The Albanese Government is investing $50 million in innovative research teams to address a range of health problems like prostate cancer, high blood pressure, stroke, and chronic pain.
The National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) will provide $5 million in funding to 10 outstanding teams of researchers, from a range of disciplines, to work together to answer major questions that cannot be answered by a single researcher.
Professor Helen Christensen and team from the University of New South Wales will receive $5 million to use artificial intelligence to improve therapy for people suffering from psychological distress.
Women aged 16–34 are more likely to experience psychological distress, with nearly 1 in 6 Australians affected.
Artificial intelligence techniques can be used to help determine which of a range of therapies is most effective, and to which patients.
Professor Christensen’s research will harness advances in AI, digital mental health, and health economic modelling to address this.
Professor Gail Risbridger and team from Monash University will receive $5 million to develop CAR T cell therapy for prostate cancer.
CAR T-cell therapy is an immunotherapy that involves taking the immune cells out of a patient’s body and giving those cells the genetic information, they need to identify and attack cancer cells in the body.
CAR T-cell therapy has successfully treated some forms of blood cancer, even at very advanced stages and when other treatments have failed, but the therapy has yet to be effective in treating solid cancers like prostate cancer.
Prostate cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in Australia, with 1 in 6 men at risk of diagnosis by the age of 85.
Professor Risbridger’s approach will use new integrated methods of generating CAR T-cells, a range of models to test them, and state-of-the-art imaging tools to bring this therapy to the clinic.
The NHMRC’s Synergy Grant scheme fosters collaboration between diverse researchers to ensure a range of skills and perspectives are brought to the research problem.
All the funding details announced today are available on NHMRC’s outcomes of funding rounds webpage.
Quotes attributable to NHMRC CEO Professor Steve Wesselingh:
- 'The Synergy Grant scheme is specifically designed to support diverse teams, which are essential to tackling complex research questions and improving human health.'
- 'These grants offer opportunities to foster collaboration between diverse researchers to ensure a range of skills and perspectives are brought to the research problem.'