UNSW wins almost $35m in health funding

18 October 2006

UNSW has won almost $35 million in funding for its medical research from the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC).

This represents more than a quarter of the total funding allocated to New South Wales-based research institutions from the prestigious funding body. A total of 42 grants were awarded to UNSW.

The funding includes a $14.5 million five-year Program Grant to a team lead by Professor Colin Chesterman from the Centre for Vascular Research (CVR) at UNSW. This is a renewal of one of the largest and longest-running Program Grants awarded by the NHMRC.

“We have some of the leading researchers in Australia who will be looking at three areas of vascular biology,” said Professor Chesterman. “We’re investigating atherosclerosis, blood clotting and new blood vessel formation which plays a key role in cancer growth and is thus a target for cancer therapy.”

A grant of two million dollars has been earmarked for the Centre of Clinical Research Excellence in Anxiety and Neuroscience for further research into anxiety. Professor Richard Bryant from the School of Psychology will be leading a team that will use brain imaging and genetic studies to better understand vulnerability to the condition and its successful treatment.

Professor Bryant also won one of 34 three-year Project Grants awarded to UNSW for his work on cognitive behaviour therapy of complicated grief.

Professor Carolyn Geczy from the School of Medical Sciences has won two Project Grants for her work on the role of S100 proteins in inflammation. One of the grants will go towards investigating the links between arthritis and atherosclerosis; the other will look at the role of the protein in asthma.

Other UNSW Project Grants to start in 2007 include:

Associate Professor Stephen Lord and Dr Janet Taylor, both based at the Prince of Wales Medical Research Institute, have each been awarded Research Fellowships.

Dr Nick Di Girolamo from the School of Medical Sciences has won a Career Development Award (CDA). Dr Maria Craig from the School of Women’s and Children’s Health has also been awarded a CDA.

Associate Professor Greg Dore and Dr Tony Kelleher, both affiliated with UNSW’s National Centre in HIV Epidemiology and Clinical Research (NCHECR), have won Practitioner Fellowships.