Four medical researchers working across cardiovascular disease, cancer immunotherapy and neuroscience are relocating their research programs to New South Wales with support from $3.5 million in state government grants.
Three of the researchers are moving from the United States and one from Victoria, joining the Heart Research Institute, Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute, Garvan Institute of Medical Research and Woolcock Institute of Medical Research.
$2 Million for Cardiovascular Research
Dr Nicholas Lam and Dr James McNamara have each received $1 million through the NSW Cardiovascular Research Capacity Program.
Lam has relocated from Arizona to establish a laboratory at the Heart Research Institute.
His research examines ways to stimulate existing heart muscle cells to divide and regenerate damaged cardiac tissue, including the use of RNA-based gene delivery.
The work is aimed at developing future treatments that could repair damaged heart muscle rather than only managing the symptoms of heart failure.
McNamara has moved from Victoria to the Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute, where his research focuses on cardiomyopathy and the genetic causes of heart muscle disease.
His team uses patient-derived stem cells to grow heart muscle cells in the laboratory, allowing researchers to study how disease develops and investigate potential personalised treatments before heart failure occurs.
$1.5 Million for Cancer and Neuroscience Research
Two further researchers have each received $750,000 Elite Researcher Grants.
Dr Philipp Rommel has relocated from Pennsylvania to the Garvan Institute of Medical Research, where he leads a laboratory within its Precision Immunology Program.
His research involves engineering immune cells with multiple anti-cancer functions, with a particular focus on overcoming treatment resistance in ovarian and breast cancers.
The work includes the development of next-generation CAR T-cell therapies, in which a patient’s T-cells are genetically modified to recognise and attack cancer cells.
CAR T-cell therapies are already approved for some blood cancers, but their use against solid tumours such as ovarian and breast cancers remains an active area of research.
Rommel’s current program is focused on preclinical testing before potential future human trials.
Sleep Research Targets Brain Health and Dementia
Professor Miranda Lim, currently based in Oregon, is expected to join the Woolcock Institute of Medical Research in early 2027.
Her research examines the relationship between sleep and the brain’s ability to remove waste products and proteins associated with neurodegenerative disease.
The project will study patients with sleep apnoea and investigate whether sleep interventions can improve brain clearance processes.
It will also explore imaging and blood-based biomarkers that could potentially be used to monitor brain health and dementia risk.
NSW Cardiovascular Research Investment Reaches $150 Million
The grants form part of broader NSW investment in health and medical research.
The state has committed $150 million between 2018 and 2028 to cardiovascular research, covering heart and blood vessel diseases as well as major risk factors including obesity and diabetes.
The Cardiovascular Research Capacity Program is designed partly to attract and retain researchers in NSW and establish new research groups within local institutions.
The separate Elite Researcher Grant program supports researchers working across priority areas of medical science and health innovation.
Host research organisations also contribute funding and infrastructure alongside the NSW Government grants.
The latest funding brings four research programs into NSW spanning heart regeneration, inherited cardiac disease, engineered cancer immunotherapy and the relationship between sleep and brain health.