Researchers secure national infrastructure vouchers to accelerate Alzheimer and heart disease therapies

Two ARMI researchers have been awarded Pipeline Accelerator 2025-2026 (Round 2) vouchers to access the Victorian Centre for Functional Genomics, (Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre). 

Dr Nathalie Saurat, whose work will advance Alzheimer’s disease therapeutics, received a voucher through Phenomics Australia and Associate Professor Fabrice Jaffré who is discovering new therapies to improve the blood flow in hearts with thicker muscle walls, received a voucher through Therapeutic Innovation Australia. 

Dr Saurat’s project was also awarded a supplementary voucher through Bioplatforms Australia to access the Monash Proteomics & Metabolomics Platform. 

In 2025, Dr Saurat established her research program and became a Group Leader at ARMI. Using 2D and 3D human stem cell-based models to study how genes behave and how cells function in small, lab-grown samples of ageing human tissue, her research aims to understand the underlying mechanisms driving Alzheimer’s disease and how cellular ageing contributes to disease progression.  

“This is a fantastic opportunity to progress my work using specialised facilities and the support of experts who also understand the importance of our research,” Dr Saurat said.  

Associate Professor Jaffré was appointed Group Leader at the Australian Regenerative Medicine Institute (ARMI) in 2024. His research program looks at the genetic heart condition associated with Noonan syndrome by using lab-grown human heart cells to efficiently screen many potential drugs.

“It’s encouraging that Australia has this infrastructure and it is now readily available to me thanks to the voucher subsidy. I feel confident that with access to this infrastructure and support, I can develop a therapy sooner,” added Associate Professor Jaffré. 

Enabled by the National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy (NCRIS) the Pipeline Accelerator voucher scheme is delivered through Therapeutic Innovation Australia in partnership with Phenomics Australia Bioplatforms Australia, and Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation’s National Deuteration Facility.  The scheme gives researchers access to infrastructure and support to develop medical products, therapies or diagnostics from their research.   

Developing medical products requires advanced manufacturing and screening equipment that is expensive and complex for individual laboratories or universities to build alone. NCRIS investments support shared, nationally accessible infrastructure that allows biomedical researchers to progress their research without building everything themselves. 

Together, they provide academic researchers and small businesses with subsidised access to world-class research infrastructure in Australia, through a voucher scheme providing up to $50,000 per voucher, with at least 50 percent matching co-investment provided by the recipient.