Australia’s Governor-General Ms Sam Mostyn AC has awarded new research grants on behalf of Macular Disease Foundation Australia (MDFA) at a special event hosted at Admiralty House in Sydney.
As part of its 2025 funding round, MDFA is investing more than $1 million in eight groundbreaking projects aimed at tackling macular disease. This brings MDFA’s total research investment to $6.9 million across 42 projects since the program inception in 2011.
MDFA said the new research projects included studies that aimed to predict and prevent the progression of age-related macular degeneration (AMD), new software for collecting and analysing retinal images that could speed up diagnosis and treatment, and new gene therapy and targeted treatments for inherited diseases including Stargardt disease and macular telangiectasia (MacTel).
It said this year’s investment marked the third round of funding from the Grant Family Fund, a generous bequest that supported blue sky research projects led by early career researchers.
“We warmly congratulate the successful researchers whose work is driving innovation in macular disease,” said MDFA CEO Dr Kathy Chapman.
“I also want to extend our sincere thanks to the MDFA community review panel, external peer reviewers, and research grants panel. Their expert insights were invaluable during the selection process.”
Those keen to learn more about MDFA’s 2025 funded research can visti: https://www.mdfoundation.com.au/research/mdfa-funded-research/funded-research-projects/
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