More funding for medical research

Research into new treatments, improved research translation and Indigenous youth suicide are some of the areas that will benefit from the latest round of 95 NHMRC grants, totalling $71.2 million.

Announced by Health Minister Peter Dutton, funding of $54.6 million will support 74 NHMRC Research Fellowships and 28 current fellowship extensions. A further $8 million will go towards 17 Practitioner Fellowships and $4.5 million will support four grants that form part of the one-off Mental Health Targeted Call for Research (TCR) into Indigenous youth suicide.

Professor Anthony Jorm from the University of Melbourne and his team are one of the lucky four groups to receive a TCR grant. They will use the funding to develop new guidelines to support Indigenous communities to prevent suicide and self-injury amongst their young people. Community members will be trained to act as gatekeepers, identifying young people who are at risk and referring them to health workers with greater health expertise.

Senior researcher Associate Professor David Booth, from the University of Sydney, received an NHMRC Research Fellowship to build on his work into the causes of multiple sclerosis as well as test a number of therapies he has helped develop. He will apply similar ‘omics’-based techniques to evaluate treatment for viral diseases such as HIV.

Further information can be found on the NHMRC website.