Research Portfolio

Examples of Alternative Methodologies Supported by MAWA

MAWA funded scholars and researchers have utilised a number of alternative methodologies to replace animal experiments including cell and tissue cultures, human gene studies, analytical technology, microorganisms, computer modelling, population studies and ethical clinical research with volunteer patients and healthy subjects.

Research Streams

MAWA does not limit its support to any particular research stream but encourages applications from a broad range of disciplines within, for example, biological sciences, medical sciences, computer sciences and bioengineering. The Trust has funded projects in general medicine, medical laboratory science, microbiology, epidemiology, biochemistry, viral immunology, biophysics, public health, histology, predictive medicine, pathology, urology, reproductive medicine, endocrinology, neurophysiology, regenerative medicine, neonatology, psychology, pharmacology, medical imaging, human virology, neuroscience, bioinformatics, human kinetics, biomechanics, computer science, engineering, mathematics and statistics. Additionally a number of MAWA funded projects have included transdisciplinary and collaborative approaches.

MAWA's Research Portfolio

MAWA’s research focus is on basic medical research to improve understanding of human illnesses, their causes, progression, and the underlying features to facilitate prevention, early diagnosis and effective treatment.

MAWA Research Grants provide funds to support research projects of one to three years duration. The Trust has supported research into cancer, heart disease, diabetes, vascular disease, chronic pain, rheumatic disease, osteoporosis, musculoskeletal diseases, hepatitis, prostate disease, obesity, inflammatory diseases, the treatment of premature babies, psychiatric illnesses including depression, cataract treatment, molecular drug design and computational methods of designing and screening therapeutic agents. MAWA has also supported the development of a non-animal drug screening methodology, a human model of nerve compression, an animal blood free medium for culture based diagnosis of human diseases, and a non-animal method of studying the function of specific genes.

Current MAWA Funded Reseach Projects
Bioinformatics & Molecular Biology A combined data-mining and molecular biology approach to replace animal models for human disease studies.	Human Virology Ex vivo human cell culture models to study viral-induced musculoskeletal disease to replace animal experiments.	Computational Biophysics The development of a new computational tool to design and screen potential therapeutic agents without the use of animal cells.

Prof Sharma, Drs Richardson & Shadabi, Profs Fulcher & Hawkins & Assoc Prof Lidbury Knowledge Discovery in Health Group The University of Canberra	Prof Bill Maher, Dean of Science, and A/Prof Luby Simson & Prof Suresh Mahalingam Centre of Biomolecular & Chemical Sciences The University of Canberra	Prof Shin-Ho Chung, Group Leader and team Computational Biophysics Group Division of Biomedical Science & Biochemistry The Australian National University
Neonatology The development of a neonatal model test lung that will replace the use of animals in testing mechanical ventilation apparatus required by premature babies.	Nutrition & Metabolism The investigation of zinc transporters in humans rather than the common practice of using animal experiments to study zinc deficiency.	Regenerative Medicine The use of human pluripotent stem cells as a method for discovering anti-cataract drugs that reduce the need for surgery and enable the replacement of existing animal models used in lens and cataract research as well as in toxicology studies.

Assoc Prof Mark Davies Royal Brisbane & Women’s Hospital Medical Engineering Research Facility Queensland University of Technology	A/Prof Samir Samman, Meika Foster, Michelle Karra & Kamrul Zaman Discipline of Nutrition and Metabolism School of Molecular Bioscience The University of Sydney	Dr Michael O'Connor Regenerative Medicine Laboratory School of Medicine University of Western Sydney
Metabolism & Oncology The validation of the use of human-derived cells/tissues to replace current methodologies in breast cancer research that makes use of animals	Psychology & Neuroscience The development of an alternative to using animals in researching the role of the immune system in chronic pain	Tissue Engineering The growing of human muscle using cutting-edge tissue engineering techniques to use as an experimental model that is animal free.

Drs Kristy Brown, Ashwini Chand & Colin Clyne Prof Evan Simpson's Laboratory Prince Henry’s Institute Monash Medical Centre	Drs John Hayball, Stuart Cathcart & Maarten Immink School of Psychology, School of Health Sciences School of Pharmacy & Medical Sciences University of South Australia	Ms Katherine Hosie and Drs Renee Dwyer, James Horne and Lindsay Edwards with their Varian Inova Magnet. Menzies Research Institute University of Tasmania
	Bioengineering The development and testing of a control system for heart pumps in vitro so that additional animal trials are not necessary

	Prof Mark Pearcy, Mr Michael Stevens & A/Prof John Fraser The Prince Charles Hospital and School of Engineering Systems Queensland University of Technology