This year the Monash Health Foundation ran a community appeal to raise funds to support promising research into COVID-19 at Monash Health. The community responded very generously and donated close to $500,000. Monash Health researchers were invited to apply for grants of up to $100,000. 40 applications were received requesting more than $2.5 million in funding.
The awardees of the grants have now been announced (see list of teams and project titles below). Professor Bill Sievert, Director of Clinical Research and chair of the COVID-19 research grant assessment panel said that the submissions were all of a high standard.
“Monash Health Foundation’s COVID-19 Research Fund has generated a great deal of enthusiasm across Monash Health’s research community,” said Bill.
“The fund has allowed us to award some of the most competitive and innovative studies that will place Monash Health at the forefront of Victoria’s research efforts to combat the virus.”
Ron Fairchild, Director of the Monash Health Foundation said that the community response to the appeal was unparalleled.
“The urgent community appeal was the most successful in the Foundation’s history. Support came from a number of communities, with a high percentage of new donors and donors from suburbs across Melbourne and its South East,” Ron said.
“Our particular thanks to Freemasons Foundation Victoria who have traditionally supported the purchase of essential equipment at Monash Health. They saw the benefit of providing matching gifts for this appeal – doubling the impact of community giving,” he said.
Neil Cripps the Executive Officer of Freemasons Foundation Victoria said:
“Freemasons Foundation Victoria is proud to have been part of the Monash Health COVID-19 research appeal,” Neil said.
“It is fantastic to see the list of successful projects from the grants program. We wish these researchers well as they proceed and look forward to hearing more about the outcomes of the research.”
Grant awardees
The Monash Health COVID-19 Biobank & Data Repository: A core platform for COVID-19 research at Monash Health
Ben Rogers
Melissa Southey
James McMahon
Tony Korman
Jessica O’Bryan
Understanding the immunological and clinical sequelae of COVID-19 in affected Health Care Workers
Samar Ojaimi
Ben Rogers
Stephen Turner
Impact and evaluation of ‘Monash Women’s leading kindness COVID-19 toolkit’ on junior medical staff wellbeing – a workshop designed by doctors in training for doctors in training
Madeleine Ward
James Aridas
Rebecca McDonald
Danielle Quittner
Daniel Rolnik
Pilot safety and feasibility trial of cell therapies for COVID-19
Atul Malhotra
Yahya Shehabi
Ben Rogers
Rebecca Lim
Euan Wallace
Graham Jenkin
Emergency Department data to assess the impact of COVID-19 restrictions
Simon Craig
Marietta John-White
Diana Egerton-Warburton
Lisa Kuhn
Katie Walker
Adam West
Christina Fong
Ian Mosley
How BCG vaccination induces T cell cross-reactivity to SARS-CoV-2
Stephen Holdsworth
Poh Yi Gan
COVID serosurveillance in pregnant women and maternity healthcare workers during the SARS-COV-2 pandemic
Michelle Giles
Kirsten Palmer
Rapid Palliative care In-Reach for Covid-19 (RaPIC)”: a responsive multi-modal specialist support for residential aged care facilities
Peter Poon
Fiona Runacres
Kelly Rogerson
Rory Wolfe
Adam Mohd Idris
Patrick Steele
Felicity Moon
Maryann Bills
Michael Choi
