Young researchers shine in latest grants round from The Common Good
Emerging researchers from the Critical Care Research Group have been acknowledged in the latest round of funding from The Common Good, an initiative of The Prince Charles Hospital Foundation.
CCRG Recipients of the 2023 New Investigator Grants include (L-R) Carl Francia, Zohaib Nadeem and Dr Angelo Milani, pictured above with CCRG Manager Hannah Marrinan.
“The New Investigator Grants were developed to provide research training and funding opportunities for emerging researchers who wish to undertake a short project to develop their research skills while addressing an important health need,” said Dr Megan Grace, Research Development Manager, The Common Good.
“The Common Good is a tremendous supporter and partner in our aim to advance clinical knowledge and improve treatment outcomes for critically ill patients. We are thankful for their continued belief and advocacy for our early and mid-career researchers through the New Investigator Grants,” said Hannah Marrinan, Manager, Critical Care Research Group (CCRG).
In this round of grants from The Common Good, five CCRG research fellows were awarded close to $50,000 to undertake projects covering multiple research streams and topics.
For one recipient, CCRG international research fellow, Dr Angelo Milani, the funding will allow him to progress research into understanding the benefits of improving microcirculation for patients with kidney damage.
“This is the first time I’ve applied for the highly competitive grant. I hope it’s not a case of ‘beginner’s luck’, but I’m very excited to work closely with The Common Good and my CCRG colleagues to progress this project,” said Angelo.
“I’m grateful to my colleagues and mentors Prof John Fraser, A/Prof Gianluigi Li Bassi and Dr Jacky Suen for their support with the application; it’s further reassurance that we’re on the right track with this research.”
All New Investigator Grant applications are independently peer-reviewed and the selection panel praised Angelo on his clear and well-written rationale and hypothesis.
“The funding will allow us to efficiently analyse data collected through a parent study, and therefore efficiently examine creatinine and urinary output in preclinical models of cardiogenic shock. It means that, hopefully, we’ll have a clearer understanding of the effectiveness of pulsatile VA-ECMO by mid-2024,” said Angelo.
Another recipient Zohaib Nadeem will collaborate with CCRG’s Dr Nchafatso Obonyo, and colleagues Dr Saintah Raman, Dr Angela Aramburo and staff from the Paediatric Critical Care Research Group and Queensland Children’s Hospital, to examine genetic pathways underlying tolerance of bacterial sepsis. Peer-reviewers commended Zohaib on a strong application that will build on CCRG’s ground-breaking sepsis and endothelial research.
Dr Samia Farah (pictured above right) said the grant and subsequent project will be a ‘transformative step’ in her career as she takes on a more active role in research.
E-Peng Seah’s project will monitoring the Heart Function of Patients on VA-ECMO using Arterial Pressure.
Carl Francia (Saibai Koedal) will work to develop the most complete epidemiological description of the ‘who’ ‘what’ and ‘where’ of rheumatic heart disease in Queensland.