University of Queensland researchers have been awarded more than $15 million as part of the latest round of National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Project Grant funding announced this week.
UQ’s share of funding ($15,230,573) was the largest in Queensland and fourth largest in the country behind the University of Melbourne ($28,549,220), the University of Sydney ($23,032,938) and the University of Western Australia ($15,573,236).
Of the 54 projects funded in Queensland for health and medical research, UQ was successful in 35 confirming the University’s place as one of the top research institutions in the State and around the nation.
Some of the projects funded at UQ include work by Professor Paul Colditz ($716,250), from Obstetrics & Gynaecology at the Royal Women’s Hospital, studying seizures in newborn babies as well as a project led by Professor David Hume ($656,250), from UQ’s Institute for Molecular Bioscience, looking at relationships between production of white blood cells and cancer progression.
UQ Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research) Professor David Siddle said he was pleased with the University’s performance, which saw an increasing in research funding by more than $1 million from last year.
“I congratulate all those researchers whose talent and dedication has resulted in NHMRC funding," he said.
“The results mean that there will be an exciting array of research being conducted across all areas of health and biomedical science.”
Across the nation 416 projects were funded to the tune of almost $185 million.
UQ was also only one of three institutions in the country to receive funding under the new NHMRC Health Services Research Grants, which aim to strengthen Australia’s capacity in health services research.
The first round of funding focused on the area of economics and financing of health.
Associate Professor Theo Vos, from the School of Population Health, received $3.2 million for a wide reaching project looking at ways to reduce health costs, health inequalities and improve the health of Australians.
The quality of UQ researchers was also recognized with almost $3 million going to NHMRC Research Fellowships.
The IMB’s Associate Professor Alpha Yap and Dr Brian Gabrielli, from UQ’s Centre for Immunology & Cancer Research, were awarded Senior Research Fellowships while Professor David Vaney Vision Touch & Hearing Res Cen, and Professor Robert Parton from the IMB had their Principal Research Fellowships renewed. Associate Professor Melissa Little, also from the IMB, was promoted to Principal Research Fellow.
Dr Komla Tsey, from the School of Population Health’s North Queensland Health Equalities Promotion Unit, was also granted a NHMRC Population Health Career Development award.
Media: For more information contact Andrew Dunne, UQ Communications (telephone 3365 2802).
