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$21.8 million to turn medical research into better patient care

The Australian Government is investing more than $21 million to help turn vital medical research into better prevention, diagnosis, and treatment for patients.

The Hon Greg Hunt MP
Former Minister for Health and Aged Care

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The Morrison Government is investing more than $21 million to help turn vital medical research into better prevention, diagnosis, and treatment for patients.

The grants announced today will support projects targeting a range of health issues affecting Australians, including cardiovascular disease and diabetes. They are:

  • $10 million from the Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF) Targeted Translation Research Accelerator to create a Cardiovascular Disease Research Centre, the Australian Stroke and Heart Research Accelerator
  • $10 million from the MRFF Targeted Translation Research Accelerator to create a Diabetes Research Centre, the Australian Centre for Accelerating Diabetes Innovations
  • $1.76 million in industry-led fellowships for researchers and clinicians from the MRFF Researcher Exchange and Development within Industry (REDI) initiative.

Australian medical researchers are among the best in the world. Our Government’s investments will help take their innovations from bench to bedside and ensure that their research is pursued, to make a real difference to people’s lives while also boosting our economy and creating jobs.

The MRFF funding to establish the research centres for cardiovascular disease and diabetes will be used to accelerate the development of new therapies towards clinical practice and improved patient care.

This investment will be supplemented by substantial co-contributions from the sector, with more than $11 million in cash and $23.3 million of “in kind” support committed by the research centres’ partner organisations, leveraging the Government’s own $20 million commitment.

Both national research centres are uniquely placed to foster collaborations across academia, industry, and community and consumer groups, enabling considerable advances towards tangible products and solutions for sustainable health and economic benefits.

The Australian Stroke and Heart Research Accelerator will help to transform the field of cardiovascular disease research in Australia by bringing a new sector-wide focus on clinical impact and clinical entrepreneurship.

The Australian Centre for Accelerating Diabetes Innovations will deliver novel interventions for debilitating diabetes complications, building an ecosystem of translation, commercialisation and clinical impact for the diabetes sector.

I am also pleased to announce the next cohort of REDI Fellowships to support Australian researchers, clinicians, and professionals in medical technologies, biotechnologies and pharmaceuticals gain real world experience and skills by being deployed into industry settings.

REDI is a four-year initiative supported by the MRFF and delivered by MTPConnect.

The ten researchers and clinicians selected as REDI Fellows will be working on priority research projects covering a broad range of fields, from robot-assisted electrode insertion to precision cancer diagnostics and new antibiotics targeting drug-resistant “superbugs”.

The MRFF is a $20 billion endowment fund which is providing a sustainable, long term boost to Australia’s medical research sector. 

2021 Targeted Translation Research Accelerator Research Centres

Project

Recipient

 

Funding

Australian Stroke and Heart Research Accelerator (ASHRA)

Cardiovascular Disease Research Centre

$10,000,000

Australian Centre for Accelerating Diabetes Innovations (ACADI)

Diabetes Research Centre

$10,000,000

Total

$20,000,000

Researcher Exchange and Development within Industry Fellowships

Project

Recipient

Institution

Industry Sponsor

Development of an in silico clinical trial platform to improve orthopaedic product development

Prof Mark Taylor

Flinders University

Synopsys Northern Europe, part of Synopsys Group

Use of robot-assisted electrode insertion in minimising trauma in Cochlear implant surgery

A/Prof Payal Mukherjee

RPA Hospital, Sydney

Cochlear Ltd

Use of pump technology to emulate tissue physiology in cell culture to improve prediction of drug efficacy

Dr Xumei Gao

The University of Melbourne

Trajan Scientific & Medical Pty Ltd

Exploring the role of biomechanics in the prevention, management, and rehabilitation of musculoskeletal injuries

Dr Matthew Bourne

Griffith University

VALD Performance

Focus on manipulating properties of metal powders to deliver a “use as built” biomedical implant

Dr Ali Dehghan Manshadi

The University of Queensland

Stryker Australia Pty Ltd

Developing a novel in situ tool for prostate cancer precision diagnostics

A/Prof Jyotsna Batra

Queensland University of Technology

TissueGnostics GmbH

Testing and optimising kidney-specific activity of multiple drug candidates

Dr Long Nguyen

The University of Sydney

Pharmaxis Ltd

Developing a new, patient-centred workflow for the journey from imaging to implant to reduce time to treatment

Dr Marie-Luise Wille

Queensland University of Technology

Stryker Australia Pty Ltd

Providing clinical evidence for performance-based tools in the assessment of neurodevelopmental disorders

Dr Gillian Clark

Deakin University

Tali Health Pty Ltd

Developing skills in clinical trials and drug approval processes to advance development of pneumonia novel antibiotics to combat increasing antibiotic resistance

A/Prof Tony Velkov

The University of Melbourne

Qpex Biopharma, Inc

 

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