NHMRC funding for infectious disease research and more

The National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) announced 21 new grants today, handing out almost $19 million of the $850 million the council will deliver to support health and medical research in Australia this year.

Almost $5 million in funding was allocated to the Centre of Research Excellence in Infectious Disease Emergency Response Research, led by Professor Sharon Lewin of the Doherty Institute. The funding will enable the centre to establish the Australian Partnership for Preparedness Research on Infectious Disease Emergencies (APPRISE), a national network of leading Australian researchers that will deliver a coordinated and evidence-based response to infectious diseases.

“History tells us that new infectious diseases will continue to emerge but that we cannot predict when, where or how,” said NHMRC CEO Professor Anne Kelso. “The purpose of this significant NHMRC grant is to establish national capability to respond rapidly when such threats do emerge by undertaking the research needed to inform the public health response.”

Through its multidisciplinary team of experts in clinical, laboratory and public health research, the centre plans to create and share new knowledge to detect, prevent and manage emerging infection threats. The team will also train a robust cross-sectoral workforce and develop sustainable research capacity integrated within the health system to ensure national and regional health security.

The NHMRC also awarded almost $10.5 million to support 15 Partnership Projects that will help develop practical solutions to a range of issues that affect the health and wellbeing of our community, according to Professor Kelso. For example, Professor David Hunter, from the University of Sydney, was awarded over $1 million for his project to optimise primary care management of knee osteoarthritis.

Finally, almost $3.5 million was awarded to as part of the NHMRC’s targeted call for research to identify effective lifestyle intervention programs to reduce the risk of obesity in 18- to 24-year-olds. Dr Helen Dixon from Cancer Council Victoria was one of five recipients of this grant, receiving over $300,000 to investigate health-oriented sport sponsorship models and advertising strategies.

“All grants announced today will support Australian research on some of the most urgent health issues facing our community,” said Professor Kelso. “NHMRC is proud to support the work of these outstanding researchers and we look forward to seeing the outcomes of their research.”