Monash researchers receive Federal Government funding to study children and high-risk populations immune responses to vaccinations and COVID-19
The Hon Ged Kearney, the Assistant Minister for Health and Aged Care, today attended Monash University labs in the Burnet Institute to announce funding of $6.3 million from the Medical Research Future Fund into the study of COVID-19 vaccines and infection with the goal of improving the care and outcomes for children and people with chronic diseases, particularly as future variants emerge.
The study, led by Professor Menno van Zelm, will be conducted at Monash University, Alfred Health, Monash Health, Burnet Institute, and the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute.
According to Professor van Zelm, there is a significant research gap on the impact of COVID-19 infection and vaccination for vulnerable groups – such as people with chronic diseases and children, as the majority of COVID-19 research is conducted with healthy adults.
Minister Kearney said that Australian medical researchers are leading the world when it comes to Covid research and that the Government will always invest in the medical research sector to keep this expertise on our shores. “We are investing in crucial research to paint a better picture of how the illness and vaccines affect children and people with chronic health conditions,” she said.
“This research undertaken by Monash University will ultimately help to improve the care that children and adults receive, who are at a higher risk of becoming seriously ill from Covid.”
The new PROPHECY research project will evaluate the immune response in children and high-risk populations, including adults with chronic conditions, to COVID-19.
The PROPHECY project will examine the immune responses to both vaccination and previous COVID-19 infections to gauge the antibody and cellular immune response in healthy and vulnerable people. The study will also inform long-term analysis after a COVID-19 infection or vaccination, including breakthrough or re-infection.
The project will advance understanding of the impact on vulnerable populations so appropriate care can be delivered, including tailored treatments and vaccination schedules appropriate to children and high-risk groups.
The study will include adults with chronic conditions, such as chronic kidney and lung disease, Inflammatory Bowel Disease, rheumatic diseases, people living with HIV and organ transplant recipients, among others. The results will inform treatment and care for sufferers of other chronic diseases.
Professor Christina Mitchell, Dean of Monash University’s Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences, welcomed Minister Kearney to the tour of the van Zelm lab, stating that “this funding will provide an enormous boost to the understanding of how Covid-19 and vaccinations work in an area that to date has remained largely understudied: children and adults with chronic health conditions like arthritis,” she said.
“We must understand more about the impact of this disease in this cohort of vulnerable people.”
The funding for the PROPHECY project was awarded in the latest round of funding towards COVID-19 treatment access and public health activity research.
Through this round of funding, more than $31.5 million from the Australian Government’s $20 billion Medical Research Future Fund will focus on COVID-19 research.
The COVID-19 pandemic is continuing even as the Omicron winter wave subsides, and research such as this will help medical experts, health practitioners, policy makers and all Australians be better prepared for future variants.
About Monash University
Monash University is Australia’s largest university with more than 80,000 students. In the 60 years since its foundation, it has developed a reputation for world-leading high-impact research, quality teaching, and inspiring innovation.
With four campuses in Australia and a presence in Malaysia, China, India, Indonesia and Italy, it is one of the most internationalised Australian universities.
As a leading international medical research university with the largest medical faculty in Australia and integration with leading Australian teaching hospitals, we consistently rank in the top 50 universities worldwide for clinical, pre-clinical and health sciences.
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