The University of Melbourne has been awarded more than AUD$35 million to improve the lives of people suffering Alzheimer’s disease, epilepsy, knee osteoarthritis and bacterial infections.
The funding is part of $150 million allocated by the Federal Government in National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Program Grants to boost the nation’s health and medical research efforts.
University of Melbourne researchers Professor Sam Berkovic, a specialist in the field of neurobiology and epilepsy research received $16.4 million and Professor Colin Masters received $14 million to futher his advances in treatments for Alzheimer’s disease.
Professor Berkovic leads a team of ten investigators across Australia, in Melbourne, Adelaide and Queensland. They will investigate genes associated with epilepsy, how they are inherited and how genetic variations result in development of seizures. Advanced brain imaging will be used to understand the effects of genetic variation on brain structure in patients and function and laboratory studies will lead to better understanding at the levels of molecules, cells and networks in the brain.
“Over the course of the grant’s five year period, this research will significantly transform our understanding of the most common forms of epilepsy, leading to better diagnosis and better treatments,” Professor Berkovic says.
Professor Masters' team is working to develop an effective treatment for Alzheimer’s disease. They are also searching for a biomarker that will help diagnose the disease long before symptoms appear.
Professor Masters says, “We already know that substantial damage has been done to the brain before people display symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease. So it is important that we find a means to diagnose the illness early enough for any drug that is developed to be effective."
“This grant will accelerate the pace of research and provide a better chance of developing a drug that will significantly slow the progress of the disease.”
Other recipients of NHMRC grants at the University of Melbourne are:
* Professor Kim Bennell who received approximately $2 million. His team, in collaboration with the University of Queensland, will investigate ways to improve outcomes for people with knee osteoarthritis using a conservative management approach involving strategies such as exercise, orthotics, pain coping skills training and self management.
* Associate Professor Elizabeth Hartland and Professor Dick Strugnell have been awarded in excess of $3 million to address how bacteria initiate infections, how they invade, cause cell and tissue damage and respond to their human host. The results aim to reveal new targets for the development of novel antibacterial drugs and vaccines for bacterial infectious disease such as Salmonella and Legionnaires' Disease. This is a collaborative program with Monash University and the University of Queensland.
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