Jack Thomson Arthritis Fund Inaugural Award

University of Otago arthritis research is being boosted through the awarding of the first grant from a new Otago Medical Research Foundation fund established to support research into the disease in Otago.  The inaugural $34,970 grant from the Jack Thomson Arthritis Fund will support a project titled: “Subtypes of inflammation in Rheumatoid Arthritis.

Dr Paul Hessian (left) and Professor John Highton are delighted to be the inaugural recipients of this award

The late William John ‘Jack’ Thomson was a former Dunedin chartered accountant and company secretary, who died in Dunedin in September 2008 aged 83. Mr Thomson suffered from debilitating arthritis in his later years. Last year, his estate released a $2 million dollar bequest establishing the fund. The Otago Medical Research Foundation will award two grants annually from the fund for specific research into the cause and treatment of arthritis.

Professor John Highton of the Department of Medicine and two co-investigators will use the inaugural grant to study the role of certain inflammatory immune system molecules in rheumatoid arthritis.  The researchers will investigate whether measuring expression of these molecules in the bloodstream and in joints can identify a subgroup of patients who suffer more severe forms of the disease, Professor Highton says.

Annual Grants 2012

Our Annual Grant round  for OMRF and  Community Trust of Otago sponsored grants is about to kick off.  See here or details of the application process