- WA Near-Miss Awards program helps retain top talent locally
- State support paves way for WA researchers to achieve future national funding success
- Positions WA researchers to deliver longterm health research wins
The Cook Labor Government is ensuring Western Australia's health and medical research sector continues to thrive, backing 39 researchers with a share of $3.9 million in funding.
The WA Near-Miss Awards (WANMA) program, supported by the Future Health Research and Innovation (FHRI) Fund, provides critical bridging funding to high-quality WA researchers whose applications narrowly miss out on Commonwealth funding.
Recipients include 13 early and mid-career researchers awarded under the WANMA Ideas Grants 2025-26 and 26 awarded under the WANMA Investigator Grants 2026-27, supporting a strong pipeline of nationally competitive research.
WANMA-backed researchers have shown strong competitiveness in recent National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) grant rounds, highlighting the quality of WA's research talent.
Funding supports activities aimed at increasing the researchers' competitiveness for future submissions to the NHMRC, Medical Research Future Fund, and Australian Research Council, including addressing peer review feedback.
WA researchers performing highly in the NHMRC grant round, and now receiving WANMA funding to continue their work, include:
- Professor Christopher Blyth (The Kids Research Institute Australia/The University of Western Australia), for his research into improving prevention of paediatric respiratory infections;
- Dr Lauren Blekkenhorst (Edith Cowan University), a WANMA Emerging Leaders recipient, for her research exploring the role of diet in heart health; and
- Dr Luke Garratt (The University of Western Australia), a multiple FHRI Fund grant recipient, for his research into immune cell function and disease.
Strong representation was also seen in the NHMRC Ideas Grants round:
- Dr Ziming Chen (The University of Western Australia), for his research into tendon repair and cellular processes;
- Dr Omar Elaskalani (The Kids Research Institute Australia), a WANMA Ideas Grant recipient, for his research advancing immunotherapy for childhood cancer; and
- Dr Tao Wang (The Kids Research Institute Australia), who has received multiple FHRI Fund grants, for his research developing new approaches to cancer treatment.
These early indicators of success reinforce the value of the WA Near-Miss Awards in supporting high-quality research at a critical stage, ensuring strong ideas remain competitive at a national level.
This success also aligns with the State Government's broader WA Grants Success Framework, which is strengthening Western Australia's ability to compete for national research funding.
As stated by Medical Research Minister Stephen Dawson:
"Western Australia's researchers are delivering worldclass science, and the WA Near-Miss Awards are ensuring that strong ideas don't fall by the wayside.
"This program helps our researchers stay competitive, continue their work, and ultimately secure national funding that brings benefits back to the WA community.
"The WANMA program forms a key part of the FHRI Fund's broader strategy to build research capability, strengthen the pipeline of talent and ensure Western Australia remains at the forefront of health and medical innovation."
Award recipients:
Name |
Activity title |
Responsible entity |
Award |
Dr Hadib Afsharan |
Redefining cardiac diagnostics: Simplified biomarker technology for cardiovascular health |
The University of Western Australia |
$100,000 |
Dr Ziming Chen |
From Force to Mitochondrial Transfer: Decoding Mechanotransduction for Tendon Repair |
The University of Western Australia |
$100,000 |
Dr Omar Elaskalani |
Age Matters: Harnessing the Developing Immune System to Transform Immunotherapy for Childhood Cancer |
The Kids Research Institute of Australia on behalf of the Centre for Child Research UWA |
$100,000 |
Dr Loren Flynn |
Patient profiling to identify sporadic ALS responders to SOD1 suppression therapy |
Murdoch University |
$100,000 |
Dr Syed Zulqarnain Gilani |
Detecting Abdominal Aortic Calcification with Explainable AI: Developing and Testing a Framework for Localisation and Interpretability |
Edith Cowan University |
$100,000 |
Dr Jua Iwasaki |
Nipping Strep A infections in the bud: targeting tonsil attachment to improve vaccine development |
The Kids Research Institute of Australia on behalf of the Centre for Child Research UWA |
$100,000 |
Dr Jasreen Kular |
The role of lysosomal transporter MFSD12 in health and disease |
The University of Western Australia |
$100,000 |
Dr Virginie Lam |
Advancing interventions for chemotherapy-induced cognitive dysfunction in cancer patients and survivors |
Curtin University |
$100,000 |
Dr Xingang Li |
Deep Learning-based Multi-Omics Integration in an Australian Ageing Cohort: Uncovering Immunoglobulin G N-Glycome as Predictors of Cardiometabolic Diseases |
Edith Cowan University |
$100,000 |
Dr Andrew Stevenson |
Enhancing autologous cell therapies to regenerate skin after injury |
University of Western Australia |
$100,000 |
Professor Gina Trapp |
Reshaping Australia's school environments to combat childhood obesity and poor nutrition |
Edith Cowan University |
$100,000 |
Dr Tao Wang |
Developing a novel dsRNA immune adjuvant for cancer treatment and vaccination |
The Kids Research Institute of Australia on behalf of the Centre for Child Research UWA |
$100,000 |
Dr Pauline Zaenker |
Autoantibodies as Predictive Biomarkers of Immunotherapy Response and Severe Immune-related Adverse Events in Cutaneous Melanoma Patients |
Edith Cowan University |
$100,000 |
Dr Lisa Alcock |
Targeted protein degraders as novel therapies for osteosarcomas |
Curtin University |
$100,000 |
Dr Aaron Beasley |
Advanced cfDNA genomics for improving the outcomes of cancer patients |
Edith Cowan University |
$100,000 |
Dr Chrianna Bharat |
From Clusters to Care: Identifying Disease Burden and Opportunities for Intervention in Healthy Ageing |
University of Western Australia |
$100,000 |
Dr Lauren Blekkenhorst |
Unlocking a heart-healthy diet: are cruciferous vegetables the key? |
Edith Cowan University |
$100,000 |
Professor Christopher Blyth |
Innovative Strategies to Optimise Paediatric Acute Respiratory Infection Prevention |
The Kids Research Institute of Australia on behalf of the Centre for Child Research UWA |
$100,000 |
Dr Anthony Buzzai |
Dissecting and exploiting cancer-immune interactions in paediatric cancers |
The Kids Research Institute of Australia on behalf of the Centre for Child Research UWA |
$100,000 |
Dr Anita Campbell |
Advancing equity in sepsis care and prevention |
The Kids Research Institute of Australia on behalf of the Centre for Child Research UWA |
$100,000 |
Dr Jennifer Currenti |
Personalising liver cancer therapy: enhancing efficacy and patient outcomes through targeted treatments |
Curtin University |
$100,000 |
Dr Jennifer Dunne |
Menopause and Dementia |
Curtin University |
$100,000 |
Dr Denby Evans |
Unravelling the mechanisms of persistent and progressive lung disease after preterm birth |
The Kids Research Institute of Australia on behalf of the Centre for Child Research UWA |
$100,000 |
Dr Luke Garratt |
You Got To Move It! Revealing Cell Migration and Sex Matter to Neutrophil Poise |
University of Western Australia |
$100,000 |
Dr Lakshini Herat |
Controlling Sympathetic Nerve Activity for Cardiorenal and Metabolic Health. |
University of Western Australia |
$100,000 |
Dr Mridul Johari |
Cracking the Tubulin Code: How TUBA4A variants shape neurological diseases |
University of Western Australia |
$100,000 |
Dr Erin Kelty |
Prenatal medication exposure and congenital anomalies: Tackling methodological inconsistencies in research to reduce prenatal exposure to teratogenic medications |
University of Western Australia |
$100,000 |
Dr Su Lim |
A One Health approach tackling Clostridium difficile infection |
University of Western Australia |
$100,000 |
Professor Hannah Moore |
Improving how we implement and evaluate vaccines: What can we learn from RSV and Strep A? |
Curtin University |
$100,000 |
Dr Kenta Ninomiya |
Epigenetic roadmap to healthy aging for all |
The University of Western Australia |
$100,000 |
Dr Jessica Nolan |
Advancing stroke rehabilitation in Western Australia |
Curtin University |
$100,000 |
Dr Nicola Principe |
Targeting lipid -mediated immune suppression to improve cancer immunotherapy |
The University of Western Australia |
$100,000 |
Dr Annabel Short |
Designing Safer Childhood Brain Cancer Therapies by Understanding Brain-Immune Microenvironment |
The Kids Research Institute of Australia on behalf of the Centre for Child Research UWA |
$100,000 |
Dr Cassandra Smith |
Her heart matters: cardiovascular disease screening during bone density testing |
Edith Cowan University |
$100,000 |
Dr Ingrid Stacey |
Cardiovascular measures to guide policy and practice for First Nations populations: time to close the data gaps |
The University of Western Australia |
$100,000 |
Associate Professor Gizachew Tessema |
Developing culturally tailored interventions to improve development outcomes of children in priority populations |
Curtin University |
$100,000 |
Dr Frances Theunissen |
Development of SARM1 antisense therapy to restore axonal health in motor neurone disease |
The University of Notre Dame Australia |
$100,000 |
Dr Getinet Yaya |
Developing a risk-prediction model and co-designing early intervention and prevention strategies for mental health in CALD children and young people: A transformative approach |
Curtin University |
$100,000 |
Dr Liezhou Zhong |
More than a dollop: new approaches to improve the health and wellbeing of people eating texture modified food |
Edith Cowan University |
$100,000 |
