WA researchers awarded funding to fuel future NHMRC success
A total of $4.73 million in funding has been awarded to 25 early and mid-career researchers under the Future Health Research and Innovation (FHRI) Fund WA Near Miss Awards: Emerging Leaders 2023 (WANMA EL) program.
The WANMA EL program is designed to support Western Australian researchers who have narrowly missed out on a highly competitive National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Investigators grant. WANMA EL funding is provided through one-year Emerging Leaders (EL) Grants and 2 to 3-year EL Fellowships.
The WANMA EL Grants are to be used by recipients to enhance areas of the NHMRC application which were identified by the NHMRC peer review process as being improvable, while the EL Fellowships allow the recipients to do the work proposed in their NHMRC application over 2 or 3 years.
This year, the program awarded 21 WANMA EL $100,000 Grants to be used over 12 months to enhance the NHMRC application. A total of 4 WANMA EL Fellowships were awarded, up to $397,224 for early-career and up to $951,714 for mid-career researchers, provided over a two- or three-year period.
Recipients of WANMA EL Grants will submit an improved application to the NHMRC, increasing their chances of winning a grant in a future selection round. The WANMA EL Fellowships provide NHMRC equivalent funding for 4 eligible WANMA applicants, enabling them to conduct work proposed in their NHMRC application, providing the benefits of that research while also building the recipients’ track records, making them more competitive for future grants.
Below is the full list of recipients for the WANMA EL 2023 program. Congratulations to this year’s recipients.
Recipient |
Responsible Entity |
Project Title |
Funding Awarded |
| Fellowship Recipients | |||
| Dr Amanuel Gebremedhin | Curtin University | A novel maternal epigenetic age estimator to promote healthy pregnancy outcomes | up to $397,224 |
| A/Professor Chris Brennan-Jones | Curtin University | Djaalinj Waakinj (listening, talking): partnering with the community to improve prevention, treatment and long-term outcomes for children with ear disease and hearing loss | up to $951,714 |
| A/Professor Rishi Kotecha | Curtin University | Improving outcomes for children with cancer | up to $881,371 |
| Dr Samantha Lee | University of Western Australia | Understanding the contribution of the choroid in myopia and macular degeneration using statistical genetic approaches | up to $397,224 |
| Grant Recipients | |||
| Dr Berihun Dachew | Curtin University | Mental health impacts of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs): analysing data to guide when and how to intervene early to break the cycle |
$100,000 |
| Dr William Gilmore |
Curtin University |
Alcohol and ageing in Australia: spatiotemporal epidemiological analysis of alcohol availability’s impact on use and harm among our ageing population |
$100,000 |
| Dr Sarah Hellewell |
Curtin University |
Revealing biological mechanisms of mild traumatic brain injury and predicting outcomes using advanced neuroimaging |
$100,000 |
| Dr Katherine Landwehr |
Curtin University |
The unforeseen side effects of air pollution: a current and future health crisis that will have the greatest impact on children |
$100,000 |
| Dr Aaron Beasley |
Edith Cowan University |
Using circulating tumour cells in novel uveal melanoma PDX to discover new therapies |
$100,000 |
| Dr Cassandra Smith |
Edith Cowan University |
Closing the sex disparity gap for cardiovascular disease |
$100,000 |
| Dr Catherine Bondonno |
Edith Cowan University |
Dietary nitrate: separating fact from fiction in human health |
$100,000 |
| Dr Xingang Li | Edith Cowan University |
B Cell Regulation of immunoglobulin G N-Glycosylation in crohn's disease |
$100,000 |
| Dr Akilew Adane |
Murdoch University |
New insights for optimising the health, development, and education outcomes of Aboriginal children in early life |
$100,000 |
| Dr Emma Hamilton |
South Metropolitan Health Service |
Improving outcomes for patients with diabetes-related foot ulceration |
$100,000 |
| Dr Gina Trapp |
Telethon Kids Institute | Junk food-filled school neighbourhoods: building the evidence for change |
$100,000 |
| Dr Alexander Tang |
University of Western Australia |
Unravelling the cellular mechanisms of non-invasive brain stimulation |
$100,000 |
| Dr Amy Page |
University of Western Australia |
Enhancing medicine use for frail older people to improve well-being | $100,000 |
| Dr Cele Richardson |
University of Western Australia |
Developing better sleep and circadian interventions to improve sleep in young people |
$100,000 |
| Dr Daniel Poppe |
University of Western Australia |
Mature neuronal cell culture systems for the study of human disease |
$100,000 |
| Dr Jonathan Chee |
University of Western Australia | Leading a multidisciplinary approach to improve mesothelioma therapy |
$100,000 |
| Dr Kenneth Lee |
University of Western Australia |
Improving health service delivery in primary care |
$100,000 |
| Dr Neil Boudville |
University of Western Australia |
Improving outcomes for dialysis patients |
$100,000 |
| Dr Oyekoya Ayonrinde |
University of Western Australia |
Determining factors that underpin poor health outcomes related to fatty liver disease from adolescence into adulthood |
$100,000 |
| Dr Zoe Hyde |
University of Western Australia |
Exploring the long-term impacts of COVID-19 |
$100,000 |
| Dr Frances Theunissen |
University of Notre Dame |
The co-development of genetic markers and antisense oligonucleotides to restore axonal function in motor neurone disease |
$100,000 |