Seven researchers from La Trobe’s School of Cancer Medicine; La Trobe’s School of Agriculture; Biomedicine and Environment; and La Trobe’s School of Allied Health, Human Services and Sport, will have their work supported through the Federal Government’s Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Investigator Grants.
The funded projects include activating t-cells in the fight against cancer and infectious diseases; connecting patients to cancer rehabilitation; using lipid droplets as novel antiviral extracellular communicators; identifying novel immunotherapy target; and reducing the burden of knee pain in young adults.
La Trobe University Senior Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research and Industry Engagement) Professor Susan Dodds said the increased number of academics receiving grant funding was a testament to the strength of research at the university.
“The quality of research being undertaken at La Trobe is of the highest standard and the work being done in the area of health and medical research is world leading – this latest funding success underscores this,” Professor Dodds said.
“I extend my congratulations to the successful applicants, and I look forward to the outcomes of the research supported through these grants, which will ultimately have a positive impact on the health of Australians.”
The NHMRC Investigator Grant provides Australia’s highest-performing researchers, across the spectrum of health and medical research and at all career stages, with consolidated funding for their salary, if required, and a significant research support package for five years.
NHMRC Investigator Grant 2024 recipients:
Associate Professor Ivan Poon
Research: Defining the molecular basis of apoptotic cell disassembly for therapeutic targeting
Dr Danilo de Oliveira Silva
Research: Understanding and reducing the psychological and physical burden of patellofemoral pain in adolescents and young adults
Dr Ebony Monson
Research: Lipid droplets as novel antiviral extracellular communicators
Professor Stephanie Gras
Research: What tickles T cells? Understanding the drivers of T cell activation
Dr Amy Dennett
Research: Connecting Patients to Cancer Rehabilitation: Delivering CaRe at the right place and time using the Cancer Rehabilitation to Recreation (CaReR) Framework
Professor Matthias Ernst
Research: Improving the response to anti-cancer therapy
Dr Conor Kearney
Research: Systematic Identification of Novel Immunotherapy Targets
