Several of Children’s Medical Research Institute’s (CMRI) most experienced scientists have been awarded prestigious Australian Government Medical Research Future Fund grants for their work in cutting edge gene therapy and stem cell therapies.

The grants were announced this week. They went to Professor Tracy Bryan, Associate Professor Wendy Gold, Dr Anai Gonzalez Cordero, and Dr Marti Cabanes-Creus.

Dr Gonzalez Cordero received her grant to develop a stem cell product that can be effectively delivered to patients to treat retinal degeneration diseases. She will be working with other CMRI researchers on the project, including Professor Patrick Tam, Associate Professor Pengyi Yang, and Dr Hani Kim.

Dr Cabanes-Creus will lead a team aiming to develop gene therapies for the bleeding disorder haemophilia A. He will be working with CMRI researcher Dr Suzanne Scott.

Professor Gold will use her grant to develop new treatments and therapies for Rett syndrome which is the most prevalent form of childhood dementia. She will be working with CMRI scientists Dr Mark Graham, Dr Iggy Pang, and Dr Gonzalez Cordero.

Professor Bryan will be working with collaborators at St Vincent’s Institute of Medical Research and several other institutes to develop cutting-edge gene editing technologies to assist patients with devastating bone marrow failure using stem cell therapies.

CMRI’s Director Professor Roger Reddel thanked the Medical Research Future Fund for so generously funding so many projects at CMRI and congratulated the recipients.

“We’re in the business of coming up with ideas that no one has thought of before, so we’re very grateful to the Australian Government for recognising that our scientists are worth investing in for future generations.’’