Two health Centres of Research Excellence announced by NHMRC

Two new health Centres of Research Excellence (CREs) will be established at the University of Melbourne, each supported by $2.5 million from the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC).

Dr Shuai Li, an NHMRC Emerging Leadership and Senior Research Fellow at the Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, will lead the CRE in Genetic Epidemiology for Precision Population Health.

The CRE in Genetic Epidemiology for Precision Population Health will conduct research on various diseases and disorders to investigate why they run in families, their genetic and environmental causes, and to better predict the risk of having them. The diseases and disorders to be investigated include cancer, mental health, asthma, and cardiovascular diseases.

“The CRE will integrate knowledge of genetic epidemiology and population health to explain how genes and environment combine to influence our health, and how personalised management of health can be achieved,” Dr Li said.

“This centre is the first of its kind nationally and will support early-career researchers to be world leaders in genetic epidemiology and precision population health.”

Professor Kim Felmingham, Chair of Clinical Psychology at the Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences, will lead the CRE in Boosting Exposure Therapy Through Enhanced Research (BETTER).

The CRE in BETTER will incorporate expertise across basic science research, neuroimaging and clinical science to improve responses from patients to exposure therapy, one of the primary treatments for anxiety-related disorders.

“It is critical that we find ways to optimise exposure therapy for anxiety-related disorders via treatment innovations that target key mechanisms underlying their development and maintenance,” Professor Felmingham said.

“This way, we can maximise the positive impact of the therapy for the nearly 50 per cent of patients who do not respond to current treatment methods.”

A complete list of projects supported by NHMRC’s 2023 CRE scheme is available here.