In excellent news for the future of genomics in Victoria, Melbourne Genomics member organisations have attracted over $27 million in grants through the 2020 Genomics Health Futures Mission.
In total, more than $30 million in genomics grants has gone directly into Victoria. Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt announced the funding last week as part of a raft of grants from the $20 billion Medical Research Future Fund.
Four Melbourne Genomics-backed projects received a total of $12 million to continue research into the clinical application of genomics.
Projects growing from Melbourne Genomics work
The KidGen National Kidney Genomics Program received $3 million in funding to conduct research into improving genomic outcomes for Australian families with genetic kidney disease. This program stemmed from the Melbourne Genomics Genetic Kidney Disease Clinical Project.
The Australian Undiagnosed Diseases Network, which grew from the Melbourne Genomics Childhood Syndromes Project, received $3 million for an internationally-networked national approach for transforming diagnosis for individuals living with rare diseases.
Projects that currently include Melbourne Genomics
A national large-scale program to increase rare disease diagnosis through re-analysis also received $3 million in funding. This funding builds upon earlier successful projects including the Melbourne Genomics Complex Care ‘Rapids’ study and our follow-up study to re-analyse genomic data, which saw more children receive a diagnosis.
Similarly, the success of the Melbourne Genomics Bone Marrow Failure Clinical Project resulted in $3 million in funding for a study into diagnosis, discovery and novel phenotype characterisation using multimodal genomics in patients with inherited bone marrow failure and related disorders. Our clinical system GenoVic will be used to support testing and ensure data is available for research.
“These projects will mean even more people with rare disease or cancer will receive a diagnosis. We’ve seen how this can change care and save lives,” said Melbourne Genomics Executive Director Clara Gaff. “Congratulations to the teams behind all the projects funded in this round.”
With support from the Victorian Government, Melbourne Genomics Health Alliance has delivered clinical projects on the use of genomics for 16 medical conditions. The Alliance will continue to work to ensure genomic medicine is available to benefit all Victorians when they need it in our third and final program of work.
For the full list of successful projects, read the media release from the Federal Department of Health here.