Stellar health funding result for Uni of Adelaide

Friday, 17 October 2014

The University of Adelaide, one of Australia's most research-intensive institutions, has been awarded more than $22 million in Federal Government funding to support an array of critical health and medical research projects.

The Prime Minister, the Honourable Tony Abbott, announced the latest 2014 National Health and Medical Research Council grants in Sydney today.

A total of 31 health and medical-related grants were awarded to University of Adelaide researchers, representing 63% of the funding announced for South Australia.

Professor Mike Brooks, Deputy Vice Chancellor (Research), said the funding success reinforced the University's leadership in health and medical research.

"This is a tremendous outcome and a testament to the focus and calibre of our research staff," Professor Brooks says. "It follows outstanding results in all three of the major international university rankings recently, which draw heavily on research performance as a key metric.

"It also demonstrates the importance of increasing collaboration with our many research partners, including the primary teaching hospitals in South Australia and SAHMRI," says Professor Brooks. "Together, we can ensure South Australia remains at the forefront of tackling some of the most serious health issues facing our local community, and also those living far beyond our borders."

The University was awarded $2.5 million for a Centre of Research Excellence for the Protection of Pancreatic Beta Cells, an issue of major and increasing concern for children with type 1 diabetes. The chief investigator of this new centre is Professor Jenny Couper from the University of Adelaide's Robinson Research Institute and the Women's and Children's Hospital.

Among the 20 NHMRC Project Grants awarded to University of Adelaide researchers are:

• $3.14 million to Professor Prash Sanders (Centre for Heart Rhythm Disorders, School of Medicine) for therapies aimed at treating the common heart condition atrial fibrillation
  
• $1.06 million to Professor Andrew Somogyi (School of Medical Sciences) for a project investigating personalised medicines for Aboriginal people
  
• $1 million to Professor Adrienne Paton (Research Centre for Infectious Diseases, School of Molecular and Biomedical Science) for new insights into toxins produced by bacteria that cause important diseases in humans and livestock
  
• $996,490 to Associate Professor Lisa Jamieson (Indigenous Oral Health Unit, School of Dentistry) for researching the link between periodontal disease and chronic kidney disease in Aboriginal adults.

Nine University of Adelaide researchers shared in $2.94 million for Career Development, Early Career and Translating Research Into Practice (TRIP) Fellowships, and the University also received an Infrastructure and Equipment grant of $234,136.

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