Outstanding discovery research awarded NHMRC Investigator Grant funding
Five Monash Biomedicine Discovery Institute (BDI) researchers have been awarded $7.34 million in National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Investigator Grants, announced 2 May by federal Minister for Health and Aged Care, Mark Butler.
The NHMRC Investigator Grants scheme provides high-performing researchers with salary and program funding to support research across biomedical, clinical, public health and health services areas.
The highly competitive funding will support researchers at the Monash BDI to continue their outstanding discovery research programs, ranging from understanding how metabolic interventions can treat fungal sepsis; protecting immune memory cells from disruption by viral infections; how neural circuits highlight and prioritise information; using bacterial strategies to evade cell death; through to how RNA regulates gene repression.
Offering his congratulations, Director of Monash BDI, Professor John Carroll said that these awards are formidably competitive.
"I am delighted that our research leaders are being supported by the NHMRC. Securing this funding helps our scientists make the discoveries that underpin human health and lead to the next generation of therapeutics," Professor Carroll said.
"I warmly congratulate each of our Investigator Grant recipients and acknowledge the incredibly hard work that goes in by all applicants,” he said.
The five Monash BDI researchers to receive funding were:
Professor Ana Traven, Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, Infection Program: ‘Harnessing disease tolerance and immune protection to treat fungal sepsis.’ Awarded $2,524,080 (Leadership 2).
Fungal infections cause 2.5 million deaths world-wide, with limited antifungal treatment options. Therefore, we must think laterally and explore adjunct therapies that can improve infection outcomes. Towards this goal, this project studies how metabolic and nutritional approaches could increase patient survival in fungal infections, which have 20-50% associated mortality. The insight gained could lead to innovative strategies for the treatment of deadly fungal diseases.
Professor Kim Good-Jacobson, Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, Immunity Program: ‘A molecular approach to unlocking B cell memory potential.’ Awarded $2,792,745 (Leadership 1).
Memory immune cells are the foundation of vaccine success. They are trained to rapidly clear a reinfection before it can do harm. Yet, we don’t know how long-lasting immune memory is formed, or how chronic viral infections disrupt our ability to form protective immune memory. My research aims to close these knowledge gaps to accelerate the development of new treatments that can significantly reduce the devastating effect of chronic infectious diseases on global health.
Dr Lee Fletcher, Department of Physiology, Neuroscience Program: ‘Spatiotemporal patterning of dendritic computations and learning by cholinergic inputs in the neocortex.’ Awarded $674,400 (Emerging Leadership 1).
Dr Fletcher’s research aims to understand how the brain processes the world. In this project, he aims to find out how neural circuits highlight certain information in different contexts, such as during attention, and how this helps encode memories. This will help understand how our brains decline with age and go wrong in neurological disorders such as attention deficit and Alzheimer’s disease, and how we may adapt in a world increasingly bombarding us with information and capturing our attention.
Dr Sarah Garnish, Department of Microbiology, Infection Program: ‘Cell death at the host-pathogen interface.’ Awarded $674,400 (Emerging Leadership 1).
Bacterial infections impose a significant health burden on the population worldwide. Programmed cell death is a crucial defence mechanism against bacterial pathogens. However, many have developed weaponry to evade or delay cell death. This project will investigate how the bacterial pathogen, Coxiella burnetii, manipulates host cells during infection and inhibits cell death. Interrogating the evasion mechanisms deployed by Coxiella will assist in the development of novel therapeutic strategies.
Dr Evan Healy, Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, Cancer Program: How does RNA regulate gene repression? Awarded $674,400 (Emerging Leadership 1).
When the product of certain genes is not needed, these genes are turned off in a process known as gene repression. Genes are switched off by chromatin modifiers, and the activity of these proteins is influenced by RNA. Previously considered a simple messenger molecule, RNA has emerged as a key player during development and in disease. However, our understanding of how RNA regulates gene repression in vertebrates remains rudimentary. This project aims to determine how RNA affects gene repression.
View all Monash's Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Science's grant recipients here.
Read the full list of national recipients on the NHMRC website. (NHMRC 2024 Grant Application Round)
About the Monash Biomedicine Discovery Institute
Committed to making the discoveries that will relieve the future burden of disease, the Monash Biomedicine Discovery Institute (BDI) at Monash University brings together more than 120 internationally-renowned research teams. Spanning seven discovery programs across Cancer, Cardiovascular Disease, Development and Stem Cells, Infection, Immunity, Metabolism, Diabetes and Obesity, and Neuroscience, Monash BDI is one of the largest biomedical research institutes in Australia. Our researchers are supported by world-class technology and infrastructure, and partner with industry, clinicians and researchers internationally to enhance lives through discovery