NHMRC Funding Successes
Congratulations to Institute Investigators, Associate Professor Kim Delbaere and Scientia Professor Perminder Sachdev, who were awarded National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Investigator Grants in the recent Government funding announcement. These highly competitive grants provide the highest-performing researchers at all career stages with funding for their salary and a significant research support package. The grants provide the investigator with flexibility and security over several years to pursue important new research directions and collaborations as they arise.
Associate Professor Kim Delbaere from Neuroscience Research Australia and the UNSW Faculty of Medicine will receive $2.3 million over five years in funding to develop active lifestyle programs for healthy ageing. Associate Professor Delbaere’s research will identify gaps in the current understanding on how to make healthy ageing more equitable for all sectors of the population and evaluate the effectiveness of self-managed lifestyle programs that individuals can undertake in their own homes and residences.
Scientia Professor Perminder Sachdev from the UNSW Faculty of Medicine will receive $3.2 million in funding over five years to develop biomarkers for vascular dementia. Biomarkers are naturally occurring molecules, features or processes in the body that are present in a particular state of health or disease. They can by identified by testing blood or urine samples, for example, or can be seen in medical imaging or other tests. The findings of Professor Sachdev’s research will help achieve early and more accurate diagnosis of vascular dementia and quantify vascular pathology in patients with dementia. This will ultimately support the development of interventions and treatments for vascular dementia to reduce the impact of the disease and improve quality of life. We look forward to seeing the outcomes of these exciting research programs and collaborating with Professor Sachdev and Associate Professor Kim Delbaere and their teams across the UNSW Ageing Futures Institute.
