Academics from UNSW Sydney have been awarded $6 million in NHMRC funding for research into infectious diseases and the prevention of heart disease.
UNSW Scientia Professor Rebecca Guy, Associate Professor Tanya Applegate and Professor Bruce Neal have been awarded funding in the latest round of the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Centres of Research Excellence (CRE) scheme.
The funding is part of a $72 million investment announced by the Australian government to establish 24 new centres.
Deputy Vice-Chancellor Research & Enterprise, Professor Bronwyn Fox, congratulated the academics who will lead the two new national medical research centres at UNSW.
"These highly competitive NHMRC grants are a testament to the dedication, expertise and outstanding research capability of Professor Guy, Associate Professor Applegate and Professor Neal," Prof. Fox said.
"Through collaborative work with other universities, communities and government, the new Centres of Excellence will translate research into real-world outcomes that improve health and save lives in Australia and around the world."
NHMRC CEO, Professor Steve Wesselingh, said, "At its core, NHMRC's CRE scheme promotes the effective translation of research into knowledge, policy and practice, effectively building workforce capability within the sector.
"This investment is a commitment to the health of all Australians and into the future of our national health system - congratulations to all successful chief investigators and their teams receiving funding today."
The CRE scheme helps build research capacity in priority areas identified by the NHMRC.
Accelerating testing for infectious diseases in the Asia-Pacific
Prof. Guy and A/Prof. Applegate from The Kirby Institute at UNSW Sydney and UNSW Medicine & Health have been awarded $3 million to co-lead a new centre to increase point-of-care testing for infectious diseases in Australia and the Asia-Pacific.
The centre, called RAPID 2.0, will bring together researchers, clinicians, laboratory scientists, community and government leaders from 12 organisations.
The collaborative initiative will aim to conduct research to facilitate the scaling up of point-of-care testing for respiratory, bloodborne and sexually transmissible infections across 900 health service and community testing locations in Australia and 14 countries in the Asia-Pacific region.
"Infectious diseases are responsible for a significant burden of disease worldwide, but many are preventable and treatable. Yet for half of the world's population, testing is unavailable because it has historically required access to centralised, sophisticated laboratories," said A/Prof. Applegate.
Infectious diseases are responsible for a significant burden of disease worldwide, but many are preventable and treatable.
"However, there have been dramatic advances in point-of-care testing in recent years, and with it the potential to transform healthcare by placing accurate and affordable diagnostic testing into the hands of healthcare providers and community members and effectively integrating it into existing health systems."
The CRE will build on RAPID 1.0, which piloted point-of-care testing among priority populations including First Nations people, people who inject drugs, women, children, pregnant women and their newborns, and people living in remote communities.
"Point-of-care testing is one of the great medical innovations, and through our ongoing research and program delivery since 2015, we have been able to demonstrate its effectiveness, acceptability and applicability in a range of resource-limited settings," Prof. Guy said.
"By bringing together multiple priority disease areas and locations within RAPID 2.0, and expertise across a broad range of disciplines, we have the opportunity to deliver tangible, significant and sustainable health benefits to communities in Australia and our region."
The program will expand access to testing to help achieve the World Health Organization's disease control and elimination targets.
Preventing strokes and heart attacks through healthier salt
Prof. Neal from The George Institute for Global Health and UNSW Medicine & Health was awarded $3 million to establish a new centre that aims to switch the world's salt supply to prevent millions of strokes and heart attacks each year.
"This centre marks the beginning of a major new global health effort. For decades, we've asked people to cut back on salt, but it simply hasn't worked. Now we have a better way, switch the salt, not the taste," Prof. Neal said.
"Potassium-enriched salt looks and tastes the same as regular salt, but it protects against high blood pressure, stroke and heart attack. Just as Australia once led the world in the shift to iodised salt, we can now lead this next global transition, one that will save millions of lives and change the health of entire populations."
Potassium-enriched salt looks and tastes the same as regular salt, but it protects against high blood pressure, stroke and heart attack.
Potassium-enriched salt substitutes, which look and taste like regular salt but contain less sodium and more potassium, have been shown to lower blood pressure and reduce cardiovascular risk. In 2025, the World Health Organization endorsed their use, recommending they replace regular table salt where possible.
The joint UNSW and George Institute centre, named 'Switching the world's salt supply for cardiovascular prevention', will advance understanding of potassium-enriched salt in people with kidney disease and those taking blood pressure medicines. It will work with policymakers, supply chains, healthcare providers and communities to implement change at scale.
The centre aims to build on Australia's global leadership in public health and cardiovascular disease prevention, following its successful campaign to introduce iodised salt in the 20th century to prevent iodine deficiency disorders.
Collaborating with the Heart Foundation and global health initiative Resolve to Save Lives , the centre will also train the next generation of researchers and foster an international network committed to healthier salt use.
