Health and medical projects at The University of Western Australia investigating infections, cellular processes, cancer diagnosis and treatment, cardiac and musculoskeletal disease, healthy ageing and ways to advance paediatric care have been awarded $2.1 million in grants from the State Government.
Twenty-one UWA researchers received grants through the WA Near-Miss Awards program, which is supported by the Future Health Research and Innovation Fund to provide critical bridging funding to WA researchers whose applications narrowly missed out on Federal funding.
Professor Christopher Blyth, from UWA’s Medical School and The Kids Research Institute Australia, was awarded a grant for his research into improving prevention of paediatric respiratory infections.
Dr Luke Garratt, from UWA’s Medical School and the Wal-yan Respiratory Research Centre at The Kids, was a grant recipient for his research into immune cell function and disease.
Dr Ziming Chen, from UWA’s Medical School, received funds for his research into tendon repair and cellular processes.
Dr Omar Elaskalani, from UWA’s Medical School and The Kids, was awarded a grant for his research advancing immunotherapy for childhood cancer.
Dr Tao Wang, from UWA’s Medical School and The Kids, received a grant for his research developing new approaches to cancer treatment.
Dr Hadi Afsharan, from UWA’s Medical School and Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research, received funds to improve cardiovascular health by developing diagnostics using simplified biomarker technology.
Dr Jua Iwasaki, from UWA’s Medical School and The Kids, was awarded a grant to target tonsil attachment to improve vaccine development for Strep A infections.
Dr Jasreen Kular, from UWA’s School of Biomedical Sciences and The Kids, received funds to identify the role of lysosomal transporters in health and musculoskeletal disease.
Dr Andrew Stevenson, from UWA’s School of Biomedical Sciences, was awarded a grant to enhance autologous cell therapies to regenerate skin after injury.
Dr Chrianna Bharat, from UWA’s School of Population and Global Health, received a grant to identify disease burden and opportunities for intervention in healthy ageing.
Dr Anthony Buzzai, from UWA’s Medical School and The Kids, was awarded a grant to dissect and exploit cancer-immune interactions in paediatric cancers.
Dr Anita Campbell, from UWA’s Medical School and The Kids, was awarded a grant to advance equity in sepsis care and prevention.
Dr Denby Evans, from UWA’s Medical School and the Wal-yan Centre at The Kids, was awarded a grant to investigate the mechanisms of persistent and progressive lung disease after preterm birth.
Dr Lakshini Herat, from UWA’s School of Biomedical Sciences, was awarded a grant to control sympathetic nerve activity for cardiorenal and metabolic health.
Dr Mridul Johari, from UWA’s Medical School and the Perkins, received funds to investigate how variants of TUBA4A, a protein coding gene, shape neurological diseases.
Dr Erin Kelty, from UWA’s School of Population and Global Health, was the recipient of a grant to examine methodological inconsistencies in research to reduce prenatal exposure to teratogenic medications.
Dr Su Chen Lim from UWA’s School of Biomedical Sciences was awarded a grant to develop a One Health approach to tackle Clostridium difficile infection.
Dr Kenta Ninomiya, from UWA’s Medical School and the Perkins, received funds to develop an epigenetic roadmap to healthy ageing for all.
Dr Nicola Principe, from UWA’s Medical School, was the recipient of a grant to investigate targeting lipid-mediated immune suppression to improve cancer immunotherapy.
Dr Annabel Short, from UWA’s Medical School and The Kids, was awarded a grant to design safer childhood brain cancer therapies by understanding the brain-immune microenvironment.
Dr Ingrid Stacey, from UWA’s School of Population and Global Health, was the recipient of a grant to develop cardiovascular measures to guide policy and practice for First Nations populations to close data gaps.
