A good crowd of Asthma Foundation supporters, donors, researchers, Board and staff members gathered at our third annual Asthma Research Awards event in late February 2010.
We were particularly proud to be joined by our generous Research Program donors from the Neil and Norma Hill Foundation and the Ross Trust.
Building on more than 40 years of commitment to asthma research, the Foundation awarded $272,000 across four types of Grants, including four Innovation Grants and four PhD scholarships.
This year we are also excited to announce two new award categories, the Khancoban Travel Grant and the New Investigator Grant adding another two grant recipients and extending the impact of the Foundations research funding further.
The research projects for 2010 include:
(Click on a researcher to find out more about any of these projects)
Khancoban Travel Grant (new award category)
Alison Thorburn
University of Newcastle $2,000
The development of new and effective immunotherapies for asthma
PhD Scholarships
Mr David Chapman
University of Sydney $10,000
Studying what makes the airways of people with asthma so sensitive.
Mrs Nusrat Rahman
University of Sydney $20,500
Studying the role of certain genes in the development of asthma.
Mr Lakshitha Gunawardhana
University of Newcastle $20,500
Epigenetic regulation of airway inflammation in non-eosinophilic asthma.
Dr Sriram Mahadev
University of Sydney $20,427
Physiological mechanisms behind the association between asthma and obesity.
New Investigator Grant (new award category)
Dr Jay Horvat
University of Newcastle $25,000
Improved treatment strategies for infection-induced neutrophilic asthma.
Innovation Grants
Dr Janet Rimmer
Woolcock Institute of Medical Research, University of Sydney, $45,000
Developing the first accurate models of cat and mite allergen exposure.
Professor Guy Marks
Woolcock Institute of Medical Research, University of Sydney, $45,000
Longitudinal study of asthma, and its treatment, in Australian children.
Dr Dianne Webb
John Curtin School of Medical Research, Australian National University, $45,000
The role of gender in regulating responsiveness to 12-HETE, a novel inhibitor of allergic airways disease.
Associate Professor Phil Hansbro
University of Newcastle $44,500
Refining Streptococcus pneumoniae-based immunoregulatory therapy to suppress asthma.
(Phil Hansbro's research funded by the Neil & Norma Hill Foundation)
Find out about the 2011 Research Program