This year the Royal Hobart Hospital Research Foundation is proud to be celebrating our 25th anniversary! Over that time, thanks to generous community support, we have invested $10 million across hundreds of local medical research projects. We've highlighted a few of these projects below, showing your support has helped improve countless lives both here in Tasmania and around the world.
In 1999 The Foundation started supporting Dr Simon Brown and his team, who were exploring treatments into potentially lethal jack jumper ant stings. As a result of this ground-breaking research, a jack jumper desensitisation clinic was established at the Royal Hobart Hospital and deaths from jack jumper ant stings have been prevented in Tasmania ever since.
Glaucoma is an eye condition that, if left untreated, can cause blindness. Over 25 years ago, the Foundation supported the Glaucoma Inheritance Study in Tasmania under the guidance of Professor David Mackey AO to capture DNA samples to help find the genes that cause the disease. It has now become one of the longest-running investigations that helps predict who is at risk of developing the disease and preventing blindness.
A Foundation-funded study led by Professor Peter Dargaville has gone on to change the lives of premature babies around the world. In 2012, the team developed a less invasive approach to deliver life-saving medication to help these infants breathe and limit complications. After further global studies, the Hobart Method was proven to be a game-changing therapy and quickly gained traction in neonatal intensive care units around the world.
More recently, the Foundation has been funding research into the development of a non-invasive screening test to detect the risk of Alzheimer's disease. Led by Associate Professor Jane Alty, this tool will enable people with early-stage Alzheimer’s to commence intensive risk modification and enter drug trials before their brain is irreparably damaged.
Thank you to all of you who have been on our journey with us over this time - we couldn't do it without you. But there is still so much more research to be done! Please donate today, so we can continue to fund incredible medical research right here in Tasmania and improve outcomes for people around the world. Call our office on (03) 6166 1319 or donate online.
