08 Dec 2016
Doherty Institute receives massive NHMRC funding boost
The Doherty Institute has experienced incredible success in the latest NHMRC Project Grant round in what has become an increasingly competitive funding environment.
A total of 19 NHMRC Project Grants worth nearly 15 million dollars were awarded to the Doherty Institute and the Department of Microbiology and Immunology.
In addition, Professor Monica Slavin from the Victorian Infectious Diseases Service was awarded a Centre of Research Excellence (administered through the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre) investigating improving cancer outcomes through enhanced infection services ($2,500,000).
Doherty Institute Director, University of Melbourne Professor Sharon Lewin said it was a spectacular result.
“To have a nearly 50 per cent success rate in an NHMRC funding round is astounding, particularly when the national rate was around 17 per cent,” Professor Lewin said.
“This is a great testament to the important work of high national and international significance being done at the Institute as well as the fantastic mentorship and collaborative atmosphere that’s been created within the Department of Microbiology and Immunology and across the Institute.
“I am also mindful that during this great success, there were still some researchers who weren’t able to secure funding during this round, despite their best efforts. We are heading back into grant-writing season and I’d like to wish all Doherty researchers well in their upcoming applications.”
2017 NHMRC Project Grants
Associate Professor Joe Sasadeuz (Royal Melbourne Hospital)
Towards a functional cure for HBV: exploiting lessons from HBV-HIV co-infection’ ($950, 897)
Professor Stephen Locarnini (Royal Melbourne Hospital)
Characterisation of anti-HBs responses in patients undergoing functional hepatitis B Cure: implication for future therapies ($818,649.20)
Dr Linda Wakim
Lodging resident memory T cells along the respiratory tract as an approach to protect against influenza virus infection ($889,034)
Dr Hayley Newton
Manipulation of clathrin-mediated trafficking by Coxiella ($810,476)
Dr Alexandra Crobett
MAIT cells in bacterial infection. Friend or Foe? ($668,739)
Professor Katherine Kedzierska
Generation of protective immunity against severe influenza disease in Indigenous Australians ($1,630,970)
Dr Daniel Pellicci
Antigen recognition by CD1a-restricted T cells in the human immune system ($839,596)
Associate Professor Jason Mackenzie
Norovirus infection at the Stress Granule-PKR-p-elF2α axis ($505,966.50)
Dr Matthew Parsons
Prevention of HIV-1 infection by adeno associated virus vector-delivered broadly neutralizing antibodies or antibody-like molecules ($945,854)
Professor William Heath
Targeting antigen to Clec9A on dendritic cell for humoral immunity ($744,624)
Associate Professor Sammy Bedoui
Microbiota and T cell immunity ($742,857)
Associate Professor Scott Mueller
Immune surveillance of the CNS during malaria infection ($678,447.00)
Dr Amy Chung
Systemic and mucosal functional antibodies in protection against HIV ($579,501)
Associate Professor Joseph Torressi
Developing a quadrivalent HCV vaccine ($679,034)
Dr Adam Wheatley
Mechanisms of B cell immunodominance to influenza virus ($617,610)
Professor Damian Purcell
RNA processing mechanisms controlling HIV latency ($771,079)
Dr Laura Mackay
Redefining Tissue-Resident Memory T cells ($439,076)
Professor Benjamin Howden
A new genomic frontier for foodborne disease investigation in Australia ($750,520)
Dr Mark Davies
Interrogation of streptococcal genomic epidemiology within disease endemic regions ($400,588)