarded $2.5 million for a project which will include a longitudinal study to identify causes and risks for multiple disorder development and develop new unified prevention programs that harness advances in technology.
• Associate Professor James Chong was awarded $1.5 million to develop innovative cardiac regenerative therapies through the MRFF Priority Round.
• Professor Tom Snelling was awarded $1 million through the MRFF Priority Round for policy-driven research to improve the immunisation program for young children.

A full list of grant recipients is available on the NHMRC website.