Yeah the Girls: Victoria backs female-led research to help children with speech problems

The work of female researchers will be prioritised by the Victorian Labor Government through its investment in a new mRNA research acceleration fund and the next phase of a successful medical research fund.

Victoria’s Minister for Innovation, Medical Research and the Digital Economy Jaala Pulford unveiled the new mRNA Victoria Research Acceleration Fund and the 2021 round of the Victorian Medical Research Acceleration Fund yesterday, with combined funding of $5 million.

Both funds will provide extra weighting for grant applications received by women-led projects and those in which women make up at least half of the research team, including the work of Professor Angela Morgan who is producing a world-first treatment tool for speech disorders in children and adolescents.

Based at the Speech and Language group at Murdoch Children’s Research Institute (MCRI), Professor Morgan and her team are revolutionising how speech therapy is diagnosed with the ADAAPT tool.

The digital assessment and treatment planning tool diagnoses and treats all subtypes of speech disorders and is already helping children.

Applications are now open. For more details on both funds, visit djpr.vic.gov.au/acceleration-fund.