$300,000 Research Scholarship Awarded

The industry partner for Moxon’s research project is the Townsville Hospital and Health Service.

He says “I’m working with a lot of people actually, with the aim of trying to identify ways of better diagnosing stroke.”

Joseph Moxon says there is a need to diagnose stroke rapidly.

“I was amazed to discover that there is no rapid way to diagnose stroke. It’s crazy! The only way they [doctors] can diagnose stroke currently, is to image the brain using a CT scanner or an MRI machine and couple this with specialist observation.” says Moxon

On August 1^st, Dr Moxon will start his clinical research into stroke, aiming to recruit 150-170 patients presenting to the Townsville Hospital.

He says “I will be recruiting people with suspected stroke. What we want to be able to do is develop a test which can tell us whether the patient has actually had a stroke, or whether they are suffering from something that mimics stroke. Treatment options differ significantly for each of these scenarios”

Dr Moxon says he will measure the levels of a blood marker called Angiopoietin 1, in patients who have had a stroke and compare the results with patients who haven’t had a stroke.

“We will measure Angiopoietin 1 concentrations at presentation and will then catch up with the patients three months later. The aim of this is to see whether that Angiopoietin 1 concentration relates to initial diagnosis, and can be used to predict how well they are doing during recovery.” says Moxon.

He says that his research can result in economic health care savings.

“If our blood tests come through as successful, we can actually model potential health care savings associated with instigating treatment promptly. Ideally if it all goes well, it would be great to develop a useful diagnostic that can go on to form the basis of a point of care test eventually.” says Moxon

He says that his research could have real life impact and change the way stroke is diagnosed.

In addition, the Queensland Government also awarded Professor Emma McBryde a $300,000 Mid-career Research fellowship award to support her research into antibiotic resistant infections and her partnership with the Townsville Hospital and Health Service.

Congratulations to Joseph and Emma.