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Home > News / Events / Seminars > News

NEWS

 

 

Art auction raises funds for vital brain research

 

 

Artworks by some of Australia’s leading contemporary artists and photographers were auctioned at Randwick’s Prince of Wales Medical Research Institute (POWMRI) on Tuesday night.

The auction was held to raise money for the Institute which is a world leader in studies of brain disorders including dementia, falls in the elderly, spinal injury, schizophrenia and motor neurone disease. 

Sotheby’s Georgina Pemberton was the auctioneer for the evening. Ms. Pemberton is Sotheby’s Director and Head of Australian Paintings. 

Artists on display included works by Kate Shaw, Fiona Hall, Janet Laurence, Marion Borgelt, Peter Alwast, Guan Wei and Richard Stanford and photographers Bill Henson and Tracey Moffatt. 

Two indigenous artists’ work, by Regina Wilson and Gloria Petyarre, were also featured in the auction. 

The selection of works was negotiated by art valuer Annette Larkin, formerly Associate Director and Head of Contemporary Art at Christie’s Australia. 

The Institute’s CEO, Prof. Peter Schofield, hosted and MC’d the event with Chairman of the Board of the The Brains Trust, Mr. Paul Brassil, of Price WaterhouseCoopers.

 

 

Dementia and spinal injury research boosted by research facility opening

A new $3 million dollar medical research facility which will focus on studies of dementia, falls in the elderly, spinal injury, schizophrenia and motor neurone disease was opened in Sydney today by the NSW Minister for Science and Medical Research, Jodi McKay. 

The Prince of Wales Medical Research Institute’s Prince Henry Wing will accommodate some of the world’s leading clinical researchers into some of the major brain disorders that afflict more than three million Australians each year. 

Chief Executive of the Prince of Wales Medical Research Institute (POWMRI), Prof Peter Schofield said the new wing was named in recognition of the Prince Henry Hospital Centenary Research Fund’s support for medical research, and the historical importance of now closed Prince Henry Hospital in the establishment of the Institute. 

“Medical research has always relied on philanthropic support, and in the current environment many organisations are under real financial pressure,” Prof Schofield said.  

“The generosity and foresight of the Prince Henry Hospital Centenary Research Fund (PHHCRF) to continue the support of the Institute through its $1 million donation has helped make this new wing a reality. 

"The Prince Henry Wing, which is also supported by a grant from the Australian Government, is strategically critical to our work. 

“We urgently need the space that the Prince Henry Wing will provide to manage our growth and needs for our current research projects” said Prof Schofield. 

POWMRI’s capital development program plans will see the development of a new purpose-built medical research facility – the Neuroscience Research Precinct. 

The Federal Government has provided a $30 million capital grant towards the development of the Neuroscience Research Precinct, based on POWMRI providing or fundraising an additional $5 million.    

“The development of the Neuroscience Research Precinct has been planned to allow staged growth of the Institute and to provide an opportunity to co-locate with other researchers from the Hospital and University,” Prof Schofield said.    

“However, we still need to raise significantly more funding to reach the required target to allow complete fit out of the Neuroscience Research Precinct.” 

The NSW Government has also been an ongoing supporter of Prince of Wales Medical Research Institute through its Medical Research Support Program funding. 

“The Medical Research Support Program funding is crucial to us providing the infrastructure that allows our research to be undertaken. The $4.5 million funding for POWMRI helps us to leverage Commonwealth and philanthropic support. The Institute, staff and those who benefit most from our research outcomes are most appreciative of this support from the NSW government,” Prof. Peter Schofield, CEO of the Prince of Wales Medical Research Institute, said today.

The Neuroscience Research Precinct has been submitted as a Major Project Planning Application to the Department of Planning. 

For more information: John Hanrahan, Lighthouse Communications – 0411 212 965.

 

 

NEW SCHIZOPHRENIA TREATMENT

As highlighted in the ABC’s Australian Story on Monday 11 May, new findings open up significant opportunities for treatments for schizophrenia, commencing with a world first, three-year clinical drug trial commencing in July at the Prince of Wales Medical Research Institute.

Leading schizophrenia researcher, Prof Cyndi Shannon Weickert, has discovered that a brain receptor that normally stimulates growth during adolescence can be abnormal in people with schizophrenia. Prof Shannon Weickert is the Macquarie Group Foundation Chair of Schizophrenia Research, a joint initiative of POWMRI, SRI and UNSW.

The research trial, which plans to recruit 88 male and female people with schizophrenia who are 18 to 45 years old, is being co-led by the Institute’s Dr Thomas Weickert who is also a senior lecturer at UNSW School of Psychiatry.

“We now know that this brain receptor does not work correctly in many people with schizophrenia,” said Prof Shannon Weickert. “With this drug trial, we plan to stimulate the faulty receptor to restore its function. This change in receptor function should lead to improvements in thinking ability, language, memory, motivation, and social skills.”

Participants will take Raloxifene, which is already used to treat cancer and osteoporosis, in addition to their ongoing medication. Raloxifene stimulates the oestrogen hormone receptor in the brain but does not produce feminising side-effects in males.

The aim is to learn how this oestrogen receptor regulator can influence thinking ability and social function in people with schizophrenia to determine whether this drug can also be used as a new additional therapy for these treatment resistant problems in people with schizophrenia.

If you are interested in taking part in the trials, contact Dr Richard Morris on 02 9399 1142 or email r.morris@powmri.edu.au

View the Australian Story Program

Make a donation to Schizophrenia Research

Media contacts:
Anne Graham, POWMRI, 02 9399 1077; 0411 783 027

 

 

Brainworks Newsletters

Brainworks_Sept03   Autumn 2009 issue, featuring articles on Prof George Paxinos and his Outstanding Scientist (Australia Fellowship) award, how we can make ourselves more balanced by dancing, letters from supporters and new techniques in diagnosing dementia.
 
Brainworks_Sept03   Spring 2008 issue, featuring articles on the Human Tissue Resource Centre and the importance of brain donation to research, the inaugural Australian Association of Gerontology National Workshop, Growing Old Well: A life cycle approach for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples, and various awards to POWMRI researchers.

 

Brainworks_Sept03   Autumn 2008 issue, featuring articles on the respiratory capacity of patients with spinal cord injury, research into stroke rehabilitation, Genetic Repositories Australia and an invitation to attend "Melbourne Signature Chefs" Food for Thought Gala Dinner to be held 28 July 2008 at the Four Seasons Hotel, Sydney.

 

Brainworks_Sept03   December 2007 issue, featuring articles on Professor John Hodges, the Schizophrenia Research Bank, Lynne Bilston's appointment to the Products Safety Committee, dementia in indigenous Australians

 

Brainworks_Sept03   October 2007 issue, featuring the official opening of the Schizophrenia Research Laboratory by the Premier of NSW, the Honourable Morris Iemma, MP and the recent awards bestowed upon two of the Institute's young researchers.

 

     
     

Annual Reports

Annual Report 2007   2007
Annual Report 01-02   2006
Annual Report 01-02   2005
Annual Report 01-02   2003-2004

Annual Report 01-02

  2002-2003

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  2001-2002

Annual Report 2000_01

  2000-2001

Annual Report 99

  1999-2000

 

Annual Financial Reports

Annual Financial Report 2006-2007   2006-2007

 

Media Releases

Annual Report 01-02   Art and photographic works to be auctioned for brain research
Annual Report 01-02   World Leader in Dementia Research
Annual Report 01-02   $30 Million Boost to Dementia Research
Annual Report 01-02   Science's answer to the spelling bee
Annual Report 01-02   Parkinson’s research grant awarded by GlaxoSmithKline
Annual Report 01-02  

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome grant success

Annual Report 01-02   Major Boost for Schizophrenia
Annual Report 01-02   Medical/Media Awards recognise researcher's media talent
Annual Report 01-02   Early warning test for Parkinson’s receives national recognition
Annual Report 01-02   How stimulation can control walking and balance
Annual Report 01-02   Children at Risk from Poor Restraint in Cars
Annual Report 01-02   Government delivers on Mental Illness Research
Annual Report 01-02   New clues on Motor Neurone Disease
Annual Report 01-02   Nature, Nurture and the Risk of Depression
Annual Report 01-02   Spinal Research Grants announced
Annual Report 01-02   New findings into treatment of Parkinson's disease
Annual Report 01-02   Children being put at risk by improper seat belt use
Annual Report 01-02   Eight Million Dollar commitment to schizophrenia research

Schizophrenia - Key Facts

Annual Report 01-02

 

New head for brain and mind research

Annual Report 01-02

 

Spinal cord injury release

 

News Archive

Annual Report 01-02   How the Mind Senses Movement
Annual Report 01-02   Spacesuit to aid research
Annual Report 01-02   Institute Scientist Wins Writing Competition
Annual Report 01-02   Institute Scientist Honoured
Annual Report 01-02   Inaugural Australian Falls Prevention Conference
Annual Report 01-02   New technique seeks to cut spinal deaths
Annual Report 01-02   Car restraints: the push for better protection
Annual Report 01-02   New Executive Director & CEO appointed
Annual Report 01-02   First Australian to receive prestigious award
Annual Report 01-02   Bridge hard to trump for elderly determined to stay sharp
Annual Report 01-02   Treatment for Dementia one step closer
Annual Report 01-02   Dementia sufferers wrongly diagnosed
Annual Report 01-02   From Boomer to Blooming in Old Age