News Archive

Despite anticipated cuts in research income, UWA has had great success this month with the annual round of major government funding.

We will receive nearly $48 million over the next three years from the Australian Research Council (ARC) and the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) to finance almost 100 different UWA projects.

Christine Casey, Associate Director Research Grants and Finance, said ARC grants had increased by $6 million on last year’s awards and NHMRC grants had gone up from $18 million to $26 million.

UWA received close to 77 per cent of the competitive ARC grants awarded to WA institutions, a total of $21.7 million.

As well as the single biggest Discovery grant in Australia for the Barrow Island Archaeology project, UWA has Early Career Researcher awards for applied mathematics and engineering to explore bone renewal methods and a system for early detection of osteoarthritis; research into honeybees from both the ecological and zoological perspectives; an exploration of how and why plants sense sound in their environment; and a study of residential rooftop solar power panels.

Nanotechnology is a big winner in the Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment and Facilities grants with funding of nearly $1.5 million across two awards, in partnership with other universities, the CSIRO and WA Botanic Gardens and Parks Authority.

NHMRC grants include funding of around $1.5 million each for studies into diabetes, preterm birth, the consequences of IVF treatment for the offspring and addressing the needs of unpaid carers of older Aboriginal people.

UWA won 39 Project Grants, three Research Fellowships, two Career Development Fellowships and four Early Career Fellowships from the NHMRC.

Published in UWA News , 26 November 2012