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Advancing research through NHMRC grants and scholarships

Courtesy of Burnet Institute

Congratulations to our researchers on their distinguished ³Ô¹ÏÍøÕ¾ Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) grants and scholarships.

The NHMRC is a globally recognised Australian Government body that supports medical research and drives the translation of research into better health outcomes.

Ideas Grants

More than $6 million in Ideas Grants were awarded to support innovative research projects led by Burnet researchers:

  • Dr Anna Hearps, deputy program director of Disease Elimination, and head of the Infection, Inflammation and Innate Immunity group. Dr Hearps received two Ideas Grants to eliminate HIV using elite killer immune cells derived from an HIV-uninfected donor and gain new insights into HIV-induced cardiovascular disease.
  • Dr Hayley Bullen, deputy working group head of the Malaria Virulence and Drug Discovery group. Dr Bullen’s grant will investigate and predict the impact of antimalarial resistance in West African parasites and how specific mutations affect drug treatments.
  • Dr Rowan Martin-Hughes, senior research officer. Dr Martin-Hughes’ grant will assess the health and economic benefits of public housing interventions for people who use drugs in Australia.
  • Associate Professor Stephen Bell, principal research fellow and theme lead of Social Science and Global Health. Associate Professor Bell’s grant will co-design adolescent-responsive contraceptive care solutions to reduce unintended pregnancy and unsafe abortions in Indonesia.

e-Asia JRP

Professor James Beeson, Burnet deputy director of Research Strategy, and head of the Malaria Immunity and Vaccines group, was awarded the NHMRC e-ASIA 2024 Joint Research Program (JRP).

The grant, worth more than $749,000 will help accelerate vaccine development for Plasmodium vivax (P. Vivax) malaria, a type of malaria caused by the parasite Plasmodium vivax.

“Malaria due to P. vivax is a major global health problem, especially in the Asia-Pacific region but there are very few vaccines in development,” Professor Beeson said.

“The development of an effective vaccine would contribute to achieving the World Health Organization’s (WHO) malaria elimination goals to eliminate malaria in at least 35 countries and reduce malaria case incidence by 90% by 2030.”

Postgraduate Scholarship scheme

The NHMRC Postgraduate Scholarship scheme funds research-based postgraduate degrees, including Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) and Research Master’s degrees.

Congratulations to Alexander Thomas, PhD candidate and economic modeller, who will use data from the international collaboration of HIV cohort studies to explore whether countries with broad access to treatment can meet WHO targets to reduce hepatitis C incidence and mortality among people living with HIV by 2030.

And congratulations to Fenella McAndrew, mathematical modeller. Her PhD project will use mathematical modelling and data from COVID-19 to develop effective strategies for responding to outbreaks of future pathogens, including in the early stages of an outbreak when information is limited.

Congratulations to our worthy recipients on advancing equitable health for all.

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