2 Research grants
Maternal brain and Huntington’s projects among those to gain funds
Research spanning the effects of hormones on a pregnant mother’s brain to the potentially negative health effects that pets may have on families can begin, thanks to the latest round of funding for health projects. A total of $78 million has been granted to the Health Research Council (HRC) in the latest funding round.
Research spanning the effects of hormones on a pregnant mother’s brain to the potentially negative health effects that pets may have on families can begin, thanks to the latest round of funding for health projects.
A total of $78 million has been granted to the Health Research Council (HRC) in the latest government funding round, Science and Innovation Minister Steven Joyce and Health Minister Tony Ryall announced yesterday.
The funding will cover 50 new projects ($56 million), four new programmes ($20 million), and 14 emerging researcher first grants ($2.02 million), and has grown significantly from last year due to the release of funds from maturing contracts.
One of the projects funded is part of a landmark three-year diabetes prevention trial across New Zealand, Australia, UK, Netherlands, Denmark, Finland, Spain and Bulgaria. Professor Sally Poppitt from the University of Auckland will carry out the New Zealand arm of the trial, which aims to test whether a higher protein diet is more successful for weight loss and diabetes prevention than the international best practice of a higher carbohydrate diet.
Other project recipients included Professor Tim Anderson from the University of Otago, Christchurch, who will carry out brain scans, gene testing and clinical evaluations in Parkinson’s disease patients with mild cognitive impairment.
Some of the grants reflected the Government’s focus on maternal health, pregnancy and early childhood. One of those was for University of Otago, Dunedin, programme recipient Professor David Grattan, whose “Healthy pregnancy, healthy babies” study will evaluate how specific pregnancy hormones induced changes in the mother’s brain.
A top Maori scholar was awarded $1.2 million for her research into Huntington’s disease, which disproportionately effected Maori. Dr Melanie Cheung hopes to develop a computer-based brain training programme to slow the onset of the degenerative disease. Huntington’s is thought to be five times more prevalent in Maori than in the rest of the New Zealand population.
“The outcomes from the diverse range of projects funded will benefit both the short and long-term health of New Zealanders,” HRC board chairman Sir Robert Stewart said.