Julie Simpson and Margarita Moreno-Betancur awarded 2025 NHMRC Investigator Grants
Congratulations to Margarita and Julie who were today awarded 2025 NHMRC Investigator Grants to continue their leading research.
Novel methods for causal analyses of longitudinal data to inform interventions for improving health
Prof Margarita Moreno-Betancur
Modern health research is increasingly enriched with diverse data sources, such as biosamples, which hold the potential to unlock crucial insights into disease causality. However, the current lack of advanced analytical tools and expertise has hindered this potential. This program aims to bridge these gaps by developing, disseminating, and applying innovative data analysis methods, while also building much-needed national biostatistical capacity. The expected outcomes include urgently needed tools, expertise, and new knowledge that will significantly enhance health improvement efforts.
Within ViCBiostat, Margarita leads a team of researchers investigating Causal inference in health data science: advancing understanding and methods.
Innovative Approaches to Optimising Existing and New Antimalarial Therapies
Prof Julie Simpson
Malaria is a major global health problem, causing over 240 million cases and 600,000 deaths annually. The global malaria burden is rising, exacerbated by drug resistance and inadequate treatments. This research program will investigate safe and effective antimalarial treatments for falciparum and vivax malaria, inform the dosing regimens of new antimalarials, build research capacity and foster new leaders in the cross-disciplinary field of biostatistics and applied mathematics.
Julie leads the ViCBiostat project stream Integration of biostatistics and mathematical modelling to accelerate malaria elimination, working closely with local researchers at the University of Melbourne and international collaborators.
