The Morrison Government will provide $21 million for 13 research projects that will focus on risk reduction, prevention and tracking of dementia, Australia’s second leading cause of death.
This brings the total investment under the National Health and Medical Research Council’s (NHMRC) Boosting Dementia Research Grant scheme to $200 million.
Two dementia research projects at the new National Centre for Healthy Ageing at Peninsula Health-Monash University will receive a share in support from the Morrison Government.
The Frankston campus based projects, one of which, will be the first in Australia to use electronic record data to develop ways of monitoring the prevalence of dementia.
The $600,000 grant to Monash University researchers will use the unique aspects of the Peninsula region to conduct a pilot study for a program that will be rolled out across Victoria and nationally if successful.
The aim of the project is to provide a way to monitor dementia and its risk factors, resulting in the better management and treatment of the condition.
$2 million has also been allocated to the University for a study designed to prevent and reduce the risk of developing dementia in 45-65 year olds.
The study will be carried out across NSW and Victoria with a view to develop an individualised health promotion programme, comprising of self-management training, practical behaviour change techniques and GP-coordinated interdisciplinary management of dementia risk factors.
The need for investment in research to develop new treatments and to improve dementia care is evident.
Without a medical breakthrough, it is predicted that more than 1.1 million Australians will be living with dementia by 2056.
We’re committed to ensuring Australians of all ages have access to the support they need to face life’s challenges.
This important support is in addition to the $185 million Dementia, Ageing and Aged Care 10 year mission funded through the Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF).
Our Government is able to provide unprecedented levels of support to health and medical research because of our strong economic management.
Boosting Dementia Research Grant scheme funding recipients | |||
Chief Investigator | Application Title | Administering Institution | Budget |
| Boosting Dementia Research Grants Priority Round Five: Dementia Risk Reduction and Prevention | |||
| Associate Professor Lisbeth Evered | The PROTECT Trial: PeRiOperaTive Enhancement of Cognitive Trajectory | University of Melbourne | $1,615,118.80 |
| Professor Kaarin Anstey | Translating the evidence on dementia risk reduction to generate assessments, advice and training for health professionals, policy makers, patients and public | University of New South Wales | $1,995,480.60 |
| Professor Andrew Pipingas | Mediterranean diet and exercise to reduce cognitive decline and dementia risks in independently living older Australians: the MedWalk randomised controlled trial | Swinburne University of Technology | $1,772,616.00 |
| Doctor Ashleigh Smith | Living your best day-Optimising activity and diet compositions for dementia prevention | University of South Australia | $1,234,805.00 |
| Professor Sharon Naismith | REducing Sleep Apnoea for the PrEvention of Dementia (REShAPED): a multi-site feasibility RCT | University of Sydney | $1,468,684.80 |
| Professor Katherine Samaras | Preventing cognitive decline with metformin: a randomised controlled trial | The Garvan Institute of Medical Research | $1,998,024.60 |
| Doctor Paul Gardiner | Taking a whole of day approach to optimising activity to prevent dementia in people with type 2 diabetes | The University of Queensland | $1,480,827.10 |
| Doctor Yen Ying Lim | BetterBrains: Person-Centred, Multi-Domain, Primary Prevention Strategies to Delay Memory Decline | University of Melbourne | $1,568,806.80 |
| Doctor Johnson George | Holistic Approach in Primary care for PreventIng Memory Impairment aNd Dementia (HAPPI MIND) | Monash University | $1,999,499.84 |
| Associate Professor Amy Brodtmann | Cardiovascular exercise to prevent cognitive decline in high risk patient populations: a post-ischaemic stroke exercise intervention study | University of Melbourne | $1,613,508.00 |
| Associate Professor Edward Strivens | Reducing dementia risk in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Communities | James Cook University | $1,515,145.00 |
| Boosting Dementia Research Grants Priority Round Six: Improving Dementia Data and Methods | |||
| Professor Annette Dobson | Improving Australia’s Dementia Statistics | The University of Queensland | $2,154,096.00 |
| Professor Velandai Srikanth | Leveraging electronic medical records and routine administrative data towards a population approach for monitoring dementia frequency, risk factors and management | Monash University | $617,335.60 |
Authorised by Greg Hunt MP, Liberal Party of Australia, Somerville, Victoria
