UQ receives grants for medicine and biomedical science researchers

12 March 2014

Researchers from the University of Queensland’s Faculty of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences have figured prominently in the latest round of National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) grants.

University of Queensland Medical School
Medical studies at the University of Queensland

More than $13.3 million has been awarded across the faculty for major project grants to improve life quality for cancer patients, to develop new immune therapies, and to improve recovery for people following whiplash injuries.
Professor Nicholas Fisk, Executive Dean of the Faculty of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, congratulated the faculty’s three successful research teams from the Diamantina Institute, the Cancer Prevention Research Centre and the Centre for National Research on Disability and Rehabilitation Medicine.
“Researchers from the Faculty of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences have assisted UQ to take pride of place in the grants round, receiving more funding than any other Australian research institution,” Professor Fisk said. “This grant success is testimony to the depth of research talent we have within our faculty’s schools, institutes, and research centres.”
The Diamantina Institute was awarded one of two successful Program Grant proposals to be received by the University of Queensland, and one of only 11 to be selected nationally.
The $11.8 million research program is spearheaded by Professor Ranjeny Thomas and will investigate immunological therapies for cancer, chronic infection and autoimmunity.
The UQ Cancer Prevention Research Centre from the School of Population Health has teamed up with the Cancer Councils of New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia to receive $1.267 million for a Partnership Project.
Led by CPRC Director Professor Elizabeth Eakin the project aims to improve quality of life and longevity of cancer survivors via the Cancer Council Helpline.
Also successful in a Partnership Project was the UQ School of Medicine’s Centre for National Research on Disability and Rehabilitation Medicine (CONROD).
Associate Director Professor Michele Sterling was lead investigator on a grant of $293,500 to improve recovery and health following whiplash.
The NHMRC awarded a further $591,614 in postgraduate scholarships to researchers across the faculty for work in:

  • optimizing antibiotic doses for Indigenous Australians in intensive care;
  • improving prostate cancer diagnosis;
  • identifying children with chronic cough after acute respiratory infection;
  • understanding how the physical environment influences the mental health of children;
  • the impact of a strength training intervention on muscle structure and function in people with cerebral palsy; and
  • the management of  women with type 1 diabetes in late pregnancy, immediately after delivery and during breastfeeding.

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Thinking about medical school and medical research? Find out more about the UQ Medical School. Contact OzTREKK’s Australian Medical Schools Admissions Officer Broghan Dean at broghan@oztrekk.com, or call toll free in Canada at 1-866-698-7355.

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