Over $6m research boost from NHMRC

Griffith University research projects have been awarded just over $6m in research funding by the prestigious National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC).

Vice Chancellor Professor Ian O’Connor has warmly congratulated all the academic staff involved in achieving this tremendous success.

Professor Wendy Moylefrom the university’s Centre for Health Practice Innovation received the largest funding of $1,115,684 for her study looking at the effects of robotic animals on engagement, mood states, agitation and antipsychotic drug use in people with dementia.

Dr Lara Farrellfrom the Griffith Health Institute’s Behaviourial Basis of Health programhasattracted $285,000 for her studyCombined d-Cycloserine and Intensive Behaviour TherapyTherapy for Children and Youth with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder.

Professor Wendy Chaboyerfrom the University’s Centre for Research Excellencein Nursing has received $1,071,077 forher trialINTroducing A Care bundle To preventpressure injury (The INTACT Trial).

Professor Yaoqi Zhouhas received$340,171for his studyDiscriminating disease-causing from neutral insertion/deletions in human genetic variations.

Professor Vicky Averyfrom the Eskitis Institute has been granted $632,402 forInvestigating the therapeutic potential of FTY720 for Human African Trypanosomiasis.

Meanwhile Professor Suresh Mahalinghamfrom the Institute for Glycomics has been granted a research fellowship of $601,420.00 to studyViral Inflammatory disease: new mechanisms and approaches to therapy.

Translating research

Under the category of Translating Research into Practice Fellowship, Dr Brigid Gillespie from the Centre for Research Excellence in Nursing has been granted $170,689 forImproving surgical safety in the operating room.

Early Career Fellowships under the title of ‘Peter Doherty Biomedical’have been granted to Dr Mehfuz Zaman for theDevelopment of a Group A Streptococcus vaccine candidate($304,596 granted) and to Dr Adam Taylorfor How alphaviruses cause disease and identifying new therapeutics($304,596 granted).

Australian/EU Collaborative Research Grants include the following:

Associate Professor Katherine AndrewsNew drugs for parasitic diseases$266,353 granted.

Congratulations to the following Griffith University staff who were successful through other institutions:

Professor Suzanne Chambers from the Griffith Health Institute(through Edith Cowan University)Improving sexual health in men with prostate cancer: randomised controlled trial of exercise and psychosexual therapies,$561,845 granted.

Associate Professor Glen Ulett(through University of Queensland)‘A matter of life and death: defining novel interactions between uropathogenic E. coli and macrophages that influence UTI pathology, $621,894 granted.

Professor David Lloydfrom the Griffith Health Institute (through University of Sydney)Randomised controlled trial of hip arthroscopy for femoroacetabular impingement, $968,257 granted.