Garnett Passe and Rodney Williams Memorial Foundation Project Grant Awarded

Congratulations to Dr Hamish MacDougall, Prof Ian Curthoys, Dr Ann Burgess and Mr John Holden who are part of a team of researchers recently awarded The Garnett Passe and Rodney Williams Memorial Foundation Project Grant.

Project Title: Tracking the course of acute human vestibular compensation

Investigators: Dr Hamish MacDougall, Prof. Ian S. Curthoys , Prof. G. Michael Halmagyi, Dr. Ann M. Burgess, Mr. Leigh A. McGarvie, Mr. John Holden, Dr David Szmulewicz, Professor Leonardo Manzari, Dr Konrad Weber, and Asst. Professor Steven S. Moore.

Project Summary: Our recent studies have suggested that around 30% of patients do not achieve a satisfactory level of compensation after sudden vestibular loss; that is, the level of recovery of vestibular-mediated visual and balance function is insufficient for acceptable performance of activities of daily living. This observation is based on our unique technological and methodological advances allowing objective vestibular assessment in complex realistic environments (community, bedside, home) over extended periods (24 h monitoring, acute phase of vestibular dysfunction, repeated testing). 

In this project we will test the general hypothesis that catch-up saccade strategy is a robust marker for the quality of vestibular compensation by testing a large cohort of acute vestibular patients across a number of leading clinical centers both in Australia and overseas.

Funding: $300,000 over three years

Well done!