$10m funding to help SAHMRI strive for healthier futures

SAHMRI researchers will share in more than $10.5 million of additional funding after today’s grants announcement by the National Health and Medical Research Council. 

Aboriginal Health Equity Theme Leader, Professor Alex Brown, and postdoctoral research fellow Dr Peter Azzopardi are part of a successful application for a Centres of Research Excellence grant titled Driving Investment in Global Adolescent Health. 

SAHMRI Women and Kids Theme Leader, Professor Maria Makrides, and Senior Postdoctoral Researcher, Dr Lisa Yelland, will also be part of a new Centre of Research Excellence, called Better Health Through Better Trials: A National Network to Develop and Implement Innovative Clinical Trials Methodology. 

The CREs have each been endowed with almost $2.5 million over the next five years. 

Improving access, quality and acceptability of primary health care for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander men is the focus of the $650,000 Investigator Grant awarded to Postdoctoral Research Fellow Dr Kootsy Canuto from SAHMRI’s Aboriginal Health Equity Theme. 

“Although focussed on South Australia, the world-first research enabled by this grant will produce results that are transferable, sustainable and most importantly beneficial for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander men,” Dr Canuto said. 

Professor Stephen McDonald, the Chief Executive of the SAHMRI-based Australia and New Zealand Dialysis and Transplant (ANZDATA) Registry, will employ his Investigator Grant of almost $1 million to improve the lives of people receiving treatment during end-stage kidney disease. 

“This project will allow us to leverage existing data from the registry to identify and improve access to and outcomes of dialysis and kidney transplantation in Australia by utilising sophisticated statistical techniques and examining outcomes that are important to consumers as well as clinicians,” Professor McDonald says. 

Investigator grants were also awarded to SAHMRI Women and Kids researchers Associate Professor Philippa Middleton for Implementing nutrition and lifestyle interventions for women, young children and families, Dr Thomas Sullivan for Increasing the value of randomised trials: a combine program of methodological and applied health research and Dr Yvonne Clark for Improving wellbeing and preventing lateral violence in the Aboriginal community SA: Investing in our young. 

Senior Research Fellow Professor Helen Marshall and Associate Professor James Ward are Chief Investigators for a $1.3 million, four-year Partnership Project titled B part of it in NT. 

“This is an ideal opportunity to make a dual impact on the health of young people in the NT in relation to infectious diseases,” Associate Professor Ward said. 

“By combining our great community and health service partnerships with robust science and genuine commitment from researchers this investment will make a difference for young people across the territory in areas that we’ve not been able to make a significant impact over the past two decades.” 

Successful National Health and Medical Research Council grants 

Centres of Research Excellence 

Better health through better trials: A national network to develop and implement innovative clinical trials methodology 

Administered by Monash University - $2,495,403 

Driving Investment in Global Adolescent Health 

Administered by the University of Melbourne - $2,500,000 

Partnership Project 

B part of it in NT 

Administered by the University of Adelaide - $1,290,000 (TBC) 

Investigator Grants 

Dr Kootsy Canuto – Enough talk, time for action: Developing, implementing and evaluating co-designed approaches to enhance primary health care service engagement with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander men 

Administered by SAHMRI - $650,750 

Professor Stephen McDonald – Building on registry data to improve dialysis and kidney transplantation 

Administered by SAHMRI - $975,000 

Associate Professor Philippa Middleton – Implementing nutrition and lifestyle interventions for women, young children and families 

Administered by the University of Adelaide - $1,504,485 

Dr Thomas Sullivan – Increasing the value of randomised trials: A combined program of methodological and applied health research 

Administered by the University of Adelaide - $583,551 

Dr Yvonne Clark – Improving wellbeing and preventing lateral violence in the Aboriginal community SA: Investing in our young 

Administered by the University of Adelaide - $625,750