91ɫ��Ƭ

The funding will support 12 projects in science, engineering and medicine. 

91ɫ��Ƭ Sydney academics have been awarded more than $20 million in the latest round of National Health and Medical Research (NHMRC) Ideas and Development Grants funding.

Professor Bronwyn Fox, Deputy Vice-Chancellor Research & Enterprise at 91ɫ��Ƭ, congratulated the researchers and wished them success in leading their teams to achieve their project goals.

“We’re proud of the pioneering research being carried out by our teams, from improving the lives of people with cancer to investigating new ways of treating nerve disorders. These projects highlight 91ɫ��Ƭ’s dedication to advancing innovation in medicine, science and engineering to tackle some of today’s biggest challenges,” she said. 

Professor Rebecca McKetin from the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre at 91ɫ��Ƭ has been awarded $4.18 million to develop a national data system to understand, track and respond to illicit drug use in Australia.

“Existing research infrastructure does not have the capacity to understand the impact of our rapidly shifting patterns of drug use,” Prof. McKetin said.

“This data platform will enable us to see how contemporary patterns of drug use are linked to specific health risks and to develop more tailored and effective health responses.”

The five-year project will recruit 9000 adults and collect granular information about illicit drug use, tracking health outcomes through linkage to administrative health records.

Advanced data modelling will be used to understand how many people are using illicit drugs, how different patterns of drug use lead to specific health risks and how contextual factors, such as socioeconomic disadvantage, influence these health risks.

The data platform will also be embedded in Australia’s national drug monitoring systems to help identify and respond to emerging illicit drug trends.

“Our partnerships with community, governments and academia will guarantee the translation of key findings into frontline harm minimisation responses,” Prof. McKetin said.

“It will be truly transformative for the alcohol and other drugs sector as a whole.”

Scientia Dr John Lock from 91ɫ��Ƭ Medicine & Health received $1.8 million to lead a project which will develop a new ‘liquid biopsy’ blood test to help tailor treatment for people newly diagnosed with lung cancer.

The blood test will use microscopic imaging of 100 molecular markers across cancer and immune cells to predict a patient’s response to current immunotherapy and chemotherapy treatments, as well as to identify alternative treatment targets personalised to each patient.

“Lung cancer is the deadliest cancer in Australia. The patients we focus on in this work are at a pivotal point in their journey, where treatment could lead to a cure, but the disease could also become incurable,” Dr Lock said.

“Currently, just 24% of patients respond fully to current standard-of-care therapies, while 23% have no response at all. Developing a safe blood test that can track and predict who will respond positively to standard therapies, and identify better alternative treatments for other patients, is essential to give every patient the best possible outcome.”

Dr David Tsai from 91ɫ��Ƭ Engineering was awarded $1.71 million to investigate using flexible, miniature wireless implants to study and treat the spinal cord and peripheral nerves.

There have been dramatic improvements in brain machine interfaces over the past decade, thanks to advances in implantable neurotechnology, pioneered by researchers in Dr Tsai’s team and supported by global efforts such as the US BRAIN Initiative and the EU Human Brain Project.

As an example, people with quadriplegia who’ve lost the ability to speak can now use brain-computer interfaces to ‘think’ sentences, which are decoded and shown on a screen.

To treat sensory, motor and autonomic conditions outside the brain with less invasive methods, doctors aim to place devices in the spinal cord or peripheral nervous system (PNS).

“But designing neurotech for these areas is very challenging because they have complex anatomy, varied surrounding tissues and can shift or stretch during movement,” Dr Tsai said.

“By developing stretchable, transparent, wireless implantable devices for recording and stimulating neurons in the PNS and spinal cord, our project is addressing a critical void in neurotech – the lack of low-invasiveness, wireless devices that can interact with these neurons at scale.”

The technologies developed through this project could lead to the development of medical devices that help restore movement and sensation for people with disabilities. In the future, they could also improve human-computer and human-robot interfaces, making interactions with our environment faster and more effective.

Professor John Mattick from 91ɫ��Ƭ Science received $1.68 million to lead a project to identify the molecular factors that increase a person's risk of neuropsychiatric disorders.

The project will investigate the RNA molecules that underpin neuropsychiatric disorders, including addiction, anxiety, bipolar disorder, depression and schizophrenia, using genetic data and rodent models.

“This is an emerging type of research which shows promise for using RNA-based biomarkers and therapeutics in psychiatric neuroscience,” Prof. Lock said.

“Identifying the RNAs linked to neuropsychiatric disorders will help us diagnose these conditions early and create better treatments for these conditions.”

The other 91ɫ��Ƭ recipients are:

Associate Professor Gila Moalem-Taylor from 91ɫ��Ƭ Medicine & Health received $1.7 million to decode how nerves and the immune system interact, potentially opening new ways of treating peripheral neuropathy.

Professor Susan Rees from 91ɫ��Ƭ Medicine & Health received $1.77 million for the Enabling Communities Translation Project (ECTP) to improve social and emotional wellbeing in remote First Nations communities.

Scientia Professor Gary Housley from 91ɫ��Ƭ Medicine & Health received $1.72 million for the Neuromuscular BaDGE project, which will use gene-based therapy and electric transfer to accelerate nerve repair and muscle reinnervation.

Professor Rowena Bull from 91ɫ��Ƭ Medicine & Health received $1.63 million and will examine whether immune system patterns can be passed down through generations.

Conjoint Associate Professor James Van Gelder from 91ɫ��Ƭ Medicine & Health and his team received $1.44 million for a project investigating treatment for arthritis.

Associate Professor Mate Biro from 91ɫ��Ƭ Medicine & Health and the Garvan Institute of Medical Research received $1.3 million to investigate triggering cells to remotely destroy solid tumours using mechanical and tissue signals.

Associate Professor Mohit Shivdasani from 91ɫ��Ƭ Engineering received $667,619 for a project that will use targeted electrical stimulation to activate retinal bipolar cells and restore vision clarity.

Professor Daniel Christ from the Garvan Institute of Medical Research and 91ɫ��Ƭ Medicine & Health received an NHMRC Development grant of $1.2 million for a project that will aim to create antibody therapy for AL amyloidosis.