NHMRC Investigator grants were announced yesterday 20 May 2020 by Federal Health Minister, The Honourable Greg Hunt MP. Congratulations to the School of Clinical Sciences at Monash Health (SCS) NHMRC & MRFF Investigator grant recipients! See more about the SCS projects, below. SCS has received over $7.5m across the period 2021-2025.
Professor Peter Ebeling, Department of Medicine$2,700,000
Increasing osteoporosis treatment uptake
Osteoporosis treatment is in crisis. A fear of rare complications like atypical femur fractures (AFF) from treatment with the most commonly used anti-resorptive drugs, bisphosphonates, has led to a 50 percent decline in treatment rates of patients with fractures. This study aims to increase osteoporosis treatment uptake and reassure a large proportion of the population that they are not at risk of AFF based on a favourable femoral alignment (Femoral Alignment Score from hip DXA). In the remaining minority of the population starting anti-osteoporosis drugs, the study will identify patients with genetic or bone microarchitectural risk factors for AFF, based on an inexpensive genetic test and bone density (HRpQCT) scans. Professor Peter Ebeling will also enhance the ascertainment of AFF by using artificial intelligence and machine learning approaches, so software is incorporated into routine radiological practice.
$2,238,220
Dangerous Dreams: the next era in paediatric sleep research
The amount of time and the quality of our sleep affects every aspect of our health and well-being. The amount of time spent asleep is maximal in infants and children and is particularly important because it promotes normal brain development. Professor Horne's study will focus on sleep and breathing in preterm infants and how short pauses in breathing, which are currently not considered of clinical importance, are related to developmental outcomes. The studies will also identify if sleep can be improved in children with Down syndrome and cancer and if brain changes associated with obstructive sleep apnoea are ameliorated with treatment. These studies will identify and improve treatment of sleep problems to improve overall physical health and quality of life for children and their families.
Professor Eric Morand, Department of Medicine$1,425,000
Improving outcomes - Systemic Lupus Erythematosus
Unlike most autoimmune diseases, and indeed other major diseases like cancer and cardiovascular disease, there has been no significant breakthrough in the treatment of Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) for over 50 years. Treatment therefore continues to rely on non-specific immunosuppressant drugs and glucocorticoids (GC, or ‘steroids’), and the impact on patients, who are mostly young women, includes high mortality and poor quality of life. The study led by Professor Eric Morand will validate novel evidence-based endpoints which will break the impasse in SLE drug development. In parallel, Professor Morand will exploit preliminary data to develop a marker for use in directing GC dosing in SLE, and pursue the development of novel compounds with the potential to replace GC in SLE in the future.
$645,205
Identification of Molecular Signatures in Indigenous and Non-Indigenous Australians with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus to Enable a Precision Medicine Approach
Lupus is an incurable autoimmune illness which is more common and severe in Indigenous Australians, though the reason for this is not yet known. To understand this better, Dr Fabien Vincent's study will take blood samples and measure many thousands of genes and proteins in the blood. Using complex data analysis methods, known as bioinformatics, Dr Vincent will analyse the ‘stack’ of these blood markers. This study will be a first in Indigenous Australians with lupus, and will help in identifying the right drug for the right patient.
Dr Jun Yang, Department of Medicine$570,205
Optimise primary aldosteronism detection for better health outcomes
Dr Jun Yang’s grant will support her research into demonstrating Australia’s high prevalence of primary aldosteronism (PA) or Conn’s Syndrome – a condition of excessive aldosterone production from the adrenal gland. Hypertension is a leading risk factor for death and disability globally and affects close to 6 million Australian adults. PA is the second most common cause of hypertension, affecting 5-10 percent of hypertensive patients in primary care. However, the condition is substantially underdiagnosed in Australia with data suggesting that over half a million hypertensive Australians are missing out on a targeted treatment or cure. The diagnosis of PA remains challenging, time-consuming and costly, and involves hospital stays. There is a need for alternative diagnostic tests that are simpler, less operator dependent and outpatient based. Dr Yang’s goal is to establish recommendations for the best strategy to screen and accurately diagnose PA to achieve optimal cardiovascular and renal health outcomes.
More than $47 million funding was announced for Monash researchers across all areas of health and medical research, including biomedical, clinical, public health and health services. See faculty news page for further information.
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