Researchers win major support in NHMRC funding round

University of Queensland (UQ) researchers will share in more than $34 million in funding as part of the latest round of National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) program grants scheme.

UQ will lead the way in two grants and is a supporting partner in a further two covering a range of topics including the control of nerve cell production, improving the health of people through exercise, working to develop vaccines for common infectious diseases such as malaria and finding out how bacteria causes diseases in humans.

Renowned neuroscientist Professor Perry Bartlett from UQ's School of Biomedical Sciences will lead a team that was awarded $6.474 million over five years for their continuing work in the control of nerve cell production in adult brains.

The team's previous collaborative work, which demonstrated stem cells in adult animals could generate new nerve cells, has opened up the possibility of repairing some forms of brain damage through stimulation of a patient's own stem cells.

Discovering the molecular mechanisms controlling this process is the current goal of the researchers and will hopefully change the way we treat stroke, injury and other neurodegenerative diseases.

Professor Neville Owen from UQ's School of Population Health will lead a team that includes Professor Wendy Brown from the School of Human Movement Studies, that has been awarded $4.38 million over five years to find a way to help get people in better shape.

Targeting what they call the "diseases of inactivity", the team will look at new ideas and practical tools to help get people active to combat weight gain, type 2 diabetes, heart disease and breast and colon cancer.

Combining approaches from psychology, epidemiology and exercise physiology the approach will combine theories and methods in an innovative manner for public health use.

Professor Istvan Toth from UQ's School of Pharmacy will join a Queensland Institute of Medical Research project that received a $8.521 million grant to develop vaccines for malaria, scabies and streptococcal diseases that affect people around the world on a massive scale.

Associate Professor Mike Jennings and Professor Alastair McEwan, both from UQ's School of Molecular and Microbial Sciences will join a team from Monash University looking at how bacteria cause disease with a view to developing more effective vaccines and drugs, a pressing issue in the 21st Century.

Media: For more information, contact Brad Turner at UQ Communications on (07) 3365 2659.