Ten outstanding and versatile research teams have collectively been awarded $50 million to support them in working together to address major problems in human health under the NHMRC’s 2024 Synergy Grants scheme.
Synergy Grants support exceptional multidisciplinary teams of investigators to work together to answer major questions that cannot be answered by a single investigator.
The funding will support new discoveries in a range of health and medical areas, covering the spectrum from basic science to clinical medicine, public health and health services research.
University of Sydney researcher, Associate Professor Veronica Matthews, will lead the Stronger Together As Unified Nations for Community-led Health (STAUNCH) project which aims to strengthen the capacity for self-governance among Australian First Nations.
Built on nearly 20 years of collaborative research, STAUNCH will generate new evidence on Indigenous nation building processes that centre on holistic health and wellbeing solutions and that deal with intersecting challenges collaboratively and effectively. This Synergy project will harness the efforts and expertise of some staunch people to address the complex structural reforms needed to Close the Gap.
Other research projects funded in this announcement include:
- Associate Professor Joanna Groom of WEHI will lead a multidisciplinary team to rethink current vaccine design approaches, aiming to reveal how to best promote long-term protection against emerging and mutagenic respiratory infections.
- Professor Michael Berk from Deakin University will lead the Development of Innovative Clinical Treatments in Schizophrenia (SYNDICAT) project which aims to discover new treatments to reduce the individual, social and economic burden of schizophrenia.
- Associate Professor Shahneen Sandhu of The University of Melbourne will manage a multi-career stage team of immunologists, microbial ecologists, computational biologists, and clinicians to explore how microorganisms in the intestinal tract produce key factors involved in immune responses against melanoma.
Further information on the 2024 Synergy Grants projects can be downloaded on NHMRC’s outcomes of funding rounds webpage.
Quotes attributable to NHMRC CEO, Professor Steve Wesselingh:
- 'NHMRC has a track record of funding research that fosters collaboration and builds capacity in the health and medical research workforce.
- 'Synergy Grants provide a special opportunity for highly collaborative teams of diverse researchers to work together to address major problems in human health.
- 'The scheme creates a strong foundation for researchers, of all backgrounds, to cross-pollinate and take on truly innovative projects– creating an even stronger next generation of Australian health and medical researchers.'
Quotes attributable to Associate Professor Veronica Matthews, University of Sydney:
- 'The name of the project [STAUNCH] is an acronym that really does sum it up – we believe that health and wellbeing solutions for First Nations will be stronger when communities take control and are empowered to lead.
- 'That’s what will be focused on: strengthening First Nations’ self-governance, and guiding policymakers to look at health solutions that holistically take into account social, political, economic and environmental issues.
- 'We’ve got an incredible team of people working together on this, 9 out of the 10 chief investigators are Aboriginal leaders and 8 out of the 10 are women. I know this will give us the blueprint for Closing the Gap, driving the change needed for community self-determined primary health care.'