Medical research grants announced

THE University of Western Australia has been awarded the lion’s share of $22.6 million in National Health and Medical Research Council grants won by the state’s tertiary institutions for medical research.

Medical projects form a major part of overall research funding, which universities value as a measure of their success.

However, WA institutions will receive only about 0. 5 per cent of the $447.5 million in NHMRC grants announced last week, with UWA ranked eighth nationally and the only local university in the top 20 administering bodies in terms of total funds awarded.

UWA will receive $19.7 million for 40 projects for research to be carried out by its staff and affiliated institutes, such as the Telethon Institute for Child Health Research and the Western Australian Institute for Medical. The biggest grant was $840,000 for research into the effects of Omega-3 fatty acids on long-term cardiovascular risk.

The next biggest recipient of NHMRC research grants in WA was Edith Cowan University, which attracted $1.1 million for three projects.

Murdoch University was granted a little over $950,000 for three projects and Curtin University was awarded more than $500,000 for three projects.

Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital was also named among the WA grant recipients.

Last week, Murdoch University’s advanced nanotechnology group received a $US100,000 grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to fund an ‘inject and forget’ contraceptive drug delivery device for third-world countries.