$31 million boost for UQ medical research

Researchers from The University of Queensland (UQ) have secured more than $31 million from the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) to progress life-changing health and medical research.

UQ researchers received 31 awards in total from the NHMRC, including 26 awards from the Ideas Grant scheme, 4 grants from the International Collaborations scheme, and 1 award from the Development Grants scheme.

The successful projects reflect the breadth of research underway at the University to solve issues affecting human health around Australia and the world.

The funding will help to tackle challenges including treating the effects of degenerative diseases, improving wellbeing for First Nations children, and understanding the causes of frailty – one of the most significant challenges for healthy ageing in Australia.

The largest grant from the Ideas Grant Scheme to UQ will support research to expand the use of novel technology used in heart transplantations, to increase donor heart supply and save more lives.

NHMRC Ideas Grant Scheme recipients

• Dr Kate Anderson – What Matters to First Nations Kids: Co-designing a wellbeing measure for First Nations children aged 5-11 years (WM2K Project)
• Dr Matilde Balbi – Assessment and modulation of cortical sensorimotor control for recovery after stroke
• Associate Professor Thomas Burne – Reverse translation of a rodent cognitive flexibility task
• Associate Professor Paul Dawson – Neuroprotective benefit and safety of preterm neonatal sulphate supplementation
• Dr Laura Genovesi – Medulloblastoma plasticity, persistence, relapse and resistance
• Professor Ruth Hubbard – Organ Transplantation as a Model of Reversible Frailty
• Associate Professor Ulrike Kappler – How does metabolic conditioning of the host environment enhance persistence of Haemophilus influenzae infections?
• Professor David McGiffin – Hypothermic machine perfusion of circulatory death hearts for transplantation
• Dr Brett McKinnon – Identifying endometriosis risk and disease variability by mapping endometrial stem cell maturation
• Professor Gregory Monteith – A calcium influx pathway regulates adaptive cancer drug tolerance
• Dr Katrina Moss – A novel approach to reducing the psychosocial burden of infertility treatment
• Dr David Muller – CRACing the role of the Flavivirus NS1 protein
• Dr Julia Pagan – Tuning mitophagy in mitochondrial diseases
• Dr Juan Carlos Polanco – Regulators of Tau Pathology Induced by Exosomal and Vesicle-free Tau Seeds
• Associate Professor Katharina Ronacher – Oxidised Cholesterols as Key Regulators of Host Immunity to Tuberculosis
• Professor Alan Rowan – Unveiling the modulators of scarless wound healing
• Professor Pankaj Sah – Neural circuits that control movement: from mice to humans
• Dr Andrii Slonchak – Dissecting the mechanisms of flavivirus neuro-pathogenesis using the systems biology approach
• Professor Walter Thomas – Protecting hearts from trastuzumab-induced cardiomyopathy
• Professor Stefan Thor – Developing an in vitro human sleep system
• Associate Professor Jana Vukovic – Targeting IL-6 trans-signalling in brain injury
• Associate Professor Daniel Watterson – Structurally informed vaccines and therapies to resist and counter JEV emergence
• Associate Professor Nicholas West – A Faster Cure for Tuberculosis: Revealing Adjunctive Antimicrobial Solutions
• Dr Hayley Williams – Healing Spirit, Healing Minds: Co-designed healing program to promote social and emotional wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander youth
• Professor Ernst Wolvetang – A human brain organoid model of acute prenatal hypoxia enables biomarker discovery and drug screening for hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy
• Dr Sherry Wu – In vivo genetic engineering of T-cells for cancer treatment using novel exosome mimetic nanoparticles

NHMRC Development Grants scheme recipients

• Professor David Fairlie – Developing a new type of drug for inflammatory lung disease

NHMRC International Collaborations schemes (e-Asia, CIHR and EU) recipients

• Professor Gail Garvey – Supporting healthy lifestyle choices to promote mental health and wellbeing of Indigenous youth aging-out-of-care in urban settings
• Professor Juergen Goetz – Facilitating focused ultrasound-mediated Tau clearance in Alzheimer’s disease and other Tauopathies by understanding the underlying autophagic mechanisms
• Professor Genevieve Healy – Implementing an evidence-based diabetes prevention program into diverse urban communities
• Professor Kate Stacey – Gut leak and microbiome contribution to severe dengue disease

The full list of funding outcomes is available on NHMRC’s Outcomes of funding rounds webpage.