$118m for institutes in NHMRC program grants

Sixteen National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) program grants worth more than $118 million have been awarded to research teams at Australian research institutions.

The program grants are designed to fund large multidisciplinary and collaborative research efforts for five years at a time, taking some of the financial pressure off the scientists and allowing them to focus on longer-term goals.

This is the second year that these grants have been awarded since the NHMRC restructured its funding in 2000. Last year 16 program grants received $115 million in funding.

Prof Jerry Adams of the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute (WEHI), whose group received $13.675 million to continue its work on apoptosis, said that the award was generous and the team was delighted to receive the support.

He said his team consisted of eight labs using a range of approaches to investigate the role and control of apoptosis in cancer cells, including structural biology, biochemistry, molecular genetics, immunology, cell biology and transgenesis. Among their goals is the identification of molecules involved in apoptotic processes that could be targeted with therapeutic drugs for treatment of cancer.

"We think in a way this program illustrates the importance of collaborative research in modern biology, with different disciplines converging on the same problem," Adams said.

Two other WEHI teams also received program grants in the latest round. Prof Nic Nicola's team received $13.95 million to continue its research into the control of white blood cell production and function, focusing on potential clinical and commercial outcomes. And $4.05 million was allocated to finding genes for human genetic disease under the leadership of Prof Simon Foote.

WEHI director Prof Suzanne Cory, also a recipient through Adams' grant, said that the awards demonstrated the confidence that the NHMRC had in the research programs at the institute.

Monash University researchers also shared in three grants totalling $22.23 million. Prof Philip Beart, part of a successful team of researchers at the University and Monash Medical Centre, said that they had received $8.25 million to work on processes involved in neurodegenerative conditions including stroke, Parkinson's disease, motor neurone disease and drug addiction.

The group forms the Monash node of Neurosciences Victoria, and some of the members of the team had been working together for a long time, he said, noting that members of the current group had published 75 papers together.

Beart said that while the team had applied for more funding than it had received, it was an increase on current funding levels that would allow it to focus on longer-term goals.

"It allows us to take a longer view," he said. "A lot of us spend a lot of time applying for funding."

Beart said that the funding would be used to gain a better understanding of neuronal injury processes and identify new therapeutic targets. Processes involved in neurodegenerative conditions were often quite similar, he said.

Announcing the awards, Federal Minister for Health and Ageing Senator Kay Patterson said that the research programs would help ensure Australia maintained its place at the cutting edge of international health and research, and noted that the national health priorities of cancer, heart disease, stroke and depression were well represented by the grants.

"The Australian community expects us to fund research that will lead to new preventative measures, new treatments and cures, an evidence-based health system and growth of industries based on knowledge gained from this research," she said.

The groups that received NHMRC program grants for 2003 were:

How cell death is controlled, influences normal development and contributes to cancer and other diseases Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research Prof Jerry Adams, Prof Suzanne Cory, Prof Peter Colman, Dr Andreas Strasser, Dr David Vaux, Dr David Huang, Dr Alan Harris, Dr Steve Gerondakis $13.675m

Advanced cardiac disease and heart failure Baker Medical Research Institute Prof Garry Jennings, Prof Alex Bobik, Prof Anthony Dart, Prof Murray Esler, Assoc Prof David Kaye $8.875m

Control of white blood cell production and function Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research Prof Nic Nicola, Prof Donald Metcalf, Dr Douglas Hilton, Dr Warren Alexander, Dr Lorraine Robb, Dr Manuel Baca, Dr Robyn Starr, Dr Andrew Roberts, Prof Raymond Roberts $13.95m

Hormonal regulation of reproduction in health and disease Prince Henry's Institute of Medical Research Prof Jock Findlay, Assoc Prof Robert McLachlan, Assoc Prof David Robertson, Assoc Prof Lois Salamonsen, Prof Evan Simpson $7.425m

Dissecting the immune system: application to human disease Peter MacCallum Cancer Institute and Monash University Assoc Prof Joseph Trapani, Assoc Prof Mark Smyth, Dr Ricky Johnstone, Dr Dale Godfrey $6.550m

Translational research in stroke National Stroke Research Institute, Royal Melbourne Hospital, Royal Perth Hospital, University of Melbourne Prof Geoffrey Donnan, Prof Stephen Davis, Assoc Prof Graeme Hankey, Dr David Howells $5.725m

Finding genes for human genetic disease Walter and Eliza Hall Institute for Medical Research Prof Simon Foote, Prof Terence Speed, Dr Hamish Scott, Dr Gordon Smyth $4.050m

Aiming at new drugs for treating brain diseases and improving recovery Monash Medical Centre, Monash University Prof Malcolm Horne, Prof Philip Beart, Prof Bevyn Jarrott, Prof Phillip Nagley, Assoc Prof John Drago, Assoc Prof Surinda Cheema, Dr Andrew Lawrence $8.250m

Studying causes of the depressive disorders and factors predicting their response and resistance to treatment Euroa Centre, Prince of Wales Hospital, University of New South Wales Prof Gordon Parker, Prof Philip Mitchell, Assoc Prof Kay Wilhelm, Dusan Hadzi-Pavlovic, Dr Marie-Paule Austin, Dr Gin Mahli $7.7m

Advances in clinical trials research and evidence-based decision-making NHMRC Clinical Trials Centre, University of Sydney Prof John Simes, Assoc Prof Anthony Keech, Assoc Prof Ian Marschner, Dr Martin Stockler, Assoc Prof Val Gebski $6.575m

Evaluating health policy by understanding consumer and provider decisions about healthcare: a new approach Centre for Health Economics Research and Evaluation, University of Technology, Sydney Prof Jane Hall, Prof Denzil Fiebig, Prof Jordan Louviere, Prof Patricia Apps, Rosalie Viney $6.825m

Atherosclerosis Centre for Thrombosis and Vascular Research, University of New South Wales, Department of Cardiology, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Hanson Institute Prof Roland Stocker, Prof Philip Barter, Prof David Celermajer, Assoc Prof Wendy Jessup, Assoc Prof Dr Kerry Rye $7.125m

Reproductive health for women: from egg to embryo Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University of Adelaide Prof Robert Norman, Assoc Prof Raymond Rodgers, Prof David Armstrong, Dr Jeremy Thompson, Dr Sarah Robertson $8.3m

Plasma membrane structure and function University of Queensland Medical School Prof John Hancock, Prof Robert Parton $4m

Towards the understanding of the genetic basis of breast and ovarian cancer Queensland Institute of Medical Research, Peter MacCallum Cancer Institute, Centre for Genetic Epidemiology Dr Georgia Chenevix-Trench, Dr Kum Kum Khanna, Prof Joseph Sambrook, Prof John Hopper $4.275m

Regulation of allergy and inflammation John Curtin School of Medical Research, Australian National University, Sir Charles Gardiner Hospital Dr Paul Foster, Dr Simon Hogan, Dr Klaus Matthaei, Prof Ian Young, Assoc Prof Phillip Thompson $4.875m

* All grants are over five years