DISCOVERY GRANT
About
Our Discovery Grants are a part of the mid-range grant program and fund up to $30,000 for curiosity-driven research across all specialties, that asks important questions and seeks to unlock new knowledge. With a focus on innovation and research excellence, these grants help researchers explore promising ideas that could lead to future breakthroughs in care.
Additional mid-range grant awards are:
• Ray Florence Shaw Trust, up to $30,000 for one research project in Cardiovascular research and up to $30,000 for one research project in Ophthalmology research.
• Bob Johnson and Jenny Llanos Respiratory Grants, up to $30,000 each awarded to the top two scoring applicants in Respiratory medicine.
2026-27 Discovery Grant Applications are now Open!
Application close, 6pm Tuesday 15 September, 2026.
Please review the below forms for relavant information applying for The Discovery Grants and submit your application by email to scgh.researchgrants@health.wa.gov.au. Applications close 6pm, Tuesday 15 September 2026.
Application Form
Guidelines and Conditions
Assessment Criteria
Since 2020, your support has made possible:
89
Discovery Grants Awarded
Over $2.57 Million
Discovery Grants Awarded to Transform WA Patient Health Outcomes
Across 19
Bright Ideas Research Focus Areas
*Last Updated: 02/12/2025
2025 - 2026 Grant Winners
Prof. Antonio Celenza
Department: ICU
Project: Improving understanding and treatment of sepsis with an innovative laboratory-based human model.
Dr Jan Ho
Department: Neurology
Project: Developing a research program with stroke survivors and healthcare workers to collect and store clinical information, blood and saliva for a WA stroke study with follow up to 5 years
Prof. YC Gary Lee
Department: Respiratory
Project: The evaporate multi-center randomized clinical Trial: Placing one-way valves in the lungs to help patients with collapsed lungs
Clin. Prof. Michaela Lucas
Department: Immunology
Project: Can a simple skin tape test help diagnose and monitor Drug Reactions with Eosinophilia and Systemic Symptoms?
Prof.Scott WIlson
Department: Endocrinology & Diabetes
Projects: Finding the regulatory elements in DNA that control bone-resorbing cells and increase the risk of fragility fractures.
Prof. Wai Lim
Department: Nephrology & Renal Transplant
Project: Health and transplant outcomes of people living with a kidney transplant and advanced cancer
Dr. Broska Zeynel
Department: Ophthalmology
Project: Clear Vision, Clean Future: Measuring the Carbon Cost of Eye Procedures at SCGH
Jo Beer
Department: Dietetics & Nutrition
Project: Keeping Your New Kidney Healthy: Understanding Body and Blood Sugar Changes following kidney transplantation
Clin. Prof. John Walsh
(Accepted by Purdey Campbell)
Department: Endocrinology & Diabetes
Project: Testing how individual differences in DNA sequence affect thyroid function and disease
Dr. Dhaval Thakkar
Department: Respiratory
Project: Comparing two navigation techniques to guide flexible scopes to access small, remote lung nodules suspicious of cancer
Dr. Lipi Mishra
Department: ICU
Project: Brain wave monitoring to give early warning of dangerous vessel spasm and stroke risk after a brain bleed.
A/Prof. Kathy Zhu
Department: Endocrinology & Diabetes
Project: How do co-existing clinical risk factors impact the rate of bone loss?
Confirmation Content
*Last Updated: 29/06/2025
2024-25 Grant Winners
Professor Bronwyn Stuckey
Department: Endocrinology and Diabetes
Project Title: Does hormone treatment of infants with undescended testes improve fertility in adult life?
A/Prof Mahsheed Sabet
Department: Radiation Oncology
Project Title: Sparing the Maximum Healthy Lung Volume during Lung Cancer Radiation Therapy by Predicting the Tumour Motion from Pre-Recorded Patient Factors
Prof Michaela Lucas
Department: Immunology
Project Title: Finding targets for new drugs to prevent rejection of transplanted organs
Ms Alice Boyle
Department: Occupational Therapy
Project Title: Can access to early hand therapy improve clinical, service and cost outcomes for patients with hand and upper limb injuries on surgical outpatient waiting lists?
A/Prof Kun Kathy Zhu
Department: Endocrinology & Diabetes
Project Title: Analysis of molecular pathways involved in osteoporosis for the development of therapies.
Dr Bryan Ward
Department: Endocrinology & Diabetes
Project Title: Examination of the regulation of a gene, CYP19A1, that is linked to osteoporosis, in the cells that are important for bone turnover
Dr Aaron Rusnak
Department: Endocrine Surgery
Project Title: Identifying the location of parathyroid glands on 4DCT imaging with a diagnostic tool powered by artificial intelligence
Dr Gemma Doleman
Project Title: Developing, implementing and evaluating a co-designed support strategy for nurse managers
Dr Elon van Dijk
Department: Ophthalmology
Project Title: Finding early signs of human cancer and its response to therapy
A/Prof Lingjun Mou
General Surgery/WA Liver and Kidney Transplant
Project Title: Redefining the anatomy of liver segments in a micro-CT study of cadaveric livers
A/Prof Matthew Anstey
Department: Intensive Care
Project Title: Detecting changes in muscle size and function in intensive care survivors using MRI imaging
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