Congratulations to NHMRC Investigator Grant recipients

27 May 2020

Four ASA members have been recognised for their leadership in sleep research in the latest announcement from the NHMRC. 
 
Ron Grunstein attained a Leadership 3 grant to fund research targeting challenges in sleep health. It will focus on improving detection and management of sleep disorders using cutting edge technologies in different patient groups with the aim of maximising brain health. This will be achieved by a range of new treatments including clinical trials, digital health approaches and new ways of improving deep sleep.
 
Rosemary Horne has been awarded a Leadership 1 grant for work entitled ‘Dangerous dreams: the next era in paediatric sleep research’. Her studies will identify and improve treatment of sleep problems to improve overall physical health and quality of life for children and their families.
 
Danny Eckert’s Leadership 1 grant will help him investigate novel approaches for targeted sleep apnoea treatment and management. The project aims to use and develop novel approaches to identify the causes of obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) on a per patient basis, improve current therapies and management approaches and test if new targeted therapies can be used to treat OSA.
 
Stephanie Rainey-Smith’s Emerging Leadership 1 grant addresses suboptimal sleep and unhealthy brain ageing. Her work will address limitations in our understanding of the impact of sleep characteristics on memory and thinking abilities and biological markers of brain health in older adults, by 1) exploring these relationships over time, and 2) enabling direct assessment of the effect of improved sleep on memory and thinking, and markers of brain health, following sleep-improvement therapy.
 
Three other grants awarded in this round also included elements of sleep research. Congratulations to all four of our successful members!