Victorian Neurotrauma Initiatives
5 Feb 2009
The Minister for the Transport Accident Commission, Tim Holding, announced $19M in funding for brain and spinal cord injury research following the conclusion of the VNI Program Grants funding round. This funding round was highly competitive with significant interest and participation from the Victorian neurotrauma research community and their interstate and international partners.
Four teams of researchers from 30 different research departments of universities and hospitals in Victoria, across Australia, and in New Zealand, the United Kingdom and Canada will be involved in this exciting collaborative research.
The research teams are headed by the following Lead Chief Investigators:
- Professor John Furness, The University of Melbourne, $4.9M
Autonomic dysfunction in spinal cord injury: a strategy for improved treatment and understanding of bowel, blood pressure and bladder disorders
- Associate Professor Russell Gruen, The University of Melbourne, $4.4M
Improving evidence-based care and the outcomes of patients with traumatic brain injury through a program to facilitate knowledge transfer and exchange
- Professor Mary Galea, The University of Melbourne, $4.7M
SCIPA (Spinal Cord Injury and Physical Activity): Intensive exercise from acute care to the community
- Professor Robert Pierce, Institute for Breathing and Sleep, Austin Health, $4.9M
Optimising Sleep in quadriplegia: mechanisms and management
For further information please see:
VNI Collaborates with NHMRC on 2010 Project Grant Funding Round
The Victorian Neurotrauma Initiative (VNI) is pleased to announce that it will be offering project funding in conjunction with the 2010 NHMRC Project Grant funding round.
Researchers applying to NHMRC will be able to pre-select if they would like their application to be automatically considered by the VNI if they are unsuccessful in receiving funding from NHMRC.
To be eligible for consideration for VNI funding, applicants must be ranked as fundable (Category 4 or 5) and meet the following criteria:
1. The application is in a research area relevant to the objectives of the VNI including brain injury, neurotrauma, neuronal injury, spinal cord injury and traumatic brain injury.
2. The application includes Victorian involvement: at least one CI must be based in Victoria
3. The applicant is not seeking funding from other partner agencies named in the Project Grants Funding Policy.
Eligible applications will then be assessed by the Victorian Neurotrauma Initiative against the VNI strategic goals and research priorities.
This is an exciting step in the next phase of VNI project funding. It allows applications from Victorian neurotrauma researchers to be considered simultaneously by Australia's peak health research body and by the VNI.
Cooperation with NHMRC will allow the VNI to take advantage of NHMRC's considerable expertise. Moreover, one application process will minimise the amount of time researchers spend completing applications and maximise their time completing valuable neurotrauma research.
The VNI looks forward to the next phase of this process.
See the NHMRC Project Grant Funding Policy for funding commencing in 2011.