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MRFF Grant a catalyst for cerebellar ataxia research at the Bionics Institute
Bionics Institute researchers have been awarded a Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF) grant of more than $3.1M over five years to advance research into a debilitating group of disorders known as cerebellar ataxias.
The research is led by neurologist A/Prof David Szmulewicz who says there is an exponential rise in the number of people living in remote communities affected by these diseases, but many remain undiagnosed and untreated due to lack of access to specialist care.
He says: “The most common type of ataxia affects Indigenous people in Australia up to 12,000 times more commonly than the global average. Sadly, most die prematurely from a range of complications including malnourishment, falls, and severe pneumonia related to swallowing difficulties.”
The overall aim of the research is to gain a comprehensive understanding of the diseases and their progression facilitating insights for remote diagnosis, identifying people at risk, disease management and treatment trial readiness.
A/Prof Szmulewicz will work closely with the Bionics Institute Engineering team led by Dr Alex Thompson to develop a suite of diagnostic tools and algorithms to provide insights into the severity and progression of symptoms.
Alex says: “It’s an exciting project to be working on and brings to the fore a skillset of wearable medical device and algorithm development my team at the Bionics Institute is uniquely positioned to deliver.”
For more information about this research go to: https://www.bionicsinstitute.org/our-research/brain-research/measuring-neurological-disorders-of-movement/
