A team from UQ's Institute for Molecular Bioscience led by Professors David Craik and David Fairlie has been awarded $2.45 million over three years for a project to be conducted jointly with pharmaceutical company Pfizer Australia.
The researchers will attempt to bridge the gap between expensive drugs that must be injected and cheaper oral treatments that create adverse side-effects.
The funding was awarded as part of the Australian Research Council's Linkage Projects Scheme, which supports joint research with industry and business partners.
University of Queensland researchers attracted $11.2 million in funding for 22 projects, more funding than any other institution, in relation to both ARC and partner funding. A team led by Professor Ove Hoegh-Guldberg of UQ's Global Change Institute received another large grant: $2.657 million over five years to study a range of issues relating to significant changes in coral reef ecosystems.
The ARC and Innovation Minister Senator Kim Carr this week announced that a total of $67.4 million was awarded under the scheme to 31 institutions nationally, for 219 projects.
Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research) Professor Max Lu congratulated all the University's grant recipients.
“This result reflects UQ's leadership in research engagement with industry and other end-users,” Professor Lu said.
“The award of two large Linkage projects is an excellent example of UQ's capacity to work with industry and business on significant, large-scale projects.”
He congratulated all researchers who had contributed to the University's outstanding grant application success rate of 57.9 per cent, compared with the national average of 40.9 per cent.
Media: Fiona Cameron, ph +61 7 3346 7086
