NHMRC Funding Success for FSCIT

Tuesday, 10 November 2015

Researchers from the Faculty of Science and Information Technology have attracted over $2.3 million in National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) funding, to commence in 2016.

Professor Adam McCluskey
Professor Adam McCluskey

Associate Professor Brett Nixon from the School of Environmental and Life Sciences (Biological Sciences) has been successful in securing two grants to further his work addressing male infertility.

Associate Professor Nixon will receive $551,950 for his work on the role of dynamin in spermatogenesis, sperm maturation and sperm-oocyte, as well as $481,563 for his research into an investigation of the mechanisms underpinning protein loss in the spermatozoa of infertile patients.

"Our success will enable us to pursue the causes of sperm dysfunction in infertile male patients, a distressingly common condition that affects around one in twenty males in Australia.

"This research will build on the work we have conducted over the past decade to help improve our understanding of sperm function and open up new strategies for the diagnosis, treatment and hopefully prevention of male infertility," he said.

Professor Adam McCluskey from the School of Environmental and Life Sciences (Chemistry) has also secured a grant of $1,193,151 for his work toward a new approach treating intractable epilepsy, which will aid his work designing next­ generation drugs without debilitating side effects for epilepsy sufferers.

Professor Deborah Hodgson from the School of Psychology will receive $636,711 for her work investigating maternal immune activation and adolescent exposure to cannabis in rodents, and whether two developmental 'hits' lead to schizophrenia-like changes in brain and behaviour.

The NHMRC funding success is a welcome reinforcement of the Faculty's achievements, following the recent announcement of ARC grant recipients, in which numerous FSCIT academics were also successful in securing funding.

View the full list of NHMRC grant recipients here

Contact

  • Gemma Wolk
  • Phone: 02 4921 5326

Related news