3 October 2007
Scientists at Monash University have increased successful grant applications from the Australian Research Council (ARC) by 57 per cent in the past year.
The latest ARC funding round to Monash totalled $27.6 million and comprised 75 separate grants compared to $17.6 million previously. The number of successful grant applications increased by 44 per cent on last year's figure.
Funded grants, submitted under the Discovery Projects scheme, included 20 ARC Fellowships, which include 11 Australian Postdoctoral Fellowships, four Queen Elizabeth II Fellowships, three Australian Research Fellowships and two Australian Professorial Fellowships.
The grants will be used by Monash to research a variety of issues, including:
- Improving the accuracy of Australian climate predictions ($1,010,936),
- Studying how the growth of plants is coordinated by tissue patterning genes and the plant growth hormone auxin ($957,500),
- Data evaluation and innovation in dynamic biochemistry ($898,000); and
- How honeybees process colour ($586,530).
Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research), Professor Edwina Cornish, welcomed the funding and said it was a testament to the quality of researchers and innovative medical research being pursued at the University .
"Our researchers receive substantial funding from competitive and non-competitive sources which supports world-class research across a diverse range of disciplines," Professor Cornish said.
Monash University recently received nearly $50 million in competitive grants from the National Health and Medical Research Council's (NHMRC's) 2008 funding round, which was more than double the amount of NHMRC grants it received in 2005.
The University's total research funding has increased from $121 million in 2004 to $186 million in 2006.
For further information and interviews, contact Steve Pogonowski, Media Communications, on +61 9905 1253.
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