Wishlist has announced $105,876 will go towards funding seven innovative medical research projects to be undertaken on the Sunshine Coast.
The total was revealed at the recent Sunshine Coast Hospital and Health Service Research Day.
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Sunshine Coast Hospital and Health Service Research Day 2017.[/caption]SCHHS Research Committee Chair and Director of Renal Serivces, Associate Professor Nicholas Gray, said research and education is integral to SCHHS.
“Research drives innovation and excellence in health care, attracts a high quality workforce, and improves health outcomes for the community,” A/Prof Gray said.
“It fosters inter-disciplinary collaboration essential for meeting the future needs of the population.”
Wishlist Foundation CEO said the largest funding commitment was awarded to Professor Tony Stanton for a randomised trial of the benefit and cost-effectiveness of Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy optimisation in heart failure.
More than $46,000 has been dedicated to the project.
“This year’s research grants will delve into a range of conditions and methods of care, including Chronic Kidney Disease which affects hundreds of people living locally, a specific therapy used to treat heart failure, the monitoring of invasive diseases in our vulnerable populations, and the barriers of caring for dying newborns close to or at home," Ms Rowe said.
“These research projects are advanced and are largely unprecedented so we are proud that the Sunshine Coast is leading the way to investigate such topics."
“It only takes one piece of research to make a huge difference, whether it is a long-awaited cure for a debilitating disease, a nationwide change to models of care, or enhancing treatment.
“Funding these developments could potentially benefit us all, and it is only possible thanks to the support of our very generous community.”
A/Prof Gray said this year SCHHS was grateful to welcome keynote speaker Professor Emeritus Alan Mackay-Sim from the Griffith Institute for Drug Discovery, Griffith University and Australian of the Year 2017, a neuroscientist and stem cell scientist.
As a world leader in spinal cord injury research, he has led a Brisbane team in a world-first clinical trial in which the patient’s own olfactory cells were transplanted into their injured spinal cord in the first stages of a therapy to treat human paraplegia.
“In 2016 our research included, 53 projects, seven of which were clinical trials,” A/Prof Gray said.
“The total value of grant funding awarded to SCHHS staff for research projects in 2016, from Strategic Funding Grants, Wishlist Sunshine Coast Health Foundation research grants and research higher degree scholarships and Study, Education and Research Trust Fund (SERTF) was $1,595,375.00.
“Research is growing, collaborations are being formed, and the people of the Sunshine Coast and Gympie regions will be rewarded with the benefits.”
Building sustainable research capacity requires development of a strong research culture within clinical departments and the health service, effective research management, funding support, suitable research facilities and research collaborations.
