{"id":3041,"date":"2020-05-25T17:49:31","date_gmt":"2020-05-25T07:49:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wimr.org.au\/?post_type=wimr_news&p=3041"},"modified":"2024-09-30T18:26:39","modified_gmt":"2024-09-30T08:26:39","slug":"six-wimr-researchers-awarded-nhmrc-investigator-grants","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/wimr.org.au\/news\/six-wimr-researchers-awarded-nhmrc-investigator-grants\/","title":{"rendered":"Six WIMR researchers awarded NHMRC Investigator Grants"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Westmead Institute for Medical Research (WIMR) congratulates those researchers who are successful recipients of National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Investigator Grants and Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF) priority projects.<\/p>\n

In total, six WIMR researchers and affiliates have been successful in this highly competitive national funding process. A broad range of WIMR research will benefit from these grants including important projects focused on kidney disease and kidney transplants, fatty liver disease, critical infections, tuberculosis and cardiac therapies.<\/p>\n

\n

\"\"
Professor Philip O’Connell<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/figure>\n

WIMR Executive Director,\u00a0Professor Philip O\u2019Connell<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>said that WIMR\u2019s level of funding success is an acknowledgment of the pioneering and world-class research work that are being conducted at WIMR and across the Westmead Health Precinct.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would like to congratulate all the recipients of the NHMRC Investigator Grants. To have six successful NHMRC Investigator Grant recipients at WIMR, and more across the Westmead Health Precinct is an outstanding achievement.\u00a0 It demonstrates not only the quality of work being conducted here, but the importance of the collaborative approach to improving health outcomes that is embraced by the whole Westmead Health Precinct. It demonstrates WIMR\u2019s expertise and focus on translating research outcomes into improved treatments for patients.\u201d said Professor O\u2019Connell.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

\"\"
Professor Jacob George AM<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/figure>\n

One of these projects is led by the Director of the Storr Liver Centre at WIMR,\u00a0Professor Jacob George AM<\/a><\/strong>.\u00a0 Professor George is a renowned hepatologist and liver research scientist who studies the causes of and mechanisms for the development of liver disease and liver cancer.\u00a0 He is also Head of the Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology at Westmead Hospital.
\nProfessor George and his team will use this NHMRC Investigator Grant to develop greater understanding of the clinical and molecular characteristics of fatty liver disease, with the aim of improving treatments.<\/p>\n

\u201cFatty liver disease affects one in three Australians. The disease has no treatments and many patients will develop liver failure and cancer,\u201d said Professor George.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt the patient level, the disease is characterised by marked clinical variability, which is a significant challenge when looking to develop biomarkers and treatments. To move towards \u201cprecision medicine\u201d, this project is an inter-disciplinary program that embraces disease complexity and integrates environmental and genetic risk with the power of mathematical modelling.
\n\u201cWe hope that through this (and out international collaborations), precision medicine can be developed to help every person with fatty liver disease.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

\"\"
Professor David Harris<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/figure>\n

Professor David Harris AM<\/a><\/strong>, Director of WIMR\u2019s Renal Failure Laboratory and Director of Nephrology\u00a0 and Dialysis at Western Sydney Renal Service, received funding to develop new therapeutic approaches to treat chronic kidney disease.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis grant will support research with a particular focus on using immune cells to reduce kidney inflammation and fibrosis, the two main drivers of kidney disease progression,\u201d said Professor Harris.<\/p>\n

\u201cNew therapies for kidney disease are vital.\u00a0 850 million people worldwide have kidney disease, yet treatments are few and often ineffective. This research is important as it is examining new effective and safe treatments for kidney diseases.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

\"\"
Associate Professor James Chong<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/figure>\n

Associate Professor James Chong<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0is Co-Director of WIMR\u2019s Centre for Heart Research and Leader of WIMR\u2019s Cardiac Regeneration Group, as well as being a Cardiologist at Westmead Hospital.\u00a0 Associate Professor Chong received funding through the Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF) Priority Funding Round.\u00a0 His project aims to develop innovative cardiac regeneration therapies.<\/p>\n

\u201cCardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death worldwide. In particular, heart failure remains a major cause of morbidity and mortality,\u201d said Associate Professor Chong.<\/p>\n

\u201cDespite current standards of care, there remains a large unmet need to treat heart failure. Current treatments try to slow the progression of chronic heart failure with drugs, and to treat end-stage heart failure with transplantation. However, this is not a long-term solution because it is rare to completely halt the progression of chronic heart failure and there will never be enough donor hearts to supply our ageing population.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe grant that I was awarded will be used to develop innovative cardiac regenerative therapies that could be at the clinical trials stage in the not too distant future. This would mean that new heart muscle, grown from stem cells, could help repair damage caused by a heart attack.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

\"\"
Professor Jon Iredell.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/figure>\n

Professor Jon Iredell<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0is the Director of WIMR\u2019s Centre for Infectious Diseases and Microbiology, and Senior Staff Specialist in Infectious Diseases and Microbiology at Westmead Hospital.\u00a0 Professor Iredell\u2019s research is focused on critical infection and this funding will further his research aimed at identifying positive solutions for patient\u2019s experiencing critical infections.<\/p>\n

Professor Iredell said, \u201cWe are using natural and synthetic biological approaches to both enhance and substitute antibiotic treatment in severe infection. New therapies are urgently needed, and these give us new hope in the face of increasing antibiotic resistance.\u201d<\/p>\n

Other WIMR affiliates to receive NHMRC Investigator Grant funding include:<\/p>\n