NHMRC Grant success
The听six NHMRC grant recipients have been recognised for听research that cuts across disciplines and industry sectors to target disorders of the brain and mind. The听recipients听were among听51 grants awarded to researchers听across the University of Sydney and part of an outstanding success rate of researchers from the university鈥檚 multidisciplinary听initiatives.
The grants听aim to foster听flexibility for investigators to pursue important new research directions, and the ability to form collaborations for innovative and creative research.听Now in its eighth year as a multidisciplinary initiative, the Brain and Mind Centre is thrilled to see听so many of our researchers awarded with such competitive grants.
Co-directors Professor Ian Hickie and Professor Matthew Kiernan said the success in this round was a testament听to the quality of their research, as well as to听the cross-cutting research programs they have developed and the opportunities they have fostered听for听their research teams;听
鈥淭hese are highly competitive grants, and we congratulate the recipients on their hard work, commitment and perseverance in their research. Their work reflects the multidisciplinary nature of our MDI and its mission statement.鈥�
Brain and Mind Investigators
Professor Muireann Irish was awarded $2.7 million听towards her project-听Enhancing the early and accurate diagnosis of frontotemporal dementia.听
This program will address听Frontotemporal dementia (FTD) and the knowledge gap by creating new clinical tools with improved diagnostic precision. Outcomes will transform the early detection of FTD, enabling us to intervene quickly, improve access to support, and decrease the physical and mental health burden of this condition.
Professor Leanne Togher听谤别肠别颈惫别诲 $2.5 million towards her project;听Delivering technology-enabled care for people with acquired brain injury at scale.听
This program will deliver new methods to access healthcare, employment and social engagement using technology, and new models of care.
Associate Professor Laura Piccio received $2.9 million听towards; Targeting neuroinflammation in neurodegenerative diseases: an integrated approach to study pathogenic mechanisms and develop new treatments.听
The research program proposed will focus on dissecting the potential roles of diet, gut microbiome, and metabolism in modulating neuroinflammation across different neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer鈥檚 disease and Multiple Sclerosis.听
Doctor Nick Everett received $700,000 towards; Developing novel strategies for stimulating the oxytocin system to treat methamphetamine addiction.
This project will develop new clinically viable strategies for stimulating the oxytocin system to treat methamphetamine addiction.
Brain and Mind Ideas grants
Professor听Michael Kassiou听谤别肠别颈惫别诲听$1 million; to develop senolytics for the treatment of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis.听
When the body senses damaged cells, it can usually eliminate them, but dangerous senescent cells upregulate proteins such as Bcl-2 and Bcl-xl which make them resistant to the body鈥檚 elimination processes. This project will develop novel Bcl-2 and Bcl-xl inhibitors which selectively eliminate these senescent cells without eliminating healthy cells to examine the role of senescence in ALS and to develop new ALS treatments.听
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Dr听Sicong Tu听谤别肠别颈惫别诲听$900,000听to assist in defining metabolite dysfunction in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. The grant will study neurochemical changes underlying excess brain activity (cortical hyperexcitability) in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, the most common form of motor neuron disease.