News Archive

The creation of devices to reconstruct and repair damaged ear drums is among several areas of research at The University of Western Australia to attract new Federal Government funding. The others are melanoma and breast cancer genetics, and the care of kidney transplant patients.

Winthrop Professor Marcus Atlas and his collaborators received more than $450,000 from the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) to develop silk worm material to repair perforated ear drums.

Professor Atlas is a surgeon and scientist specialising in ear and hearing disorders involving applied clinical and basic science research. He holds the Foundation Chair in Otolaryngology at UWA and is the Head of the Ear Science Centre and Director of the Ear Science Institute Australia.

Dr Jonathan Grasko received a scholarship of more than $110,000 for his research into the clinical characterisation of genetically defined germline subgroups of melanoma and breast cancer patients.

Dr Hung Do Nguyen received a scholarship of more than $75,000 for his research into the identification and inclusion of human leukocyte antigen (HLA) mismatches in kidney transplants. In transplants, doctors prefer to match the HLA of the donor and the recipient. HLA is a protein substance on the surface of white blood cells and other tissues in the body.

The NHMRC grants were announced this week by Federal Health Minister Tanya Plibersek. The grants support researchers embarking on their careers and well-established researchers with outstanding track records.

Media references

Winthrop Professor Marcus Atlas (Ear Sciences Centre)  (+61 8)  6380 4990
Dr Jonathan Grasko  (+61 8)  9346 2670
Dr Hung Do Nguyen  (+61 8)  9346 3333
Michael Sinclair-Jones (UWA Public Affairs)  (+61 8)  6488 3229  /  (+61 4) 00 700 783