- Government
support boosts WA's national grant success rate
- Curtin
University receives funding for student suicide prevention platform
- UWA awarded funding for project aimed at
improving dental health in Indigenous children
The Cook
Government is providing more than $2 million to support two Western Australian-
based research projects - one targeting mental health issues for students and
the other focused on dental health of Indigenous children in remote
communities.
Medical
Research Minister Stephen Dawson said the funding was being provided via the
Government's successful Future Health Research and Innovation (FHRI) Fund
through its Major Research Application Support (MRAS) program.
The MRAS
program is designed to provide financial support for WA-based research teams
applying for nationally and internationally competitive grants to boost their
chance of success.
Two MRAS
recipients were successful in securing funding through the National Health and Medical
Research Council's (NHMRC) Partnership Project scheme, securing the third
highest allocation of funding for WA.
Curtin
University's Professor Penelope Hasking was awarded over $1 million in
NHMRC funding for a suicide prevention
platform known as COMPAS-S - Checking on Mental Health Providing Alternatives to Suicide for
Students.
The COMPAS-S program
proactively reaches out to students identified at high-risk of suicide and
offers support, personal referrals and puts them in touch with other suitable
mental health services.
The University
of Western Australia's Dr Peter Arrow has received almost $1.5 million in NHMRC
funding for a project that aims to improve the dental health of Indigenous
children in remote communities.
The study is
looking at the use of silver fluoride and Tele-Dentistry to manage and prevent
childhood dental decay.
It is
anticipated these measures will improve the dental health of recipients not
only in childhood but through to adulthood.
The Cook
Government established the productive FHRI Fund in 2020, which is backed by the
State's almost $1.8 billion sovereign wealth fund. This has resulted in nearly
$250 million being available over the next four years to support health and
medical research and innovation in Western Australia.
The
Partnership Project scheme funds collaborations between researchers, local
government, health service providers and not-for-profit organisations to define
questions, carry out research, and translate the findings into health policy
and practice.
Successful MRAS
applicants need to demonstrate that their project addresses a significant
health issue in WA, build capacity in research and has the potential to attract
external funding to the State.
The MRAS
(Major Research Application Support) program is offered through the Future Health Research and Innovation
(FHRI) Fund.
Comments
attributed to Medical Research Minister Stephen Dawson:
"This recent round of
national grants success demonstrate how WA's talented cohort of researchers are
taking a unique approach to tackling important and relevant issues facing the
community.
"The MRAS program
assists our WA-based researchers' competitiveness and ability to leverage
national funding programs like the NHMRC Partnerships Project scheme which
requires co-funding.
"The Cook Government is
committed to ensuring WA researchers receive a fair share of national research
funding.
"We want to invest in
WA's innovative research, so we are actively contributing to developing
solutions for ongoing and emerging global health challenges.
"These Partnership
grants have not been won since 2021 and programs such as the MRAS are just one
of many initiatives planned to improve success."
