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Western Australia to recieve more than $14 million in research funding

A total of 42 health and medical research projects in Western Australia, including efforts to develop a blood test for mesothelioma and identify the genes involved in the development of childhood brain tumours, will receive more than $14 million in research funding next year.

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30 October 2002

Western Australia to receive more than $14 million in research funding

A total of 42 health and medical research projects in Western Australia, including efforts to develop a blood test for mesothelioma and identify the genes involved in the development of childhood brain tumours, will receive more than $14 million in research funding next year.

Announcing the funding today, Federal Minister for Health and Ageing, Senator Kay Patterson, congratulated the successful applicants saying the National Health and Medical Research Council's annual project funding round was highly competitive.

"In total, 406 important health and medical research projects across Australia will receive more than $150 million in funding from the NHMRC next year," she said.

"Funding applications to the NHMRC are extensively peer reviewed and successful applicants can be justly proud of their achievement. This year's projects reflect the increasing effort being directed into providing money for research into a wide variety of health issues affecting Australians."

Five Western Australian institutions have received 10 per cent of available funds, recognition of the high quality of proposals submitted by researchers from that state.

"The projects are wide ranging," Senator Patterson said.

"For example, researchers at the University of WA hope to develop a simple blood screening test for mesothelioma - an aggressive form of asbestos-induced cancer that can kill within nine months. It is sometimes difficult to diagnose mesothelioma and additional tests would be useful and might allow earlier treatment.

"Such a test would be of widespread value to the community as a useful screening tool in asbestos-exposed individuals and, if early disease was found, early treatments. Given that early treatment of cancer is more effective than late treatment in most clinical situations, this is likely to improve the prognosis for this terrible disease," she said.

The funding for health and medical research in Australia was doubled by the Commonwealth in the 1999-2000 Federal Budget, as a result of the Wills Review.

Details of the 406 Project Funding Agreements are at: www.nhmrc.gov.au/funding/outcom02.htm

Media Contact: Randal Markey, Media Adviser, (02) 6277 7220
Jeanne Klener, Media Unit, NHMRC, (02) 6289 5796