Published Tuesday, 03 June, 2008 at 04:28 PM
Minister for Tourism, Regional Development and Industry
The Honourable Desley Boyle
Chronic coughs, coral disease and sludge receive Smart State treatment
Research projects on treating wastewater using bacteria and preventing asthma misdiagnosis in children are just two of the beneficiaries of Round Three of the Queensland Government’s $300 million Smart State Innovation Funds.
Minister for Tourism, Regional Development and Industry Desley Boyle today announced that the Government was providing $1.8 million this year to support six Smart State Fellowships and two Queensland Clinical Research Fellowships.
“The Smart State Fellowships and the Queensland Clinical Research Fellowships are designed to support cutting-edge research in Queensland,” Ms Boyle said.
“They are part and parcel of the Government’s Smart State Strategy – to develop our economy into one of the most innovative, creative and knowledge-based economies in the world.
“Beyond the economic benefits, the research also has enormous benefits for public health, the environment, education, and healthy workplaces,” she said.
The Smart State Fellowships provide funding for early or mid-career researchers to undertake innovative research in Queensland.
The Queensland Clinical Research Fellowships provide funding for outstanding clinical researchers to undertake innovative research in Queensland hospitals and health services.
“The fellowships are matched dollar-for-dollar by sponsors and co-sponsors, including Queensland, national and international universities, research institutes and corporations,” Ms Boyle said.
The Smart State Fellowship recipients include:
• Dr Paula Brough from Griffith University’s School of Psychology for her research creating healthy working environments. Keeping good staff is important for employers. But employee ill-health, occupational stress and work-family demands costs Australian organisations about $105 million per annum. Dr Brough will work with the Queensland Police Service to develop an innovative workplace intervention targeting physical health, psychological well-being and staff performance;
• Dr Philip Bond from the University of Queensland’s Advanced Water Management Centre for his work using a sludge made up of bacteria to clean wasterwater;
• Dr Norelle Daly from the University of Queensland’s Institute for Molecular Bioscience. Dr Daly’s research is based on using peptides (the building blocks of proteins) to help create new anti-cancer drugs with far fewer side effects than those currently on the market;
• Dr Bryan Wilson from the Australian Institute of Marine Science in Townsville and his work on the early diagnosis of coral diseases. Dr Wilson’s work will have implications for the conservation of the Great Barrier Reef, helping in the early detection and possible prevention of disease outbreaks;
• Dr Xiaoying Cui from the University of Queensland’s Queensland Brain Institute will see if vitamin D deficiency during pregnancy has an impact on dopamine function in adulthood. The dopamine is a chemical messenger in the brain associated with movement and emotions, as well as feelings of pleasure and pain. Low levels of dopamine are associated with schizophrenia. In recent times there has been some scientific evidence linking vitamin D deficiency to schizophrenia; and
• Professor Alfred Lam from Griffith University’s Medical School for his work unravelling the mystery of the nature of thyroid cancer. Thyroid cancer is seen most frequently in women between age 20 and 65.
The two Queensland Clinical Research Fellowships are:
• Professor Anne Chang from the Royal Children’s Hospital to better understand an area of medical science that is poorly understood – childhood cough. Professor Chang’s research in particular will lead to better diagnosis and management of childhood cough and avoid the situation where GPs are misdiagnosing chronic cough as asthma.
• Associate Professor Maher Gandhi from Princess Alexandra Hospital will increase medical knowledge and management of Australia’s fifth most common cancer – non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
Established in 2005, the Smart State Innovation Funding Program aims to build world-class research facilities, attract top-quality scientists to Queensland and stimulate cutting-edge research projects.
The Queensland Government has invested more than $3 billion in innovation, science and research since 1998.
May 2008
Media contact: 3224 2007 or 3225 1005
Minister for Tourism, Regional Development and Industry Desley Boyle today announced that the Government was providing $1.8 million this year to support six Smart State Fellowships and two Queensland Clinical Research Fellowships.
“The Smart State Fellowships and the Queensland Clinical Research Fellowships are designed to support cutting-edge research in Queensland,” Ms Boyle said.
“They are part and parcel of the Government’s Smart State Strategy – to develop our economy into one of the most innovative, creative and knowledge-based economies in the world.
“Beyond the economic benefits, the research also has enormous benefits for public health, the environment, education, and healthy workplaces,” she said.
The Smart State Fellowships provide funding for early or mid-career researchers to undertake innovative research in Queensland.
The Queensland Clinical Research Fellowships provide funding for outstanding clinical researchers to undertake innovative research in Queensland hospitals and health services.
“The fellowships are matched dollar-for-dollar by sponsors and co-sponsors, including Queensland, national and international universities, research institutes and corporations,” Ms Boyle said.
The Smart State Fellowship recipients include:
• Dr Paula Brough from Griffith University’s School of Psychology for her research creating healthy working environments. Keeping good staff is important for employers. But employee ill-health, occupational stress and work-family demands costs Australian organisations about $105 million per annum. Dr Brough will work with the Queensland Police Service to develop an innovative workplace intervention targeting physical health, psychological well-being and staff performance;
• Dr Philip Bond from the University of Queensland’s Advanced Water Management Centre for his work using a sludge made up of bacteria to clean wasterwater;
• Dr Norelle Daly from the University of Queensland’s Institute for Molecular Bioscience. Dr Daly’s research is based on using peptides (the building blocks of proteins) to help create new anti-cancer drugs with far fewer side effects than those currently on the market;
• Dr Bryan Wilson from the Australian Institute of Marine Science in Townsville and his work on the early diagnosis of coral diseases. Dr Wilson’s work will have implications for the conservation of the Great Barrier Reef, helping in the early detection and possible prevention of disease outbreaks;
• Dr Xiaoying Cui from the University of Queensland’s Queensland Brain Institute will see if vitamin D deficiency during pregnancy has an impact on dopamine function in adulthood. The dopamine is a chemical messenger in the brain associated with movement and emotions, as well as feelings of pleasure and pain. Low levels of dopamine are associated with schizophrenia. In recent times there has been some scientific evidence linking vitamin D deficiency to schizophrenia; and
• Professor Alfred Lam from Griffith University’s Medical School for his work unravelling the mystery of the nature of thyroid cancer. Thyroid cancer is seen most frequently in women between age 20 and 65.
The two Queensland Clinical Research Fellowships are:
• Professor Anne Chang from the Royal Children’s Hospital to better understand an area of medical science that is poorly understood – childhood cough. Professor Chang’s research in particular will lead to better diagnosis and management of childhood cough and avoid the situation where GPs are misdiagnosing chronic cough as asthma.
• Associate Professor Maher Gandhi from Princess Alexandra Hospital will increase medical knowledge and management of Australia’s fifth most common cancer – non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
Established in 2005, the Smart State Innovation Funding Program aims to build world-class research facilities, attract top-quality scientists to Queensland and stimulate cutting-edge research projects.
The Queensland Government has invested more than $3 billion in innovation, science and research since 1998.
May 2008
Media contact: 3224 2007 or 3225 1005