- Cook Government continues to deliver crucial funding to bolster WA's health and medical research sector
- $47 million injected over the past six months to kick-start collaborative initiatives, infrastructure and community-led projects
- Future Health Research and Innovation Fund has awarded $251 million to 745 grant recipientssince its inception in 2020
The Cook Government has invested a significant $47 million into Western Australia's health and medical research sector over the past six months through its Future Health Research and Innovation (FHRI) Fund.
A total of 108 recipients have received grants through 13 funding opportunities as part of the Cook Government's commitment to improving health outcomes for Western Australians through medical research and innovation.
This included an historic new partnership with the Cancer Research Trust to increase cancer research opportunities through the $9 million WA Collaborative Cancer Research Grant program.
This program, made possible through the FHRI Fund's Co-Funding Partnerships program, is enabling multidisciplinary researchers to collaborate and generate new knowledge around cancer diagnosis, prevention and treatment.
Under the FHRI Fund National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy Partner Program, the Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research has been funded to deliver a WA branch of Phenomics Australia.
This facility will develop patient-derived organoids - tiny, three-dimensional tissue cultures from stem cells - for use in discovery research and pre-clinical evaluation.
It will fill a gap in the pipeline from discovery to clinical trials and ensure WA researchers remain at the forefront of discovery and translation of research into real-world outcomes.
The Consumer and Community Involvement Support Program has awarded more than $270,000 to projects focusing on Aboriginal health, cancer care, disability, ageing and infant health.
The Major Research Application Support (MRAS) Program provides financial support for research applications being submitted for national and international competitive grant funding rounds to boost their chances of success.
Dr Amy Page was awarded a $1 million MRAS grant for her research into optimising medicine regimens to align with priorities and treatment goals for the elderly. The grant helped Dr Page secure a further $1.9 million in national funding from the Medical Research Future Fund.
Professor David Preen also secured a $1 million MRAS grant for his research that focuses on understanding health service pathways and outcomes for people seeking urgent care due to mental illness, self-harm and suicidal behaviour.
The grant has led him to win a prestigious National Health and Medical Research Council 2024 Partnership Projects grant.
A further $25 million has been allocated to 20 research entities through the Research Infrastructure Support (RIS) program.
RIS aims to provide a sustainable health and medical research environment and to promote excellence in health and medical research in Western Australia.
A further six projects offering innovative answers to critical business challenges identified by WA Health Service Providers were also awarded a share in $3 million through the Targeted Call - Health System Solutions program.
Since its inception in 2020, the FHRI Fund has awarded $251 million to 745 grant recipients,accelerating medical research and innovation in WA.
Further information can be found at Future Health Research and Innovation Fund - News and Events .
As stated by Medical Research Minister Stephen Dawson:
"This latest round of funding highlights our strong commitment to backing WA's brightest minds and cutting-edge research. Congratulations to all the funding recipients.
"By investing in collaboration, community involvement and infrastructure, we're creating foundations for world-leading health breakthroughs here in WA.
"The Cook Government will continue to foster a robust health and medical research environment in WA and this significant investment underscores our commitment in this area."
