Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Research, Professor Sakkie Pretorius said the three projects cover novel biomarkers for an aggressive form of breast cancer, improving the diagnosis of mental health conditions, and evaluating the MyMedicare patient registration scheme.
“These studies showcase the variety of important health and medical research underway at Macquarie University,” he said.
“It is always pleasing to see the value of our researchers’ work being recognised and supported with such significant grants, and I congratulate them on their achievement.”
Professor Yuling Wang from the School of Natural Sciences will receive a National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Investigator Grant (Leadership Level 1) to the value of $2,778,520 over five years to investigate biomarkers for triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC).
TNBC is the most aggressive form of breast cancer, and it has poor clinical outcomes. There are currently no specific biomarkers or tools for its diagnosis, prognosis or monitoring.
Circulating small extracellular vesicles (sEVs) offer exciting prospects as cancer biomarkers, but their application in clinical situations has been limited.
Professor Wang’s project aims to develop a novel nanotechnology platform to translate sEVs as cancer biomarkers for personalised TNBC management.
Associate Professor Miri Forbes from the School of Psychological Sciences and Macquarie University Lifespan Health and Wellbeing Research Centre will receive $1,623,700 over five years as part of an NHMRC Investigator Grant (Emerging Leadership 2).
It is now clear that traditional approaches to diagnosing mental illness are hindering rather than helping progress in identifying underlying mechanisms, and improving treatment outcomes.
Associate Professor Forbes’s research takes a new approach, following the patterns in how symptoms naturally co-occur to define so-called ‘empirical phenotypes’.
Her project, ‘Redefining Psychopathology: Empirical Phenotypes Offer a Path to Discovery’, will compare different diagnostic systems to determine which ones work best for different purposes, and will develop tools for using them in practice.
A project co-led by MQ Health’s Clinical Director of General Practice, Professor Sanjyot Vagholkar and Professor Reema Harrison from the Australian Institute of Health Innovation will receive $998,386 over five years under the 2023 Medical Research Future Fund Multidisciplinary Models of Primary Care Stream 2-3 scheme.
The project, titled, ‘An equity-focused prospective evaluation of patient registration in Australia’, will provide an evaluation of the introduction of patient registration in Australia under the MyMedicare scheme.
By collaborating with diverse community, consumer, service provider and policy partners, the project will provide actionable evidence over a period of five years that informs the ongoing introduction of the scheme.
A central focus of this evaluation is examining equitable access to and gains from MyMedicare in improving continuity of care among the diverse Australian population.
Also involved in the project are consumers with lived experience and researchers from Monash University and Western Sydney University.
Other key contributors are the Australian Healthcare and Hospitals Association, Sydney North Primary Health Network (PHN), North Western Melbourne PHN, NSW Health, the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia, National Heart Foundation of Australia, Arthritis Australia, World Wellness Group (Queensland Multicultural Primary Care Clinics), Carers NSW, Royal Australian College of General Practitioners, Australian Primary Health Care Nurses Association, Rural Doctors’ Association of Australia, LGBTIQ+ Health Australia, NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission, and Clinical Excellence Queensland.
