As part of its 50th Anniversary The Raine Medical Research Foundation was delighted to join in partnership with the Department of Health to offer a three-year Clinical Research Grant valued at $450,000. Raine was particularly pleased with this new initiative for two important reasons. As acknowledged by the Raine Chair, this special clinical grant provided the opportunity to further encourage and foster clinical research in Western Australia. While science is about knowledge, it is also about society and the importance of bringing these two components together. This new Clinical Research Grant is designed to achieve that goal by offering a top local clinical scientist the opportunity to work with the local community and improve health outcomes.

The grant attracted a field of highly competitive candidates and revealed some outstanding projects that were being conducted in the hospitals and allied health service facilities in Western Australia. However, congratulations must go to Dr Leon Adams in the School of Medicine and Pharmacology at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital for his project entitled: lmpact of iron on insulin resistance and liver histology in non-alcoholic steatohepatitis. This project examines a critical need for efficacious treatment strategies for patients suffering from non-alcoholic fatty liver disease – a topic that was identified as a priority area within the Digestive Health Network. Dr Adams received outstanding reviews for his project and we shall look forward to the results of his study and how they will improve health in the general community.