Griffith University research into fighting diseases of global impact are set to benefit from the latest National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) 2018 Fellowship Program funding outcomes.
Principal Research Leader Professor Suresh Mahalingam of the Institute for Glycomics has been successful in obtaining a Senior Research Fellowship B (SRFB) for the project "Arbovirus-Induced Inflammatory Disease: Mechanisms and approaches to Therapy."
Professor Mahalingam has been awarded funding worth $792,275 for his Research Fellowship.
His research is helping find new ways to treat debilitating diseases caused by alpha viruses such as Chikungunya and Ross River virus.
Mosquito-borne viruses cause severe joint and muscle inflammation, and there are no vaccines or specific drugs to effectively treat the disease caused by these viruses.
Dr Larissa Dirr, also from the Institute for Glycomics, was awarded $327,192 in funding for her Early Career Fellowship and her project "Human parainfluenza virus hijack the host cell glycosylation machinery to facilitate infection – Potential new antiviral targets".
Currently no therapies or vaccines are available to treat or prevent human parainfluenza virus (hPIV), the second most prevalent cause of acute respiratory tract infection in infants in the world.
Senior Deputy Vice Chancellor (Research) Professor Ned Pankhurst said the Institute’s world-leading health-based research is playing its role in the fight against challenging diseases.
"The significant and ongoing support from NHMRC will allow our remarkable researchers to progress their projects and deliver transformative outcomes."
