Australian government earmarks A$630 million for over 800 innovative research projects

Australia’s Turnbull government will invest more than A$630 million ($443.7 million) to support Australia’s world-leading researchers to find the next prevention of disease or cure as it continues to drive innovation in Australia, Minister for Health Sussan Ley announced today.

Ms Ley said that over 2,000 researchers would share in the A$630 million for projects including: obesity prevention; cancer genomics and hereditary diseases; a new medication to help treat severe ice addiction; new treatment for drug-resistant depression; different treatments for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and the impact shift working has on pregnancy outcomes.

Ms Ley said the announcement includes A$122 million for cancer research, A$50 million for mental health research and A$25 million for dementia research, amongst other diseases and conditions. The funding will support 836 projects and the work of approximately 2200 researchers.

She said the establishment of the Medical Research Future Fund had sent a clear message that the Turnbull government is “absolutely committed” to supporting health and medical research in Australia well into the future. “The landmark Medical Research Future Fund will identify and coordinate national health priorities, as well as continue to support individual research projects through the National Health and Medical Research Council,” Ms Ley said.

National Health and Medical Research Council chief executive Anne Kelso said the announcement also included the second largest grant in NHMRC history, worth A$25 million over five years. “Drawing together a national network of more than 80 team members, this potentially transformative project will examine how to use the extraordinary recent advances in human genetics to improve patient care in Australia,” Prof Kelso said.

The grants were selected by independent panels which drew on the expertise of thousands of researchers to assess applications across 12 different NHMRC schemes.