Funding boost for Assoc Prof Merriman
20/07/2011
Otago Daily Times
Research into inflammatory diseases has received a $4.7 million funding boost from the Health Research Council as part of a $27 million fillip for University of Otago scientists.
Associate Prof Tony Merriman described the three-year funding extension as a "dream".
It would allow him and his co-investigators Dr Rebecca Roberts and Associate Prof Greg Jones to continue research into identifying risk genes for inflammation conditions.
Those included abdominal aortic aneurism, gout, and inflammatory bowel disease.
The trio began the programme, which involves about 10,000 people from across New Zealand, three years ago.
By comparing healthy people with those who suffer from the diseases, the group is trying to find genes which cause the diseases, and any similarity between them.
They have already found one shared pathway between abdominal aortic aneurism and inflammatory bowel disease, and are pushing for Pharmac to fund a drug widely used elsewhere for the treatment of gout.
"The ultimate goal is to prevent the diseases or cure them," Dr Roberts said.