A tobacco-free future and stopping cancers caused by infections are two projects at The Australian National University to receive major funding from the Australian Government.
Five ANU researchers have been awarded more than $10.7 million from the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Investigator Grant scheme, to help tackle some of the world’s biggest medical and health challenges.
Professor Emily Banks will receive more than $2.9 million to drive improved tobacco and e-cigarette control and provide new insights into cardiovascular disease prevention.
“Smoking remains Australia’s number one cause of premature death and disability,” Professor Banks said. “It is also a major cause of health inequity.
“Excellent progress by communities means that most Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people don’t smoke. At the same time, around half of all deaths at age 45 and over in this priority population are due to tobacco smoking.
“Australia is aiming for a tobacco-free future and is up against a predatory industry that is constantly innovating. E-cigarettes, or vaping, also present new challenges.
“My team and I will use this funding to generate and translate new insights to empower the next generation of tobacco and e-cigarette control and chronic disease prevention,” Professor Banks said.
“This includes creating microsimulation models to better understand and target prevention.
“We look forward to continuing to deliver research that improves health, nationally and internationally.”
Thanks to more than $2.8 million in funding, Professor Mark Polizzotto will lead a project examining how to better treat cancers caused by infections.
“One in five cancers worldwide are caused by infections,” Professor Polizzotto said.
“This grant will continue my world-leading work in developing drugs to treat and prevent cancers caused by infections, and in understanding their origins.
“My team and I will focus on simple but effective drugs that can be used in developing countries, and to ensure my new treatments can be used by those in greatest need,” he said.
Three more ANU researchers also received funding in the latest round of NHMRC Investigator Grants:
Professor Thomas Preiss, who has received more than $2.4 million to investigate RNA-level gene regulation and how this impacts cardiac and cancer biology.
Professor Yuerui Lu, who has received over $1.5 million to further develop the micro-lenses he invented, which can be inserted into blood vessels to provide high-speed and real-time images that allow specialists to better understand the causes of heart attacks and how to prevent them.
Dr Ehsan Kheradpezhouh, who will receive more than $630,000 to investigate which mammals’ neurons can teach us about Alzheimer’s disease and Multiple Sclerosis, including better targeted treatments.
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