July 2009

At the July meeting of the Scientific Advisory Group of the National Heart Foundation, a total of 22 grants were awarded. The awards included 6 Project Grants, 6 Fellowships/Scholarships, 2 Small Project Grants, 1 Grant-in-Aid and 7 Travel Grants. A total of 7 Summer Studentships were also awarded to the Medical Schools at the University of Otago and the University of Auckland.

PROJECT GRANTS

Dr Srija Bhattacharyya & Associate Professor Rob Doughty
Departments of Medicine and Pharmacology & Clinical Pharmacology, University of Auckland
Beta-blockers and airflow obstruction in congestive heart failure (BEACH) trial: a feasibility study.
$159,650 for 2 years.

Associate Professor Rob Doughty & Dr Gillian Whalley
Department of Medicine, University of Auckland
Individual patient meta-analysis of the mortality associated with heart failure with preserved versus impaired systolic function.
$84,909 for 1 year.

Dr Raina Elley
Clinical Trials Research Unit, School of Population Health, University of Auckland
Does a polypill improve cardiovascular guideline implementation in primary care among Maori?
$146,693 for 3 years.

Ms Helen Eyles
Clinical Trials Research Unit, School of Population Health, University of Auckland
How big are food portion sizes in New Zealand?
$50,983 for 15 months.

Dr Debbie Hay
School of Biological Sciences, University of Auckland
Adrenomedullin and cardiovascular disease: understanding adrenomedullin binding to its receptors.
$78,936 for 1 year.

Associate Professor Patrick Manning
Department of Medical & Surgical Sciences, University of Otago, Dunedin
The effect of thermally oxidised polyunsaturated fat on postprandial glycaemia.
$95,714 for 18 months.

Project Abstracts

FELLOWSHIPS

Dr Cliona Ni Mhurchu
The Heart Foundation Senior Fellowship (for 3 years) was awarded to Dr Cliona
Ni Mhurchu, Clinical Trials Research Unit, School of Population Health, University of Auckland.

Dr Patrick Gladding
An Overseas Training & Research Fellowship (for 1 year) was awarded to Dr Patrick Gladding, Greenlane Cardiovascular Service, Auckland City Hospital. Dr Gladding will work in the Echo Laboratory, at the University of Queensland, Australia.

Dr Sally Aldous
A Research Fellowship (for 1 year) was awarded to Dr Sally Aldous, Department of Cardiology, Christchurch Hospital.

Dr Bo Remenyi
A Research Fellowship (for 2 years) was awarded to Dr Bo Remenyi, who will work in the Department of Paediatric and Congenital Services, Starship Hospital, Auckland.

Dr Vanessa Selak
A Research Fellowship (for 3 years) was awarded to Dr Vanessa Selak, Clinical Trials Research Unit, School of Population Health, University of Auckland.

Ms Lotte Thomsen
A Postgraduate Scholarship (for 3 years) was awarded to Ms Lotte Thomsen, Department of Medicine, University of Otago, Christchurch.

SMALL PROJECT GRANTS

Professor Janet Hoek
Marketing Department, University of Otago,
Dunedin
How would plain packaging effect young adult smokers?
$8,528 for 5 months.

Associate Professor James Paxton
Department of Pharmacology & Clinical Pharmacology, University of Auckland
Dietary phytochemicals and the ABC transporters.
$14,817 for 1 year.

GRANT-IN-AID

Associate Professor Lisette Burrows
School of Physical Education, University of Otago, Dunedin
Research Symposium - The Big Fat Truth: What are we 'weighting' for?
$11,078.

TRAVEL GRANTS

Dr Emmanuelle Cognard Department of Molecular Medicine & Pathology, University of Auckland 45 ^th European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) Annual Meeting, Vienna, Austria		Mr Paul Drury Department of Physiology, University of Auckland Fetal and Neonatal Physiological Society Annual Meeting, California, USA.
Ms Katrina Ellis Department of Medicine, University of Otago, Christchurch European Society of Cardiology Congress 2009, Barcelona, Spain.		Dr Bridget Leonard Auckland Bioengineering Institute, University of Auckland CSANZ Annual Scientific Meeting, Sydney, Australia.
Mr Thusitha Mabotuwana Department of Computer Science, University of Auckland Medical Informatics Europe Conference, Sarajevo, Bosnia & Herzegovinia.		Ms Nicola Scott Department of Medicine, University of Otago, Christchurch American Heart Association Scientific Sessions 2009, Florida, USA.
Mr Andrew Waa Department of Public Health, University of Otago, Wellington Oceania Tobacco Control 09: Reducing inequality through tobacco control, Darwin, Australia.