$2.2 million for Monash medical research

6 January 2009

The National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) has awarded six Monash researchers a total of over $2.2 million in its latest round of Career Development Awards Scheme grants.

The NHMRC Career Development Awards Scheme supports early to mid-career researchers undertaking projects to better understand and find solutions to illnesses and diseases such as diabetes.

Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research), Professor Edwina Cornish was delighted with the outcome of this latest round of NHMRC Career Development Awards Scheme grants.

"The fact that our early to mid-career researchers are attracting such strong support from the National Health and Medical Research Council is evidence of the excellent and relevant research being performed here at Monash," said Professor Cornish.

Dr Helena Teede from the Monash Institute of Health Services Research at the Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences attracted the largest grant of $410,000 for her research into the prevention and optimal treatment of Type 2 Diabetes.

Five grants of $370,000 were awarded to the following Monash researchers from the Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences:

• Dr Sascha Hughan, Australian Centre for Blood Diseases for research into thrombosis and the process of haemostasis, which involves methods of halting bleeding.
• Dr Anita Wluka, Department of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine for her research into providing good measurement principles to examine musculoskeletal disease and improving the evaluation of improved ways to diagnose the disease.
• Dr Alyson Miller, Department of Pharmacology, for her research into the influence of gender and steroid hormones on cardiovascular disease.
• Dr Dana Hutchinson, Department of Pharmacology, for her research into glucose metabolism; with outcomes possibility affecting the treatment of diabetes.
• Dr Fasseli Coulibaly, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, for his research into the structural analysis of poxvirus.

"I wish to congratulate the Monash researchers who have been successful in this round. I hope the grant will help to support them in achieving outcomes and solutions that have a positive and far reaching effect on the lives of Australians and people from around the world," said Professor Cornish.