Projects to repair ruptured eardrums, understand genetic variants, improve cochlear implants, boost the immune system to eliminate cancer cells, use AI to screen for heart disease, develop cancer immunotherapy and treat obesity, diabetes and frailty have been boosted by State Government funding.
Seven of the eight WA Innovation Fellowships recipients from the State Government’s Future Health Research and Innovation Fund are from The University of Western Australia.
Dr Filippo Valente, from Ear Science Institute Australia and UWA’s Medical School, was awarded funds to further develop ClearDrum, a prosthetic eardrum implant.
This cutting-edge innovation represents a major advancement in the treatment of chronic ear conditions, with the potential to significantly improve patient outcomes.
The funds will be used to prepare the first tympanic membrane prosthetic device for manufacturing and clinical trials.
Dr Christofer Bester, from Ear Science Institute Australia and UWA’s Medical School, received funds for precision diagnostics in cochlear implant recipients.
The project aims to understand the healing process to enable people with a cochlear implant to have a level of hearing that allows them to participate fully in their community.
Dr Vanessa Fear, from The Kids Research Institute Australia and UWA’s Medical School, will use the funds to unravel the functional significance of novel genetic variants identified in the clinical setting.
Dr Fear’s research is focused on providing molecular analysis of gene mutations to better inform the early and accurate diagnosis of children living with genetic and rare diseases.
Dr Mariana Lizeth Orozco Morales, from UWA’s Medical School and WA Kids Cancer Centre at The Kids Research Institute Australia , received funds for a project to boost the immune system to eliminate cancer cells.
Dr Orozco Morales is part of the Sarcoma Translational Research team in the Cancer Centre at The Kids and will work on a new therapeutic approach to on improve responses to immunotherapy.
Dr Hadi Afsharan, from UWA’s Medical School and Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research, was awarded funds to detect heart disease using AI technology.
Using his knowledge in optical and biomedical engineering, Dr Afsharan will develop an AI-powered tool that screens a person’s eyes to identify heart disease.
Dr Tao Wang, from UWA’s Medical School and WA Kids Cancer Centre at The Kids, received funds to increase the efficiency of cancer immunotherapy.
An emerging leader in the field of nucleic acid chemistry and anti-cancer drug development, Dr Wang will research ways to develop RNA-based treatments to enhance immune responses.
Dr Bu Yeap, from UWA’s Medical School, was awarded funds to develop a new treatment for obesity, diabetes and frailty. He aims to develop an innovative treatment to increase muscle mass and reduce fat.