Telethon Kids Institute researchers have been awarded more than $8 million in project grants from the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) to fight childhood illnesses.
About 80 per cent of the funding was issued to the University of Western Australia for research projects focused on cystic fibrosis, allergies, and rheumatic fever.
The remaining 20 per cent of funds was issued to Curtin University for projects focused on lung health.
Telethon Kids Institute director Jonathan Carapetis congratulated the funding recipients.
“This is fantastic news for our researchers and will enable them to continue to make a real and tangible difference to the lives of children through their research,” Professor Carapetis said.
“This national funding will go directly to projects tackling childhood illnesses including cystic fibrosis, food allergy, lung disease in preterm babies, and rheumatic fever and heart disease.
“Our researchers continue to punch above their weight; 18 per cent of the project grant applications we submitted this year were successful, which is higher than the national average.
“We also secured over $1 million more in funding this year compared to last year.
“This is testament to the quality and hard work of our Telethon Kids scientists, and the supportive environment we offer for research.”
The grant funding follows on from last month’s announcement that seven Telethon Kids researchers, in conjunction with UWA, secured NHMRC Fellowships, totalling more than $2 million.
