Orygen is a lead partner of a consortium that will develop the Australian Eating Disorders Research and Translation Centre.
Announced on Saturday by Minister for Health and Aged Care, Greg Hunt, the Centre is supported by a $13m four-year grant from the Australian Government and will coordinate a national approach to eating disorder research and translate findings into practice - with the goal of reducing the burden on Australians living with an eating disorder, as well as their families.
Professor Patrick McGorry, executive director of Orygen, said the award of this grant to support a long overdue wave of innovation and research in eating disorders could not have come at a more critical time with a new surge in eating disorders during the pandemic.
“Orygen is delighted to have the opportunity to work in a collaborative partnership with InsideOut at the University of Sydney to create a fresh approach to the understanding, prevention and treatment of eating disorders.”
We are very grateful to the Australian Government for devoting vital new research funding to this neglected public health priority,” said Professor McGorry.
InsideOut Director Associate Professor Sarah Maguire said until recently, research innovation in the field of eating disorders has been hampered by insufficient resourcing and lack of a coherent vision and plan. She says the grant is an important first step in addressing inequities in funding for eating disorder research and translation.
“This announcement is about the future. It’s about supporting and enabling much-needed scientific breakthroughs that help prevent illness, that get people better and ensure our treatments don’t inadvertently cause harm,” said Professor Maguire
National partners include Orygen, Latrobe University, Monash University, Monash Biomedicine Discovery Institute, Australian National University, Deakin University, Black Dog Institute, University of Western Australia, University of Queensland (Institute for Molecular Bioscience) and QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute.