NSW Government
NSW Health and Medical Research

Ground-breaking Aboriginal-led research project on precision medicine

The NSW Government is investing $1.4 million into a ground-breaking Aboriginal-led research project on precision medicine that will aim to improve health outcomes for Aboriginal people in the state.

Professor Alex Brown and Minister Harris at the Genomics Alliance Australia meeting earlier this year.

The Precision Medicine for Public Health project (the P4P proposal) will work with Aboriginal communities across NSW to design and implement a platform which will deliver the benefits of precision medicine to Aboriginal people and communities.

Led by highly regarded Aboriginal genomic researcher and clinician Professor Alex Brown, a Yuin Nation man, the P4P proposal will fill a critical gap in precision medicine by engaging and empowering Aboriginal communities on a large scale, in the design, implementation and evaluation of an Aboriginal precision medicine and public health platform. 

Precision medicine uses a person’s genetic information and takes into account their environmental and lifestyle factors to develop tailored risk predictions, prevention and treatment strategies for diseases.

The first phase of the P4P proposal, to be funded by the NSW Government, will be undertaken in partnership with the NSW Aboriginal Health & Medical Research Council (AH&MRC), and involve extensive consultation with Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations (ACCHOs), Aboriginal communities, health system leaders and providers, academic and industry partners.

In the future, the project aims to recruit 1,000 Aboriginal people from across NSW to participate, with a focus on people with an elevated risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes or cancer. 

The project will bring together a number of lead investigators from across the state, including: 

  • Professor Alex Brown – Australian National University/The Kids Research Institute Australia
  • Professor David James – The University of Sydney 
  • Professor Ben Kile – The Garvan Institute of Medical Research
  • Professor Jason Kovacic – Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute 
  • Professor Daniel MacArthur – The Garvan Institute of Medical Research. 

The P4P proposal is being funded as part of the NSW Government’s $150 million investment over 10 years into cardiovascular research. 

Minister for Medical Research David Harris said:

“The Minns Labor Government is committed to closing the gap in health outcomes for Aboriginal people and the Precision Medicine for Public Health project is a ground-breaking example of this.

“The P4P project will build significant Aboriginal research capacity in NSW, with Professor Brown and the Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute providing world-leading supervision and mentoring to Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal researchers engaged on the project.

“Indigenous populations are underrepresented in global genomics efforts, so I am proud NSW is leading the way as a leader in medical research.” 

Professor Alex Brown said:

“The P4P initiative is an important piece of work to help empower Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in NSW and deliver a culturally safe precision medicine service which can, in turn, deliver better health outcomes.

“Ensuring that precision medicine delivers benefits to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people will require fundamental shifts in the commitment to culturally appropriate community engagement and governance, which this project will help deliver.”​

Updated 2 weeks ago