WA Health salutes its NHMRC winners

Congratulations to WA Health staff members awarded funding in the latest round of National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) fellowship schemes and other research funding programs.

Four staff members received Early Career Fellowships which are provided over four years to assist early-career researchers in their health and medical research training within Australia or, where applicable, overseas.

WA Health recipients:

• Princess Margaret Hospital (PMH) senior audiologist Dr Christopher Brennan-Jones for research into Tackling chronic otitis media and its impact on children; evidence and action
• St John of God Midland Public Hospital consultant Dr Edward Fysh, for research into Improving Pleural Effusions – from Outpatient Clinic to Intensive Care
• PMH consultant haematologist/oncologist Dr Rishi Kotecha for research into Combinational therapeutics in high-risk infant acute lymphoblastic leukaemia
• PMH respiratory scientist, Mr Tim Rosenow for research into Structural and functioning imaging in paediatric lung disease.

Other fellowships awarded include:

• an NHMRC Practitioner Fellowship, a five-year part-time fellowship for clinicians, public health or health service professionals to engage in research related to their professional activities, awarded to Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital (SCGH) stroke consultant, Professor Graeme Hankey for research into Reducing the burden of stroke; and
• a Research Fellowship, a five-year fellowship, that supports leading health and medical researchers in full-time research, awarded to Professor Peter Eastwood who works in pulmonary physiology at SCGH. The fellowship will assist with his research into Sleep disorders and human health – prevalence, pathogenesis, diagnosis and treatment.

In other NHMRC programs:

• Royal Perth Hospital consultant physician Dr Christopher Etherton-Beer has received funding for research entitled Team Approach to Polypharmacy Evaluation and Reduction for General Practice patients with dementia: the Australian TAPERdem study in the Targeted calls for Research category of Implementation of Dementia Research into Clinical Practice and Care.
• PMH consultant Associate Professor Rae Chi Huang has been awarded an NHMRC European Union collaborative research grant, which provides a contribution to Australian researchers who are participating in leading international collaborative research that has been selected for funding through Horizon 2020, for the LIFECYCLE – Early Life Stressors and LifeCycle Health.