We are pleased to announce that new devices and drugs to prevent organ failure in critically ill patients will be the target of a $5 million programme grant awarded to STaR Centre researchers by the Health Research Council (HRC) of New Zealand.

This 5 year HRC programme will investigate lymphatic dysfunction in acute and critical illness and is directed towards reducing the incidence of organ failure, the leading cause of death in intensive care units around the world.

The programme is co-directed by Professors John Windsor and Anthony Phillips and hosted by the cross-faculty Surgical and Translational Research (STaR) Centre at the University of Auckland (UOA). The four project leads are from the Auckland Bioengineering Institute, UOA (Professor Merryn Tawhai), the Applied Surgery and Metabolism Laboratory in the School of Biological Sciences, UOA (Professor Phillips), the Surgical Trials Unit in the Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences, UOA (Professor Windsor), and the Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences in Melbourne (A/Professor Natalie Trevaskis).

This HRC programme award is very exciting news for the critical illness research field – congratulations to the team, and let the work begin!

To view the lay summary and the full researcher team list please visit the HRC webpage: https://www.hrc.govt.nz/resources/research-repository/translating-treatments-lymphatic-dysfunction-associated-organ-failure