Ten projects led by University of Melbourne researchers and partner organisations have been awarded more than $42 million by the Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF) across five schemes.
A project that will develop a new CAR T-cell therapy for multiple myeloma and other intractable cancers led by Professor Paul Beavis, from the Sir Peter MacCallum Department of Oncology at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, has received over $17 million from the Frontier Health and Medical Research scheme.
Multiple myeloma, a cancer affecting blood plasma cells, is currently incurable. However, successful CAR T-cell therapy could lead to an average life extension of 15 years post-diagnosis.
University of Melbourne Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research) Professor Mark Cassidy AM said this funding will help drive new discoveries and interventions that improve the health and wellbeing of the Australian community.
"This critical MRFF funding will support impact-focused research at the University and our partner organisations across a range of disciplines, from cancer research and cardiovascular health through to classroom interventions supporting the social development of autistic children," Professor Cassidy said.
A project led by Professor Christine Wells (Department of Anatomy and Physiology) has received over $3 million from the National Critical Research Infrastructure scheme to help institutions meet their legal and ethical obligations when sharing or using stem cell lines for new purposes.
Consent is recorded when a stem cell line is first created, however future uses of the line can be hard to predict as new technologies or applications emerge. This project will create a digital platform to easily determine if use of the line is consistent with the original consent provided or if reconsent is required.
Dr Ianthe Boden, Dr Marlena Klaic, Dr Jamie Waterland, and Professor Linda Denehy (Melbourne School of Health Sciences) have been awarded $4.8 million from the Rapid Applied Research Translation scheme for the BREATH project.
This five-year project aims to embed respiratory prehabilitation into routine surgical care to prevent serious post-operative lung complications like pneumonia, improving patient recovery, shortening hospital stays, and reducing healthcare costs.
Associate Professor Zoe Aitken (Melbourne School of Population and Global Health) has been awarded $3.6 million from the Early to Mid-Career Researcher scheme to explore policy solutions to reduce avoidable hospitalisations for Australians with disability.
Her research, co-designed with people living with disabilities and healthcare partners, will use linked data to understand the root causes of hospital admissions to support long-term, disability-inclusive health reforms.
Associate Professor Kate Hayward (Department of Physiotherapy) has been awarded $3 million from the Cardiovascular Health scheme for a clinical trial that will investigate innovative new treatment approaches to improve arm and hand outcomes after stroke.
This seven-year project will test candidate drugs paired with motor training to establish evidence about safety, tolerability, and dosing to inform changes to clinical guidelines and improve outcomes for people living with the disabling effects of stroke.
Other funded projects include:
- Dr Louise La Sala (Centre for Youth Mental Health at Orygen), Integrated, personalised, and preventative: A new era in youth suicide intervention, $3,677,200.
- Professor Piero Perucca (Department of Medicine), A master protocol for PRecision therapies In Monogenic Epilepsies (PRIME), $3,071,126.
- Associate Professor Richard Tothill (Department of Clinical Pathology), PLANETARI: PLAtform for NET Australia enabling Research and Innovation, $2,999,620.
- Dr Elizabeth Christie (Sir Peter MacCallum Department of Oncology at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre), Driving cancer discoveries through integration of 'omics and clinical data, $2,993,594.
- Associate Professor Mathew Harrison (Faculty of Education), Press B to belong: Implementing a school-embedded game-based intervention to support social development of autistic students, $196,298.
The Australian Government's Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF) is a $24.83 billion long-term investment supporting Australian health and medical research.
