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South Australia to receive more than $10 million in research funding

Thirty-three health and medical research projects in South Australia, including efforts to develop drug or dietary strategies to prevent osteoporosis and projects looking at the effect of diabetes on stomach function and to improve recovery of stroke patients, will receive more than $10 million in research funding next year.

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30 October 2002

South Australia to receive more than $10 million in research funding

Thirty-three health and medical research projects in South Australia, including efforts to develop drug or dietary strategies to prevent osteoporosis and projects looking at the effect of diabetes on stomach function and to improve recovery of stroke patients, will receive more than $10 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."

Four South Australian institutions, Flinders University, the Institute of Medical and Veterinary Science, the Royal Adelaide Hospital and the University of Adelaide have received 7.3 per cent of available funds, recognition of the high quality of proposals submitted by researchers from that state.

"For example one project at the University of Adelaide will examine the effects of dietary omega-3 fats, of the kind found in fish and fish oil, on the biology of bone metabolism and on bone strength," Senator Patterson said.

"Osteoporosis is a major public health problem which directly affects about two million Australians. With our ageing population, this number is expected to increase to more than 13 per cent over the next 20 years - if successful, this project will provide information that may be used in developing simple drug or dietary strategies to increase bone mass and strength in the elderly population."

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