The Morrison Government is pleased to announce the next step in the $150 million Stem Cell Therapies Mission, with the release of the draft Roadmap for public consultation, which will help guide this 10-year investment in medical research.

The Mission is an opportunity for world-class Australian researchers to further investigate an area which presents significant opportunities for new medical treatments for many chronic and inherited diseases.

Australia is a global leader in stem cell science, with more 300 research laboratories focused on regenerative medicine and cell therapy.

Research advances over the last decade have shown the potential of stem cells to restore function to damaged tissues, engineer replacement tissues and organs and boost the body’s ability to heal itself.

Human stem cells can also be used in the lab to better understand what happens to the body during disease and to test new drugs without any risk to patients.

The Stem Cell Therapies Mission will support Australia’s talented researchers to further investigate what is possible through stem cell therapies.

The first grant opportunities under the Stem Cell Therapies Mission will begin in the coming months.

A Stem Cell Therapies Expert Advisory Panel has been selected to guide the Mission, and apply its experience and expertise to drafting the Roadmap.

The members of the panel are:

• Professor Melissa Little (Co-Chair), Murdoch Children’s Research Institute / University of Melbourne
• Professor Mark Kendall (Co-Chair), WearOptimo / Australian National University
• Professor Pritinder Kaur, Curtin University
• Dr Siok Tey, QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute
• Professor Simon Koblar, University of Adelaide
• Professor Stephanie Watson, University of Sydney
• Dr Christine Walker, Chronic Illnesses Alliance
• Dr Dan Grant, MTPConnect
• Associate Professor Megan Munsie, University of Melbourne
• Professor Peter Rathjen, University of Adelaide
• Professor Maria Kavallaris, University of New South Wales / Children’s Cancer Institute
• Professor Iona Novak, Cerebral Palsy Alliance Research Institute

The Morrison Government is funding the mission through its $20 billion Medical Research Future Fund-the single largest boost in health and medical research funding in Australia’s history.

The MRFF supports our world-class Australian researchers to make discoveries, develop a global biotech industry and enable the implementation of significant changes in health care.