- Cook Labor Government awards almost $2 million to WA's medical researchers
- Cutting-edge innovation projects backed by the Government's Future Health Research and Innovation Fund
- Supporting local medical researchers will benefit Western Australians
A Western Australian innovator working to slash the time it takes doctors to identify how to treat individual patients with antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections has received new funding.
Curtin University's Associate Professor Anthony Kicic is one of four innovators to share in nearly $2 million for projects harnessing generative artificial intelligence applications to drive improvements in healthcare.
Medical Research Minister Stephen Dawson congratulated the recipients of the Innovation Challenge - Generative Artificial Intelligence Applications stage 2 program, supported by the State Government's groundbreaking Future Health Medical Research and Innovation (FHRI) Fund.
A/Professor Kicic will use $500,000 to further his work linking artificial intelligence and antibiotic-resistant 'superbugs'- bacterial infections such as 'golden staph' (staphylococcus) - to find effective treatments.
As part of this, he is examining bacteriophages ('phages'), viruses that infect and replicate only in bacterial cells. Phages infect specific bacteria - essentially 'eating' the bacteria. In certain cases, phages may provide an alternative to the use of antibiotics.
A/Professor Kicic is developing a platform - PHAEDRA (Phage bacteriA genomE Diagnostics Recognition via Artificial Intelligence) to run simulations to quickly find phages expected to be effective against a person's particular bacterial infection.
This would save waiting up to five days for laboratory work - revolutionary when timeliness is crucial to save a patient's life.
The Innovation Challenge - Generative Artificial Intelligence Applications program provides grants to researchers to find solutions to challenges in health and medical research, innovation, healthcare service delivery and medical education and training.
In stage 1, successful applicants conducted feasibility studies on their concepts. Stage 2 funding allows the successful innovators to develop and put their solutions into practice.
Since the FHRI Fund was established in 2020, approximately $215 million in grants has been awarded to more than 650 recipients, to support health and medical research and innovation in WA. Over the next four years a further $277 million is available to invest in more programs and initiatives.
Visit the FHRI Fund website for more information.
Comments attributed to Medical Research Minister Stephen Dawson:
"The Cook Government is committed to enhancing our local health and medical research industry as it will improve the health and wellbeing outcomes for Western Australians.
"I congratulate these grant recipients in the artificial intelligence sphere. This funding will support our health and medical innovators to take their ideas from exciting concepts to the real-world, with real-world benefits.
"The Cook Government's groundbreaking FHRI Fund plays a vital role in backing local health and medical innovators to carry out these important endeavours which could have a global impact."
Innovation Challenge - Generative Artificial Intelligence Applications
Stage 2 recipients:
Recipient |
Responsible entity |
Project |
Funding |
Professor Girish Dwivedi |
The University of Western Australia |
Synergistic explainable AI and generative models to improve ECG diagnostic accuracy and confidence in diagnosis |
$481,105 |
A/Professor Anthony Kicic |
Curtin University |
Using in-silico generative artificial intelligence modelling to predict bacteriophage activity against specific AMR bacteria |
$500,000 |
Dr Brennen Mills |
Edith Cowan University |
AI-driven virtual character simulation for aggression and violence de-escalation training in virtual reality |
$499,660 |
Dr Guanjin Wang |
Murdoch University |
Co-designed interpretable generative AI solution to improve critical service of perinatal mental health assessment for Aboriginal families |
$474,161 |
