TRI RESEARCHERS RECEIVE NHMRC DEVELOPMENT GRANTS

Congratulations to TRI researchers Professor Colleen Nelson and Professor Pamela Russell from the Australian Prostate Cancer Research Centre - Queensland (APCRC-Q), IHBI, QUT and PhD student Kacey O'Rourke from UQDI who have both been successful in the latest round of NHMRC grants. 

The National Health and Medical Research Council announced yesterday the recipients of $15.2 million in grants to support the commercial development of of products, processes and procedures which may result in positive health outcomes for Australians. 

NHMRC CEO Professor Warwick Anderson explains the importance of these grants for translating research into positive health outcomes. 

“Many of these grants are supported by leading Australian biotechnology companies which contribute intellectual property advice, salaries to support researchers, access to equipment and marketing expertise,” Professor Anderson said.

“This collaboration is crucial to the translation of research and the creation of new industries in Australia,” he said.

“Australia has an incredibly strong track record of translating research into commercial outcomes and we have been responsible for a range of successful commercial health outcomes including the bionic ear, the cervical cancer vaccine and spray-on skin for burns victims,” Professor Anderson said.

“I look forward to following these grants on their path to commercialisation, many of which have the potential to both substantially improve human health as well as create economic prosperity for Australia,” he said.

Prof Colleen Nelson and Prof Pamela Russell from APCRC-Q, IHBI, QUT will receive $703,541 over 3 years for her work on Novel prostate cancer target for diagnosis, imaging, detection of recurrence and response to therapy.

Kacey O’Rourke, PhD student from UQDI, was awarded an NHMRC Postgraduate Scholarship and will receive $90,628 over 3 years for her work on assessing the utility of circulating cell-free microRNA as biomarkers for response in a variety of Non Hodgkin Lymphomas.

Non Hodgkin Lymphomas are the most common blood cancer to affect Australian adults. The current strategies for diagnosis, treatment and monitoring of these patients are generic and not tailored to the particular patient’s lymphoma or treatment response. 

"My research is looking to develop a new personalised blood test for Lymphoma that can be used to diagnose and monitor patients more effectively. The test will mean treatment can be adjusted according the patients response to therapy. For patients who are responding poorly to treatment this response can be detected early, allowing for a more effective treatment to be given."

A summary of NHMRC grant funding can be found here: 
http://www.nhmrc.gov.au/grants-funding/outcomes-funding-rounds

The full press release from NHMRC can be found here: 
http://www.nhmrc.gov.au/media/releases/2015/new-grants-support-research-commercialisation