Gravida members awarded in HRC funding grants 2013
June 2013
Gravida members focusing on ‘early years’ medical breakthroughs are among those awarded grants in the recent Health Research Council (HRC)’s major 2013 funding round.
HRC Chief Executive, Dr Robin Olds, commented that maternal and infant healthcare featured as a major theme this year, saying: “We’ve had a number of exceptionally strong applications aimed at improving maternal and pre- and postnatal health. These studies will increase the potential of our youngest and most vulnerable to have a healthy start to life… This research will add to one of the recently announced National Science Challenges: “A better start”.
Gravida congratulates all its members who have been awarded project grants by HRC, and who will now be able to extend research programmes already underway with Gravida or delve into a new field. They include:
-
Distinguished Professor Jane Harding, (Gravida Board member), who will work with other Gravida and Liggins Institute members on a project to test, for the first time, whether oral dextrose gel applied shortly after birth – a simple, cheap and painless intervention – can prevent low blood sugar. Persistant falls in blood glucose in newborns, if left untreated, can cause permanent brain damage with life-long effects. The HRC’s grant of $1.2 million will extend a successful study at Starship, initially funded by Cure Kids (read more in NZ Listener article) and the new funding will also be complemented by related projects to be funded by Gravida (more details to be published soon). “We have shown that oral dextrose gel is effective in reversing hypoglycaemia, halving NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit) admission rates and improving rates of breast-feeding,” says Professor Harding. “This randomised trial will now investigate the effectiveness of dextrose gel for prevention of hypoglycaemia and its consequences.”
- Dr Katie Groom from (Gravida Associate Investigator) has also received $1.1m from the HRC to carry out a clinical trial across and Australia for a new novel therapy for women who are diagnosed with severe early onset intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR). This condition, which involves extremely poor growth of a baby while in the mother’s womb, can sadly lead to premature birth, still born birth, or complications leading to long term disability and disease. Currently, the only management option is early delivery. It is hoped the trial will show that treatment may improve fetal growth and assist to delay delivery - potentially improving survival for babies and reducing prematurity related morbidity. This project is one of a series of inter-linked IUGR research projects currently underway with Gravida-funding and leadership (more details will be published soon).
-
Professor David Grattan from the University of Otago (Gravida Principal Investigator) will look to help the one in six couples facing infertility with his funding of $1.1m from HRC. Excessively high prolactin in the blood is a major cause of infertility in both males and females. Professor Grattan and his team will generate novel information about the mechanisms by which high levels of prolactin may act in the brain’s hypothalamus to suppress fertility. These studies will help develop better treatments for infertility, and may provide opportunity for the development of novel contraceptives. More information is available on the University of Otago’s website here.
Gravida also wishes to congratulate another pregnancy-related project grant awardee, University of Otago researcher Dr Colin Brown, who has been awarded just over $1 million to investigate the role of a newly-identified neuropeptide called kisspeptin in successful delivery. More information is also available on the University of Otago’s website here.
For the full list and details of all the 2013 HRC project recipients, see www.hrc.govt.nz/funding-opportunities/recipients
Previous Next