Health research bolstered in latest funding grants

Griffith University research into malaria, gut infections and streptococcus are some of the projects set to benefit fromNational Health and Medical Research Council(NHMRC) 2018 Project Grant funding announced this week.

The Menzies Health Institute of Queensland – Griffith University(MHIQ) was awarded four funding projects worth more than $3 million while Griffith’s Institute for Drug Discovery (GRIDD) received two grants totalling more than $1.6 million in funding.

Senior Deputy Vice Chancellor (Research) Professor Ned Pankhurst said Griffith’s world-leading health-based research will help in the fight against challenging medical conditions and diseases.

“The significant and ongoing support from NHMRC will allow our remarkable researchers to move forward with their projects and deliver transformative outcomes.”

School of Medical Science and MHIQ Professor Glen Ulett received funding for three grants, two for streptococcus infection research and one for bacterial sepsis research. The combined funding is worth more than $2.4 million.

Professor Glen Ulett

As well, clinical psychologistAssociate Professor Lara Farrelland her team were awarded funding worth $567,744 for research into specific phobias for pre-school children.

Professor Kathy Andrews and her GRIDD collaborators were awarded $818,476 for work into a new antimalarial drugtargeting multiple species and life cycle stages of the infection.

GRIDD’s Dr Tina Skinner-Adamsand her team were awarded $776,027 for her project into finding improved treatments for the small intestine infection giardiasis.

The following Griffith University staff have obtained success as part of a team led by other institutions:

Project Grants

Prof Suzanne Chambers(Menzies Health Institute Queensland) for the project “Can exercise delay transition to Active Therapy in men with low grade prostate cancer? A multicentre randomized controlled trial” with Prof Daniel Galvao from Edith Cowan University, $596,084

Prof David Lloyd(Menzies Health Institute Queensland) for the project“Exercise as medicine for heart failure: A novel intervention to improve outcomes” with Prof Daniel Green from the University of Western Australia, $665,585

Prof Jennifer Martin(Griffith Institute for Drug Discovery) for the project “DsbA foldases from multidrug resistant pathogens as targets for new antimicrobials”with Dr Makrina Totsika from Queensland Univeristy of Technology, $743,401

Prof Nicolle Packer and Dr Arun Everest-Dass(Institute for Glycomics) for the project “Blood Group Antigen Recognition by Group A Streptococcus Mediates Host Colonisation”, with Dr Martina Sanderson-Smith from the University of Wollongong, $470,821

Prof Glen Ulett (Menzies Health Institute Queensland) for the project “Enhancing host defence mechanisms in severe bacterial infections”, with A/Prof Antje Blumenthal from the University of Queensland, $830,447

The full list of NHMRC Project Grant funding ishere.