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Donation boosts MS, obesity research

5 July 2006

Bellberry Limited will donate $120,000 to the Monash University Medical Foundation over the next three years to support the faculty's research into multiple sclerosis and obesity.

Bellberry, a not-for-profit human research ethics company based in South Australia, last year donated $20,000 to Professor Claude Bernard, from the Monash Immunology and Stem Cell Laboratories, for his work into finding a cure for multiple sclerosis.

The company has now donated $40,000 to a study into the social and cultural issues surrounding obesity, being undertaken by Professor Paul Komesaroff.

It has continued supporting Professor Bernard's work, donating $40,000 this year and committing a further $20,000 in both 2007 and 2008.

Foundation Executive Director Mr John Allen said the foundation was delighted to be able to broker such collaborations.

"This is a great opportunity for us to engage with donors from across various fields, including the corporate and not-for-profit sector, to help with cutting-edge research at the university," he said.

"The foundation exists to support research and education opportunities across the faculty and to engage with all philanthropic sources. Donations such as that provided by Bellberry help to further the work of Monash researchers and provide important links with the community."

Bellberry Director Professor Malcolm Mackinnon said the donation was in accord with the company's policy of returning profits to the medical research community. He said Bellberry was particularly impressed with the obesity research.

"Obesity is not a simple condition of eating too much," he said. "It is now recognised as a serious chronic disease which will have enormous consequences over the next decades in relation to health risk and healthcare costs.

"Dr Komesaroff's work in exploring the underlying causes of obesity will not only help further understanding of its social and cultural dimensions but also assist with the development of new strategies to manage the problem.

"With the expectation that at least 60 per cent of adults will either be overweight or obese by the year 2010, this research can only be of enormous benefit to the Australian community."