MRFF projects

Big data is giving us a whole picture of Australia’s ageing pathways for the first time. Professor Maria Inacio is working with this data from the Registry of Senior Australians. She aims to find the best aged care and health care services for older Australians.

In 2020, 5 Australian research organisations with expertise in infectious diseases and 2 industry partners formed a consortium. Their aim: to produce an Australian antiviral drug for COVID-19. This research is growing Australia’s ability to discover, test, and manufacture antiviral drugs.

Blocked arteries cause heart attacks by reducing oxygen flow to the heart. Called ischemia, this leads to the death of heart cells. These injuries are permanent and can cause the heart to fail. A new drug could prevent this damage.

The DNA Screen study offers free DNA screening for high-risk hereditary disease gene variants to 10,000 young Australians. When the study launched it received national media coverage. Over 20,000 people registered in the first 3 days. We asked lead researcher Paul Lacaze what happened next.

Optometrist researcher Lauren Ayton is improving diagnosis and treatment pathways for patients with age-related vision loss.

Early childhood educators have the right skills to prevent infectious diseases and communicate health information fast to families with young children. But during the COVID-19 pandemic, staff struggled to find relevant health information.

Indigenous-led research is using advanced multi-omics technology to reduce the high rate of chronic kidney disease in First Nations communities.

The largest ever pre- and post-bushfire fighters survey asks how the Black Summer fires in 2019-20 impacts their mental health. The results: we are better supporting professional bushfire fighters, but our volunteers need more help.

Boys and men are three times as likely to die by suicide in Australia than girls and women. The Buoy Project is testing seven different suicide prevention programs that target boys and men. The aim is to find out which programs might be most effective in reducing male suicide.

Jenni trained in stroke research after her dad had a stroke caused by bleeding in the brain. She is Associate Investigator and consumer adviser on a trial designed to reduce loss of function in survivors of this kind of stroke.