Stroke recovery project receives MRFF Cardiovascular Health funding
Credit: KatarzynaBialasiewicz from Getty Images
A research project to develop integrated datasets to improve stroke recovery, interventions, and therapy plans has been awarded a $4.9million 2025 Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF) Cardiovascular Health grant.
Led by Professor Connie Wong from the Centre for Inflammatory Disease in the School of Clinical Sciences at Monash Health, the ‘IMAGINE: Integrative Multiomics Approach to Gain Insight into eNhanced strokE recovery and survivorship’ project aims to drive continuous healthcare quality improvement by using datasets to identify molecular mediators for recovery, pinpoint optimal intervention windows and enable tailored therapy plans. The project will also include input from partner organisations including the National Stroke Foundation, the National Heart Foundation and Millennium Science.
Stroke remains a leading global cause of morbidity and mortality, often leaving survivors with persistent, long-term unmet needs. To address this, the project will conduct a prospective study that integrates longitudinal proteomic, metabolomic and transcriptomic profiles with existing neuroimaging protocols and detailed clinical assessments of motor and cognitive function, as well as complication risks like recurrent stroke and infections, to accelerate understanding and uncover the molecular and cellular drivers of recovery.
By mapping these molecular signatures longitudinally to clinical outcomes, the research team will identify biomarkers that stratify recovery trajectories, discover novel therapeutic targets to promote enhanced survivorship, accelerate drug development, and refine rehabilitation protocols for maximum effectiveness. The vast datasets will empower artificial intelligence (AI)-driven analyses to predict outcomes more accurately, support health-economic models that allocate resources efficiently, foster cross-disciplinary collaborations, and build a strong data infrastructure. The initial model build will be developed on the HPC system, M3, with plans to scale it to Monash University’s AI supercomputer MAVERIC.
Professor Wong said that she is pleased to receive the funding. “Our project aims to ensure every Australian stroke survivor can access the right care at the right time, reducing both the human and financial burdens of stroke.”