Sydney researchers awarded over $42 million in NHMRC Investigator Grants
University of Sydney researchers have been granted more than $42 million over five years in the 2024 National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Investigator Grants.
A total of 27 projects have secured fundings to help solve some of the nation鈥檚 most pressing problems from across the spectrum of health and medical research.
The projects awarded range from the identification of molecular mechanisms initiating and propagating neurodegenerative diseases to tailoring treatment to improve outcome for ovarian cancer patients.
NHMRC Investigator Grants support the four pillars of health and medical research - biomedical, clinical, public health and health services research - and researchers at all career stages.
The scheme is designed to allow flexibility to pursue important new research directions, to form collaborations, and to foster innovative and creative research.
鈥淭he Investigator Grant scheme聽provides the highest-performing researchers with the flexibility to pursue important new research directions as they arise,鈥� said聽Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research)聽Professor聽Emma Johnston.
鈥淭his impressive and diverse array of projects demonstrates the University of Sydney鈥檚 outstanding capability to foster聽innovative and creative research聽focused on addressing the most pressing challenges in health and medicine by creating new knowledge, improving treatments and helping to make our health system even better.
"I am extremely proud to see so many of our researchers recognised for the important role they are playing to improve health outcomes for people everywhere.鈥�
Full list of NHMRC Investigator Grants to the University of Sydney
- Professor Glenda Halliday聽-聽Cell type and organelle specific identification of molecular mechanisms initiating and propagating neurodegenerative diseases ($3 million)
- Professor Jenny Gunton聽-聽Targeting 尾-cells for diabetes therapy ($2.9 million)
- Professor Christine Lin聽-聽Management of musculoskeletal pain: testing treatment effectiveness and reducing medication-related harm ($2.9 million)
- Associate Professor Veronica Matthews - Strengthening primary health systems through Australian Indigenous paradigms: self-governance for healthy Country and community wellbeing ($2.8 million)
- Professor Anna DeFazio聽-聽Tailoring treatment to improve outcome for ovarian cancer patients ($2.7 million)
- Associate Professor James Shine聽-聽Neuroimaging, neural models, and neurobiology: A fresh look at dementia ($2.4 million)
- Dr Kirstine Bell聽-聽Paving the way towards a new national screening program for type 1 diabetes and coeliac disease for all Australian children ($1.6 million)
- Dr Melissa Sharpe聽-聽Discovery of a novel dopamine circuit that uniquely contributes to methamphetamine use disorder ($1.6 million)
- Dr Jonathan Penm聽-聽Opioid stewardship for patients undergoing hip and knee replacements ($1.6 million)
- Dr Lauren Gardner聽-聽Don't blow it: Harnessing an effective and scalable drug prevention model to curb youth vaping ($1.6 million) ($674,400)
- Dr Georgia Chaseling聽-聽Rising temperatures, rising risks: Preventing heat-induced rises in cardiovascular disease ($674,400)
- Dr Kristy Robledo聽-聽Risk prediction models for time to event data: translating clinical trials into practice ($674,400)
- Dr Ann-Na Cho聽-聽Harnessing the power of the human brain microphysiological system as a model for neuroinflammation, viral infections and pre-clinical therapeutic screening ($674,400)
- Dr Han Chow Chua聽-聽Plugging the sodium leak in severe neurodevelopmental disorders ($674,400)
- Dr Tuba Gide聽-聽Profiling of immunotherapy resistant tumours to inform treatment selection and drug discovery for patients with advanced cancer ($674,400)
- Dr Camelia Quek聽-聽Dissecting the cancer ecosystem as a precision medicine approach towards improving patient outcomes with high-risk melanoma ($674,400)
- Dr Nicholas Hunt聽-聽Nanocarriers for oral biologic delivery ($674,400)
- Dr Shania Liu - Reducing the harms associated with inappropriate opioid use before spine surgery ($674,400)
- Dr Anagha Killedar聽-聽Making equitable decisions: Embedding appropriate and robust methods for exploring equity impacts in health decision-making processes ($674,400)
- Dr Katrina Prior聽-聽The dangerous path of self-medicating postpartum stress and anxiety with alcohol: Intervening early to improve the health and wellbeing of both mother and child ($674,400)
- Dr Aleksandra Petrovic Fabijan - Phage therapy: translating research evidence into clinical application ($632,308)
- Associate Professor Ines Esteves Domingues Pires da Silva聽-聽NeoPlatform: Neoadjuvant translational research platform to predict, monitor and enhance response to immunotherapy ($454,385)
- Dr Emma Devenney聽-聽At risk: A novel neurophysiological approach to biomarkers in neurodegeneration ($1.6 million)
- Professor David Beard - Strategic development of a trial culture for surgical innovation and evaluation: A node catalyst model ($2 million)
- Professor Anthony Cunningham聽-聽Complementary studies of HIV and Herpes Simplex Viral infection of genital mucosa and the mechanism of action of systemically delivered vaccines ($3m)
- Professor Chris Maher聽-聽Ensuring Australians with back pain receive the right care ($3 million)
- Professor Cameron Turtle - Identifying and overcoming mechanisms of failure of CD19 CAR-T cell immunotherapy for large B cell lymphoma ($2.9 million)