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. Forty 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.”
“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.”
Approved by: Ron Fairchild
Grant awardees:
| Applicant | Project title |
| Ben Rogers Melissa Southey James McMahon Tony Korman Jessica O’Bryan |
The Monash Health COVID-19 Biobank & Data Repository: A core platform for COVID-19 research at Monash Health. |
| Samar Ojaimi Ben Rogers Stephen Turner |
Understanding the immunological and clinical sequelae of COVID-19 in affected Health Care Workers. |
| Madeleine Ward James Aridas Rebecca McDonald Danielle Quittner Daniel Rolnik |
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. |
| Atul Malhotra Yahya Shehabi Ben Rogers Rebecca Lim Euan Wallace Graham Jenkin |
Pilot safety and feasibility trial of cell therapies for COVID-19. |
| Simon Craig Marietta John-White Diana Egerton-Warburton Lisa Kuhn Katie Walker Adam West Christina Fong Ian Mosley |
Emergency Department data to assess the impact of COVID-19 restrictions. |
| Stephen Holdsworth Poh Yi Gan |
How BCG vaccination induces T cell cross-reactivity to SARS-CoV-2. |
| Michelle Giles Kirsten Palmer |
COVID serosurveillance in pregnant women and maternity healthcare workers during the SARS-COV-2 pandemic. |
| Peter Poon Fiona Runacres Kelly Rogerson Rory Wolfe Adam Mohd Idris Patrick Steele Felicity Moon Maryann Bills Michael Choi |
Rapid Palliative care In-Reach for Covid-19 (RaPIC)”: a responsive multi-modal specialist support for residential aged care facilities |