Associate Professor David Anderson at the NHMRC Ten of the Best Publication launch. Photo courtesy of NHMRC/Marcus Fillinger - Emulsion.

Burnet Institute’s CD4 T-cell test has been showcased in the National Health and Medical Research Council’s (NHMRC) flagship publication, launched today in Canberra.

The Ten of the Best Research Projects 2011 booklet profiles some of the work done by NHMRC-funded researchers who are leading the way in finding innovative solutions to some of the our nation’s greatest health challenges.

Burnet Head of Business Development, Innovation and Reseearch and Deputy Director Associate Professor David Anderson and his team produced a simple an inexpensive blood test for HIV patients and it is currently being trialled in the US.

If it’s successful, it could help million of people in developing countries to determine whether they should start taking antiviral drugs.

“It is very gratifying to have our development grant project of an alternative CD4 T-cell test recognized in the NHMRC’s ‘Top Ten’ for 2010,” Associate Professor Anderson said.

“Our team has been very focused on the development and validation of this technology, which aims to provide better access to care for HIV-infected patients, especially for those in resource-constrained settings – including the poor in some resource-rich countries.”

The NHMRC funding supported an important component of the overall project, along with funding from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, the CD4 Initiative (funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation), the Burnet Institute and the Medical Research Commercialisation Fund.

CLICK HERE to watch the live webcast of the Ten of the Best launch on 9 February from 11am to 12pm, AEDST.

The video will still be available for a short time after the launch.