Research Projects
Medical Research Grants
- Are you a health professional and/or researcher wanting to undertake eosinophilic disease research in Australia?
- We invite you to submit a research grant application for projects up to $25,000 that aim to improve the diagnosis, monitoring and treatment options for people living with an eosinophilic disease.
- ausEE Inc. has been funding medical research grants since 2015 thanks to the generous support of our donors and through our annual Top 8 Challenge campaign.
- To request support from ausEE's Medical Research Fund, please complete our Research Grant Application.
Awarded Grants
May 2025 - Awarded grant funding of $15,000 to Dr Alberto Pinzon Charry, Dr Geoffrey Withers, Dr Looi Ee, Dr Mounavi Vemula, Dr Tatjana Banovic and Ms Kerri Prain from Queensland Children’s Hospital and Pathology Queensland for their research project titled ‘Correlation of Eosinophilic Oesophagitis Activity with Eosinophil Progenitor Levels in a Paediatric Cohort in Queensland’. This study aims to assess the level of Eosinophil Progenitor Cells in the peripheral blood of children with EoE and whether they correlate with disease activity. If successful, this minimally invasive methodology would allow disease monitoring through a blood marker and minimise the need for repeated endoscopic assessments.
October 2023 – Awarded additional grant funding of $10,000 to Professor Guy Eslick, Professor Mike Jones, Professor Marjorie Walker and Professor Nicholas J. Talley from The University of Newcastle for continuation of their research project titled ‘Are disorders of gut-brain interaction (DGBI) due to EGIDs’. This study aims to assess the relationship between eosinophilic gastrointestinal disorders (EGIDs) and disorders of gut-brain interaction (DGBI). Disorders of gut-brain interaction (DGBI) include Functional Dyspepsia, Irritable bowel Syndrome, and Rumination Syndrome. This study may identify important new links between EGIDs and DGBIs that had not been previously reported. This may provide new information on the mechanisms by which eosinophils induce pathology and lead to new novel options for future treatment.
September 2023 - Awarded grant funding of $9,000 to Nicole Hannan from Southern Cross University for a pilot feasibility trial of Meriva® curcumin phytosome® for adults with eosinophilic oesophagitis (EoE). The purpose of this study is to test two different doses of Curcutex Meriva® Curcumin Phytosome®, a naturally derived herbal product, to determine if it is feasible for the management of EoE in adults. Meriva® is a product containing natural compounds known as curcuminoids from the root of the turmeric (Curcuma longa) plant. Curcutex Meriva® Curcumin Phytosome® is registered with our Australian regulatory body, the Therapeutics Goods Administration (TGA). This research is important given little is known about the use, safety and efficacy of Meriva® for EoE. The findings of this study will help to determine if Meriva® is a potential treatment option for people living with EoE that could be examined further through clinical research. This study is being conducted by a team of highly experienced researchers at the National Centre for Naturopathic Medicine (NCNM) from Southern Cross University (SCU).
May 2022 – Awarded grant funding of $25,000 to Professor Guy Eslick, Professor Mike Jones, Professor Marjorie Walker and Professor Nicholas J. Talley from the NHMRC Centre for Research Excellence in Digestive Health and The University of Newcastle. This study aims to assess the relationship between eosinophilic gastrointestinal disorders (EGIDs) and disorders of gut-brain interaction (DGBI). Disorders of gut-brain interaction (DGBI) include Functional Dyspepsia, Irritable bowel Syndrome, and Rumination Syndrome. The project will involve obtaining General Practice (GP) patient data from the United Kingdom, the data comes from ‘The Health Improvement Network’ (THIN) database, which represents 6% of the UK population. The research team hope to use this data to identify the overall relationships between EGIDs and DGBIs. This study may identify important new links between EGIDs and DGBIs that had not been previously reported. This may provide new information on the mechanisms by which eosinophils induce pathology and lead to new novel options for future treatment. Published findings from this research: Eosinophilic oesophagitis (EoE): Risk factors, relationship with disorders of gut-brain interactions (DGBI), and mortality.
September 2020 - Made a contribution from our Medical Research Fund of $3,000 to support the project ‘Rapid increase in the prevalence of Eosinophilic Esophagitis (EoE) among Australasian children: A decade of experience from 6 Capital cities’ which is a collaboration research study from Australian specialists, Dr Ajay Sharma, Dr Hamish Philpott and Dr Avi Lemberg.
June 2019 - Awarded grant funding of $25,000 to Professor Pete Smith and his research team from Griffith University for an eosinophilic oesophagitis innovative research project.
June 2018 - Awarded grant funding of $25,000 to Dr Jeremy Rosenbaum of Paediatric Gastroenterology Victoria to help facilitate EoE research projects and improve quality of care.
May 2017 - Awarded additional grant funding of $10,000 to Dr Hamish Philpott and Dr Evan Dellon for the continuing work of their research project titled 'Antigen presentation and acute inflammation in EoE'. This research is being conducted through the Monash University in collaboration with University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. The project aims to measure the immunophenotype of inflammation in the oesophagus following food antigen exposure.
November 2016 - Awarded grant funding of $8,000 to Dr Hamish Philpott, Dr Evan Dellon and Dr Sanjay Nandurkar for the research project 'Antigen presentation and acute inflammation in EoE'. This project has the potential to streamline the diagnosis and treatment of patients who present with oesophageal eosinophilia.
March 2016 - Donated $20,000 research funds supporting a new study from The University of Newcastle. This study aims to develop new treatments for Eosinophilic Esophagitis (EoE) and other eosinophilic gastrointestinal disorders (EGIDs). Currently there are few options for the management of these conditions. This study aims to create new targeted drug delivery therapies through the use of nanotechnology. The study is being conducted at the University of Newcastle, Hunter Medical Research Institute and John Hunter Hospital.
June 2015 - Awarded the Royal Prince Alfred Clinical Immunology & Serology team a grant of $8,000 towards its latest research into EoE. Their research will take blood samples from adult patients before, during and after their treatment in the hopes of identifying certain biomarkers in the blood in order to help detect foods that may be associated with the activation of EoE. If successful it could help in the selection of appropriate dietary restrictions with a blood test, rather than an invasive endoscopy. Although the study focuses on adults with EoE, the results could point specialists in the right direction for EoE management for all ages. Published findings from this research: ASCIA-P1: The utility of serum-based testing in the diagnosis and monitoring of eosinophilic oesophagitis.
Support ausEE's Medical Research Fund
Medical research takes us one step closer to a cure. A special thanks to our supporters who make ausEE’s medical research grants possible. If you’d like to help us fund more research, please make a tax deductible donation to our medical research fund here. Donations of $100 and over are acknowledged in our Annual Report.
Research Project: Home Enteral Nutrition and/or Elemental Formula Quality of Life
This study was conducted by Dr Mercedez Hinchcliff, a researcher at the University of Wollongong and President of ausEE Inc. The purpose of this research was to investigate tube feeding and elemental formula use in Australia/New Zealand and health-related quality of life. The study survey was open from February 2023 to October 2023 and the Summary of Survey Results were released during Feeding Tube Awareness Week 2024.
Read the abstract ‘Evaluating Quality of Life in patients who use Home Enteral Nutrition in Australia/New Zealand’ in the Journal of Gastroenterology and Hepatology AGW24 Supplement, Nutrition section here.
This study has been reviewed by the Human Research Ethics Committee (Social Science, Humanities and Behavioural Science) of the University of Wollongong.
This study has been reviewed by the Human Research Ethics Committee (Social Science, Humanities and Behavioural Science) of the University of Wollongong.
Page last modified: 12 May 2025