Federal Government To Support Early-Career Dementia Researchers

It was announced last week that the Federal Government has pledged $46 million to support early-career dementia researchers.  

The Hon. Christopher Pyne MP stated that the government has committed to provide joint fellowships under a new scheme funded by the National Health and Medical Research Council and the Australian Research Council.

Alzheimer’s Australia welcomes the announcement says CEO, Carol Bennett. “This new funding means that we will be a step closer towards an Australia without dementia by engaging some of our best and brightest early- career researchers in the area of dementia research.”

Without continuous research into the disease, the number of people in Australia with dementia is expected to rise to almost 900’000 by 2050. “This is why it is vital that we invest in building capacity in the field of dementia research and encourage researchers to take up this major challenge” says Bennett. “Research supported under this initiative will translate into better treatments, care and services to people with dementia, and their families and carers.”

The fellowships will be available to early-career researchers who are interested in pursuing research in dementia. This funding is part of the government’s $200 million Boosting Dementia Research budget initiative.