Western Australia Awards $775,000 to 15 Precision Medicine Projects Spanning Cancer, Alzheimer's and Stroke
核心洞察
Western Australia's Cook Labor Government and The Hospital Research Foundation Group (搜索) have awarded $775,000 to 15 precision medicine research projects across the state.
Four researchers received Tier One grants of $125,000 over two years, while 11 projects received Tier Two grants of $25,000 over one year.
Funded work targets cancer, dementia (搜索), cardiovascular disease (搜索), stroke (搜索) and mental health, including a precision nasal spray (搜索) for Alzheimer's disease (搜索).
Fifteen Western Australian precision medicine projects will share $775,000 in new funding awarded through the Innovative Research in Precision Medicine program, jointly supported by the Cook Labor Government's Future Health Research and Innovation (FHRI) Fund and The Hospital Research Foundation Group (搜索). The announcement was made by Medical Research Minister Stephen Dawson and The Hospital Research Foundation Group Growth Impact lead Ben Wilson.
The successful projects focus on some of the state's biggest health challenges, including cancer, dementia (搜索), cardiovascular disease (搜索), stroke (搜索) and mental health. Researchers involved come from universities, medical research institutes and health services across Western Australia. Six of the recipients are from The University of Western Australia.
Grant Structure and Recipients
Four researchers will receive Tier One grants of $125,000 over two years, while a further 11 projects will each receive Tier Two grants of $25,000 over one year. The funding was awarded through a competitive grant round and marks the third major collaboration between The Hospital Research Foundation Group (搜索) and the FHRI Fund over the past 12 months.
Among the Tier One recipients, Dr Alison McDonnell, from UWA Medical School and The Kids Research Institute Australia (搜索), will investigate precision immunotherapy for children with brain tumours (搜索). Dr Weitao Lin, from UWA's Medical School and the Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research (搜索), will pursue rapid testing to identify the best treatments for ovarian cancer (搜索). Dr Hadi Afsharan, also of UWA's Medical School and the Perkins, will work on a flexible radar-based wearable to monitor heart health. Dr Susbin Raj Wagle of Curtin University will develop a precision nasal spray (搜索) as a potential new treatment for Alzheimer's disease (搜索).
Tier Two awards include Dr Omar Elaskalani of The Kids Research Institute Australia (搜索), who will work on tailored immunotherapy for paediatric cancers, and Associate Professor Laurence Cheung of Curtin University and The Kids Research Institute Australia, who will focus on improving immunotherapy for children with high-risk leukaemia (搜索). Dr Jonathan Chee, from the Centre for Respiratory Health at UWA, received a grant to explore precision strategies for cancer care targeting metal balance, while Associate Professor Elizabeth Thomas of Curtin University will use precision data to predict and prevent serious side effects from cancer immunotherapy.
Additional Tier Two projects include Dr Kai Chen of UWA's School of Biomedical Sciences and School of Molecular Sciences, who will explore targeted RNA therapy (搜索) to prevent cancer-related bone damage; Dr Tenielle Porter of Edith Cowan University, who will advance Alzheimer's treatment through precision risk profiling; and Dr Berihun Dachew of Curtin University, who will use precision methods to prevent mental health risks. Dr Jamie Bellinge of UWA Medical School will explore advanced PET imaging to better classify stroke (搜索) sub-types, Dr Jayden Lee Roberts of The University of Notre Dame (搜索) will develop a new micro-sampling technique to improve cardiovascular care, and Dr Virginie Lam of Curtin University will investigate precision medicine to tailor dementia (搜索) treatment based on genetics.
Precision Medicine as a Framework
Precision medicine uses information about a person's genes, environment and lifestyle to help tailor treatment and care, rather than relying on a one-size-fits-all approach. The program's stated aim is to support projects that lead to more personalised approaches to the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of serious health conditions.
"Precision medicine has enormous potential to change the way we prevent, diagnose, and treat disease by delivering care that is better tailored to the individual," Minister Dawson said. "These projects are tackling some of our biggest health challenges, from childhood cancers and Alzheimer's disease (搜索) to stroke (搜索), heart disease, and mental health. WA has outstanding researchers and clinicians, and the Cook Labor Government is committed to supporting them to turn promising ideas into better health outcomes for patients."
Ben Wilson of The Hospital Research Foundation Group (搜索) said the funding supports progress toward more accurate diagnoses and treatments better suited to individual patients. "We are proud to again partner with the State Government and the Future Health Research and Innovation Fund (搜索) to support this important research," he said. "The diversity of these projects demonstrates the depth of research expertise here in Western Australia and the potential for precision medicine to improve care across a wide range of diseases."