Health and Medical Research Funding Grants Announced

[caption id="attachment_6263" align="alignright" width="110"] Minister for Health Peter Dutton[/caption]
Minister for Health Peter Dutton has announced $133 million in Australian Government  funding to support 153 grants across five National Health and Medical Research Council schemes.
The grants will address broad areas of research, from infections in cancer patients to building immunity to childhood eczema and allergies. They include postgraduate scholarships and a Targeted Call for Research on Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder.
The funding announcement is on top of the $559.1 million for new medical research discoveries announced last October.
“Health and medical research is a major priority of the government and these new grants will support innovative projects aimed at finding better treatments for common diseases such as cancer, diabetes, asthma, arthritis and cardiovascular disease,” Mr Dutton said. “It will also help find new ways of tackling mental illness, dementia and gaps in indigenous health."
In this round of funding:

• Multi-disciplinary team-based research that contributes to new knowledge in biomedical, clinical, public health and health services will be supported with 11 Program Grants worth $101.6 million.

• Researchers and policy makers will be able to identify changes in the delivery, organisation, funding and access to health services through seven Partnership Projects totalling $4.4 million.

• Research at the early proof-of-concept for commercialisation will be supported with 24 Development Grants worth $14.7 million for new medical products, processes, procedures and services.

• Three Targeted Calls for Research grants ($2.8 million) will help improve understanding of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) which results from mothers drinking alcohol during pregnancy. FASD affects individuals across the breadth of the Australian community and is highly relevant to the health needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

• Young researchers will be supported by 108 Postgraduate Scholarships totalling $9.5 million.