I am pleased to announce today grants worth $560 million for health and medical research to more than 50 universities and research institutes. These successful grants are the outcome of the major funding round for the Australian Government's 2008 National Health and Medical Research grants.
The grants will fund research in a wide variety of medical research areas, including heart disease, obesity, cancer, child health, depression and chronic diseases such as diabetes and asthma.
Australia has produced world-leading scientists, researchers and medical pioneers. This funding, provided through the National Health and Medical Research Council, will support Australia's best researchers.
The Australian Government has a proud record of investment in medical research. From 1995-96 through to 2009-10, there will be a five-fold increase in the Commonwealth Government's investment in health and medical research. Funding will reach $695 million a year by 2009-10.
Today's announcement covers more than 660 Project Grants totalling $336 million which have been awarded to 49 research institutions across Australia. Project Grants support individuals and small teams of researchers undertaking biomedical, clinical, public and preventative health research.
Funding of $106 million has been awarded through 12 Program Grants for high-calibre teams undertaking large-scale collaborative research. These grants are worth between $4 million and $14 million each and cover research into Type 1 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, glaucoma, genetic analysis of complex human diseases and reproductive health.
Two prestigious Australia Fellowships, worth $4 million each, have been awarded to two outstanding Australian researchers