Research we have funded
SSMRF is proud to have funded 83 research projects, with a total of $9.14 million, since 2007 across a wide variety of research areas. Read about our research grants and recipients below.
For more information on any of the grants we have awarded, please contact us.
GRANTS FUNDED
2025
| Name | Title of project | Grant Awarded |
|---|---|---|
| Dr Michelle Fitzmaurice | Development and Validation of Glycated Insulin as a Novel Early Biomarker for Gestational Diabetes Risk | $29,983 |
| Dr Joyce Chiu | Targeting Tumour-Derived Redox Enzymes to Boost T-Cell Infiltration and Immunotherapy Success | $50,000 (supported by Southern Cancer Care) |
| Dr Jennifer Wen Ying Lim | Single-cell RNA Sequencing of Gastro-Entero-Pancreatic Neuroendocrine Tumours: Diagnostic Feasibility and Translational Insights from Core and Fine-Needle Aspirate Biopsies | $25,195.79 |
| Thisun Jayawardana | St George and Sutherland Understanding of Paediatric Environmental Risk Factors: Knowing IBD Through Diet and Studies of the Microbiome – SUPERKIDS | $30,000 |
2024
| Name | Title of project | Grant Awarded |
|---|---|---|
| Dr Joel Poder | Same day MRI – only simulation and treatment of stereotactic radiotherapy | $49,500 (supported by Southern Cancer Care) |
| Dr Xiaotao Jiang | Characterising the gut microbiome and its metabolites that impact dementia through mediating host plasma proteomics | $59,994 (recipient of the Giuseppe Ferlaino Research Grant) |
2023
| Name | Title of project | Grant Awarded |
|---|---|---|
| Dr Ramesh Shanmugasundaram | Assessing the diagnostic utility of multi-parametric MRI ‘diffusion kurtosis imaging’ in the evaluation of masses: a multicentre prospective study | $20,000 (supported by Southern Cancer Care) |
| PhD Student Sabrina Koentgen | Understanding gastrointestinal health in first-degree relatives of inflammatory bowel disease patients | $20,000 |
| Dr Joel Poder | Quantifying robustness of prostate cancer radiomics features across imaging devices | $18,122 (supported by Southern Cancer Care) |
2022
| Name | Title of project | Grant Awarded |
|---|---|---|
| Dr Jessica Dawson | Zinc supplementation to reduce anorexia in people with kidney failure receiving conservative kidney management | $20,000.00 |
| Dr Brendan Smyth | Systematic evaluation of interventions for symptom management in chronic kidney disease | $20,000.00 |
| Dr Richard Sullivan | Point of care antibiotic allergy assessment and intervention | $20,000.00 |
2021
| Name | Title of project | Grant Awarded |
|---|---|---|
| Professor Emad El-Omar | The MotherBabies Study | $10,000.00 |
| A-Professor Peter Gonski | Empowering older, frail people to make end-of-life choices | $20,000.00 |
| A-Professor Greg Davis | The P4 Study | $20,000.00 |
| Professor Maria Craig | Characterising the population of viruses that influence outcomes of the pregnancy and infant health | $50,000.00 |
| Professor Yong Li | Validation of extracellular vesicle protein biomarkers in blood for the personalised treatment decision of prostate cancer patients | $50,000.00 (supported by Southern Cancer Care) |
2020
| Name | Title of project | Grant Awarded |
|---|---|---|
| Dr Bill Giannakopouulos | Murine and human studies on the role of the gut microbiome in the pathogenesis of systemic lupus erythematosus and the antiphospholipid syndrome to expedite studies on prophylaxis and treatment | $72,500.00 |
| Dr Amanda Henry | The Microbiome in Pregnancy and Infancy, a comprehensive assessment of its composition, and its relationship to health and disease | $72,500.00 |
| Dr Bill Giannakopouulos | Quantification of redox forms of plasma ApoJ, ApoH and PDI to identify at risk patients for Alzheimer’s disease. | $50,000.00 |
| Dr Kevin Ni | A novel liquid biopsy assay of blood exosomal microRNA profiles to improve prostate cancer. | $46,000.00 |
| Dr Georgina Hold | Facilitating Translational Research Studies in Inflammatory Bowel Disease. | $50,000.00 |
2019
| Name | Title of project | Grant Awarded |
|---|---|---|
| Prof Emad El-Omar | HOAM | $1,000,000.00 |
| Prof Emad El-Omar | Mothers Babies | $1,000,000.00 |
| Dr Nan Wu | Building Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) Research Capacity – The St George and Sutherland IBD Project | $36,020.00 |
| Dr Michal Szczesniak | Validation of SPECT/CT to assess airway clearance in chronic aspirators for a trial of Expiratory Muscle Strength Training (EMST) in reduction of radiation-related aspiration. | $35,730.00 |
| Dr Jose Perdomo | The role of neutrophils in the pathology of immune thrombocytopenia | $49,554.40 |
| Professor Marissa Lassere | The gut microbiome in inflammatory arthritis | $34,599.10 |
| Dr Megan Gow | Does exposure to pre-eclampsia in utero contribute to cardiovascular disease risk and ageing in early childhood? | $49,907.00 |
| Professor Kate Moore | Are urinary cytokines signalling altered in refractory Detrusor Overactivity women with urinary tract infections? | $18,000.00 |
2018
| Name | Title of project | Grant Awarded |
|---|---|---|
| A/Professor Amany Zekry | The IMPREsS study: Integrated Liver Cancer and Microbiome PRojEct/Study | $3,000,000.00 |
2017
| Name | Title of project | Grant Awarded |
|---|---|---|
| Dr Peter Wu | Implications of Oro-Pharyngeal dysbiosis in the genesis of head and neck cancer and risk of complications in patients undergoing chemoradiation. | $140,000.00 |
| Professor Beng Chong | Role of microbiota dysbiosis in immune thrombocytopenia and thrombosis | $155,000.00 |
| Dr Bill Giannakopouulos | Murine and human studies on the role of the gut microbiome in the pathogenesis of systemic lupus erythematosus and the antiphospholipid syndrome to expedite studies on prophylaxis and treatment | $160,000.00 |
| Dr Amanda Henry | The Microbiome in Pregnancy and Infancy, a comprehensive assessment of its composition, and its relationship to health and disease | $200,000.00 |
| Professor Michael Grimm | The longitudinal course of inflammatory bowel disease: psychological, microbial, immune and inflammatory determinants | $200,000.00 |
2016
| Name | Title of project | Grant Awarded |
|---|---|---|
| Prof John Myburgh (Trauma Unit – Govt) | Trauma body temperature control machine | $100,000.00 |
| Dr Bill Giannakopoulos | Beta 2-glycoprotein 1: An important modulator of Gram-negative sepsis | $22,500.00 |
2015
| Name | Title of project | Grant Awarded |
|---|---|---|
| Prof John Myburgh | Support of the Thermoregulation for Acute Brain Injury Program | $300,000.00 |
| Prof John Myburgh (Trauma Unit – Govt) | Trauma body temperature control machine | $100,000.00 |
| Dr Bill Giannakopoulos | Beta 2-glycoprotein 1: An important modulator of Gram-negative sepsis | $22,500.00 |
| Dr Peter Wu | Pharyngeal and oesophageal compliance – the clinical utility of Endoluminal Functional Lumen Imaging Probe in managing dysphagia | $37,000.00 |
| Prof Marissa Lassere | A comparative effectiveness randomised placebo controlled pilot trial of the management of acute lumbar radicular pain: evaluate route versus pharmacology of intervention, and feasibility in public hospital and community practice settings | $50,000.00 |
| Dr Freda Passam | Functional disulphides of the platelet receptor alpha Iib beta 3 in health and disease | $50,000.00 |
| Dr Fernando Roncolato | A pilot study of a randomaised control trial assessing the impact of a supervised exercise program on the quality of life of lymphoma patients treated with chemotherapy – the EXEL study | $20,000.00 |
2014
| Name | Title of project | Grant Awarded |
|---|---|---|
| Assoc Prof Peter Gonski | Pulmonary Disease | $20,000.00 |
| Assoc Prof Greg Davis | Postpartum P4 Study | $50,000.00 |
| Prof Steve Krilis | Novel mechanisms of control of thrombosis and inflammation | $300,000.00 |
| Prof Marissa Lasssere | Serial biomarker profiling for risk-stratification and disease monitoring in rheumatoid arthritis | $35,000.00 |
| Dr Beng Chong | Development of a novel anti-platelet and anti-anticoagulant bifunctional molecule for targeted treatment of coronary artery disease | $50,000.00 |
| Dr Fatima El-Assad | The role of βeta2-glyocoprotein-1 in cerebral malaria | $35,000.00 |
| Dr Freda Passam | Control of thrombus formation by S-nitrosylation | $50,000.00 |
| Dr Peter Wu | Clinical utility of Endoluminal Functional Imaging Probe in diagnosis and management of patients with eosinophilic oesophagitis | $20,000.00 |
| Dr Kim-Chi Phan-Thien | Colonic motility in diverticular disease | $20,000.00 |
2013
| Name | Title of project | Grant Awarded |
|---|---|---|
| John Myburgh | Improving Outcomes For Patients With Trauma And Critical Illness -Local Research With A Global Impact | $50,000.00 |
| Prof Steven Krilis | The role of beta 2 glycoprotein i in vascular health | $40,000.00 |
| Dr Jingli Hao | Using proteomic approaches to identify novel biomarkers associated with prostate cancer radioresistance in in vivo animal models | $35,000.00 |
| A/Prof Konstantin Yastrebov | Comparative Haemodynamic Assessment: InvaSive and Echocardiographic techniques | $25,000.00 |
2012
| Name | Title of project | Grant Awarded |
|---|---|---|
| John Myburgh | Improving Outcomes For Patients With Trauma And Critical Illness -Local Research With A Global Impact | $50,000.00 |
| Dr Philip Choi | Heparin-induced thrombocytopenia (HIT): characterization of the pathogenic and non-pathogenic antibodies, and studies to improve laboratory diagnosis and treatment | $30,000.00 |
| Prof Steven Krilis | The role of mast cell specific serine proteases in inflammatory bowel disease | $30,000.00 |
| Dr. Freda Passam | Role of the thiol isomerase ERp5 in thrombus formation | $50,000.00 |
| MS Suzanne Polis | What is the effect of a nurse directed model of outpatient care on health outcomes, quality of life and service delivery for patients diagnosed with advanced liver disease? | $20,000.00 |
| Dr Amanda Henry | Evaluation of the myocardial performance index in ultrasonography of normal and complicated pregnancy | $20,000.00 |
2011
| Name | Title of project | Grant Awarded |
|---|---|---|
| John Myburgh | Improving Outcomes For Patients With Trauma And Critical Illness -Local Research With A Global Impact | $50,000.00 |
| Dr Philip Choi | Heparin-induced thrombocytopenia (HIT): characterization of the pathogenic and non-pathogenic antibodies, and studies to improve laboratory diagnosis and treatment | $30,000.00 |
| Dr James Weaver | Endothelial dysfunction and platelet activation in the setting of coronary disease | $33,000.00 |
| Dr Aparna Menon (Padinjareveettil) | Does transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) enhance computerised cognitive remediation in patients with Schizophrenia? – A randomised controlled trial in a rehabilitatory setting | $17,000.00 |
| Dr Nicholas Cordato | The impact of routine post-discharge evaluation medical evaluations of nursing home patients following acute hospital admission | $50,000.00 |
2010
| Name | Title of project | Grant Awarded |
|---|---|---|
| Dr Philip Choi | Heparin-induced thrombocytopenia (HIT): characterization of the pathogenic and non-pathogenic antibodies, and studies to improve laboratory diagnosis and treatment | $30,000.00 |
| Ms Annie Luo | Appendicitis alters the balance between regulatory and effector T cells in the colon | $20,000.00 |
| A/Prof Yong Li | CD 44 and CD 147 in prostate cancer metastasis and drug resistance | $45,000.00 |
| Dr Michal Szczesniak | Development and validation of novel fibre-optic strain sensors for evaluation of longitudinal shortening of the human oesophagus. | $50,000.00 |
| Dr Bill Giannakopoulos | Analysis of the In Vivo modulatory role of Beta-2 Glycoprotein 1 on atheroma formation and apoptotic cell clearance in the lupus/autoimmune setting | $50,000.00 |
2009
| Name | Title of project | Grant Awarded |
|---|---|---|
| A/Prof Kate Curtis | The cost of major trauma in NSW: Linkage analysis and recommendations health service planning | $5,500.00 |
| Ms Anthea Reuss | Intermittent self-catheterisation: comparison of single use vs reuse of Nelaton catheters – health and cost implications | $10,000.00 |
| Dr Chris Weatherall | The role of mast cells in innate immunity | $30,000.00 |
| Dr Sharon Ong | Masked hypertension in chronic kidney disease, dialysis and renal transplant patients | $50,000.00 |
| Dr Simon Liang | Characterisation of the anticancer effects of She-Xiang-Bao-Xin, a Chinese medicine on human leukaemic and prostate cancer cells | $20,000.00 |
| Dr Peter Galettis | A quantitative assay for novel compounds that show promise as oral treatments for advanced prostate cancer | $20,000.00 |
2008
| Name | Title of project | Grant Awarded |
|---|---|---|
| Dr Bill Giannakopoulos | Investigations into the modulatory activity of B2GPI on coagulation in vitro and in vivo | $20,000.00 |
| Dr Phil Dinning | Automated analysis of colonic manometry: creating diagnostic tool for patients with severe constipation | $40,000.00 |
| Dr Manoj Saxena | Prospective cohort study of temperature management after traumatic brain injury | $20,000.00 |