Dr Lilian Hor and Professor Heidi Drummer with an ALT point-of-care test.
Two exciting projects are being funded through Burnet Institute's Burnext accelerator program, designed to enhance research translation and expedite the advancement of high-impact projects.
After inviting expressions of interest in April, a selection committee chose two projects that scored the most competitively against the Burnext assessment criteria.
The first project is titled: Burnet Diagnostic Initiative’s (BDI) Alanine Transaminase (ALT) point-of-care test.
Led by scientific director of Research Translation Professor Heidi Drummer and senior research scientist Dr Lilian Hor, it builds on the success of an ALT prototype test developed by the BDI team earlier this year.
High levels of ALT in the blood can indicate liver injury, possibly from a drug reaction, and a point-of-care test can provide rapid on-site results.
"Burnext funding will accelerate the development of the liver health test, which is used as a monitoring tool for people undergoing treatment with specific drugs that cause acute liver toxicity," Professor Drummer said.
Dr Hor said the wider availability of this type of diagnostic tool will mean that people undergoing clinical trials can monitor their liver health to ensure they remain healthy.
"With the test available, we can act faster, take the patient off the drug sooner, and help them recover more quickly," she said.
The second project is titled: EXPAND-C: Expanding access to hepatitis C testing and treatment through community pharmacies.
Professor Joseph Doyle, left, leads the EXPAND-C project.
The innovative EXPAND-C initiative, led by deputy program director of Disease Elimination Professor Joe Doyle, is designed to expand access to hepatitis C testing and treatment through community pharmacies.
In the next 24 months, the team hopes to conduct more than 1,800 tests, identify up to 600 individuals with hepatitis C and cure hundreds of Victorians living with hepatitis C.
EXPAND-C will also establish a sustainable model for pharmacies to offer testing and treatment for other communicable diseases, thereby strengthening the link between community pharmacies and primary healthcare services.
Professor Doyle said the funding will enable the team to rapidly scale pharmacy interventions with partners.
"It will help us reach people who currently miss out on hepatitis care and build a platform for other communicable disease interventions with teams across Burnet," he said.
Director of the Office for Research Translation Jennifer Barnes said she wishes to thank all those who have expressed their interest in the program and acknowledges the exceptional quality of applications.
"To meet the fund’s objectives, the projects that were chosen had clear commercial or translational outcomes in line with our Burnet 2030 Strategy and include significant milestones achievable within 24 months," she said.
"To support the next phase of Burnext and the development of project plans, we are expanding the Institute’s capability and resources, including recruiting new key positions for the Burnext portfolio.
"This is an exciting milestone as we continue to grow our innovation, research translation and commercialisation capacity at Burnet."
Read more about the Burnext accelerator program here: www.burnet.edu.au/technologies/burnext/