$43 million to continue search for a cure to dementia
The Federal Government has awarded another $43 million to continue the search for a cure to dementia.
The Minister for Health, The Hon Sussan Ley, says this commitment will support bold and innovative research ideas to tackle the huge impact of dementia and find ways of preventing and curing the disease that is currently the second leading cause of death in Australia.
In total 76 researchers will share in the investment to explore ideas such as new ways to understand the progression of dementia in the brain, the role of intense exercise in protecting the ageing brain, and ways to build resilience in the dementia care workforce.
“This $43 million commitment, which builds on our $35 million research announcement in August, is essential as the number of Australians with dementia is predicted to grow to over one million people in the next 40 years,” Ms Ley says.
“While there is currently no cure for dementia, Australia is a world leader in dementia research and the Fellows announced will no doubt make leaps and bounds in our understanding of how best to prevent, diagnose and treat this disease and how best to support people with dementia and their carers.
“These fellowships will ensure Australia’s highly skilled, innovative research workforce continues to advance knowledge in dementia and how we can better support people with the disease, their carers and the millions of Australians impacted by the disease now and over the coming decades,” according to Ms Ley.
Minister for Education and Training, Senator Simon Birmingham, says approximately 330,000 Australians were living with dementia, an extremely complex disease that required knowledge from across our research disciplines.
“Tackling dementia needs to be done with a cross-disciplinary focus utilising research skills in a range of areas including neuroscience, bioinformatics, and cultural, social and economic disciplines,” he says.
“The fellowships awarded today support early career researchers in a broad range of projects covering diverse research disciplines.”
According to Senator Birmingham the fellowships would contribute to the World Dementia Council’s target of finding a cure or modifying therapy by 2025.
