Researchers from the University of Sydney's Faculty of Medicine and Health have secured $9 million in NHMRC funding to establish three new Centres of Research Excellence (CRE), recognising the University's leadership in research that addresses some of Australia's most pressing health challenges.

The centres, led by Professor Stephen Alexander, Professor Gemma Figtree and Professor Katy Bell, will focus on improving organ transplantation outcomes, preventing heart attacks through earlier detection of coronary artery disease (CAD), and strengthening the sustainability and resilience of healthcare systems.

Professor Mark Molloy from the Faculty of Medicine and Health will also contribute to the NHMRC Centre of Research Excellence led by the University of Melbourne investigating the causes of early-onset colorectal cancer.

Professor Gemma Figtree will lead the Centre for Research Excellence to Detect and Treat Silent Coronary Artery Disease.

"Coronary artery disease is the underlying cause of most heart attacks, yet it can develop silently over many years," Professor Figtree said. "More than half of people experience no symptoms before their heart attack, and some are not identified as being at high risk using conventional risk factors."

"We now have highly effective treatments that can stabilise or even reverse the build-up of plaque in the coronary arteries. However, these treatments are generally used most intensively after someone has already experienced a heart attack or developed symptoms. Our Centre is seeking to shift this model from reacting to heart attacks to detecting and treating coronary artery disease before they occur."

The centre will investigate how blood biomarkers and advanced imaging can be used to detect silent disease earlier, while working with consumers and communities to develop approaches that are accessible and equitable.

"Our ultimate goal is to prevent heart attacks by identifying coronary artery disease while people still feel well and there is time to intervene." 

Professor Stephen Alexander will lead the Centre for Research Excellence: Transplantation of Organs for Life (CRE-TOL), which aims to improve the long-term success of organ transplantation.

"The centre is trying to solve the problem of transplant failure. While transplantation can save lives for people with organ or tissue failure, transplanted organs often do not last for life. Over time, transplants can be damaged by immune rejection and by the long-term effects of the immunosuppressive medicine patients need to take to prevent rejection." 

CRE-TOL will bring together clinical, data science and molecular science expertise to study the pathways of rejection and tolerance and develop new approaches to promote immune tolerance and improve long-term transplant survival.

"For patients, their ultimate goal is a transplant that lasts a lifetime without the need for lifelong immunosuppression," Professor Alexander said.

"We hope the centre will develop new ways to make transplanted organs last longer by helping the patient’s immune system tolerate the transplant. This could allow patients to reduce or eventually stop immunosuppression, while maintaining a healthy functioning organ. We also hope the research will lead to clinical trials of new tests and therapies developed through the centre, with the goal of improving long-term transplant survival."

Professor Katy Bell will lead the Centre for Research Excellence for Health System Sustainability & Resilience, which aims to help health systems meet growing demand for services while responding to challenges such as population ageing and climate change.

The centre will investigate how better stewardship of health resources, more informed health decisions and improved access to effective care can strengthen the sustainability and resilience of the health system and support high-quality care for communities now and into the future.

"Ageing populations and climate change are intensifying health system pressures and the need to manage health resources wisely," Professor Bell said.

"Our research will tackle problems of national and international importance: minimising harm and waste in healthcare while maximising uptake of effective care."

This funding provides continued support for the Wiser Healthcare collaboration of over 130 researchers across five universities, clinician and consumer partners, and international collaborator. With this new CRE grant, the collaboration has now achieved 15 years of successive NHMRC CREs, all led by The Univerity of Sydney's School of Public Health researchers.

Professor Mark Molloy is part of the Centre of Research Excellence ARTEMIS, investigating the Aetiology, Risk factors, Tumourigenesis, Exposures, Microbiome, and Immune Susceptibilities underlying Early-Onset Colorectal Cancer.

The centre will bring together patients and researchers from multiple disciplines to better understand the genetic, environmental, microbial and immune factors that contribute to the disease, with the aim of improving prevention, diagnosis and treatment.

The University of Sydney will contribute unique samples from people with early-onset bowel disease and expertise in the analysis of proteins and immune cells to help uncover the biological drivers of early-onset colorectal cancer. "Collectively, we will be able to build new scientific understanding of why the disease develops and establish clinical tools to help prevent and treat the disease better," Professor Molloy said.