Centres of Research Excellence Fund

2006 Expressions of Interest

Building Interdisciplinary Research in Non-Communicable Diseases (BIRIND)

Director:  Assoc Prof. Jeroen Douwes
Host:        Massey University

Partners:   Malaghan Institute of Medical Research
                 Research Centre for Maori Health and Development
                 Ministry of Health
                 Airway Research Centre, John Hunter Hospital

Abstract:

Non-communicable diseases are the leading causes of morbidity and mortality in New Zealand, and the prevalence of many of these conditions is increasing. For improved prevention and treatment strategies to be developed a better understanding of the causal exposures and the underlying mechanisms is required. These often involve a complex interplay between environmental exposures, immunological and toxicological mechanisms, and social and cultural factors. There are considerable advantages in studying non-communicable diseases as a group, in a multidisciplinary manner, as there are common methodologies, common causes, and common approaches to their control. We propose to establish a Centre of Research Excellence that will take a multidisciplinary approach to non-communicable diseases, particularly respiratory disease, cancer, and diabetes. Similar initiatives have been developed in Europe and the US, but in New Zealand this has to date not been the case. The centre will bring together the leading experts in public health and epidemiology, Maori health, immunology and molecular biology, and clinical research in non-communicable disease in New Zealand (and Australia) to form a national Centre for Research Excellence in Non-communicable Disease. The research centres involved include the Massey University Centre for Public Health Research and Research Centre for Māori Health and Development, the Malaghan Institute of Medical Research, the University of Newcastle Airway Research Centre, and the Public Health Intelligence unit of the Ministry of Health. These centres are already conducting a wide range of research into the causes and aetiological mechanisms of non-communicable diseases. The proposed centre will enable these research activities to be coordinated, expanded, and made more comprehensive within a multidisciplinary research team of public health, clinical and biomedical researchers, with the aim of identifying and preventing the major causes of non-communicable diseases, as well as improving treatment strategies.