Posted: 26 October 2023
Grant applications are being sought by the Cumming Global Centre for Pandemic Therapeutics (Cumming Global Centre) for Round Two of its Foundation Grants program, which is offering a pool of up to AU$5 million in funding.
Open to investigators globally, the Centre is seeking applications for projects to develop novel therapeutics for pathogens of pandemic potential in line with its mission.
Grants of up to $200,000 per annum for three years will be awarded to successful researchers. Applicants are invited to submit expressions of interest, from which a shortlist of applicants will be invited to submit a full proposal. Round One of the Foundation Grants closed in August and was open exclusively to internal applications from the Doherty Institute, the Royal Melbourne Hospital and the University of Melbourne. Recipients of Round One will be announced in November.
Inaugural Director of the Cumming Global Centre and the Doherty Institute, Professor Sharon Lewin said launching Round Two of the Foundation Grants program was an exciting milestone for the Centre.
“Effective and timely delivery of therapeutics has the potential to transform how the next pandemic is managed, but innovation in this area has lagged in comparison to vaccines,” said Professor Lewin.
“We are looking to fill this global gap and develop novel treatment solutions that can be rapidly adapted to a new pathogen within much shorter timeframes than currently possible.
“As such, we are seeking blue sky ideas from researchers around the world to make this a truly global Centre to transform the management of future pandemics and save lives.”
Work on all pathogens is welcome, providing the research is directly relevant to a pathogen of pandemic potential, noting that viruses are most likely to cause the next pandemic. High throughput screens for small molecules or rational drug design that are only focused on a single pathogen, not families of pathogens, will not be funded. Clinical trials will also not be funded.
Main focus areas will include:
- Development of platform technologies that will develop therapeutics for pathogens of pandemic potential at speed.
- Fundamental virology, bacteriology or immunology that will identify novel targets for therapeutics for pathogens of pandemic potential.
- Development of therapeutics that have activity across viral or relevant bacterial families e.g., therapeutics that have activity against all sarbecoviruses not just SARS-CoV-2.
- Innovation in relation to enabling capabilities such as animal models, organoid systems, assay development, bioinformatics, genomics or biomarkers or other capabilities that can support therapeutic development.
In other Centre news, Marian Boreland has been appointed to the position of Director, Strategy and Operations. Ms Boreland brings over a decade of experience in executive and strategic leadership, working in international development and major program management. She has extensive experience in leading and managing new initiatives, multidisciplinary teams and large-scale program development.
Launched in August 2022, the Doherty Institute’s Cumming Global Centre was made possible by the exceptional generosity of international businessman and philanthropist, Mr Geoffrey Cumming, who donated $250 million to establish the Centre. The Victorian Government has joined as a main supporting partner, initially committing $75 million in recognition of the critical need to advance the science behind therapeutics.
