Will you help our tall poppies at Flinders?

"As the Head of the FMC Molecular and Cellular Neuroscience Lab, I am very grateful to the FMC Foundation (FMCF) for providing ongoing funding which has helped me make fundamental discoveries relating to cell function and communication.

Since then my research has gone on to increase our understanding of diseases like Down Syndrome, Alzheimer's, Huntington's, Type 2 Diabetes, and several gastrointestinal disorders such as Crohn's disease and IBS. We hope one day these findings will provide new targets for the treatment and prevention of these conditions.

The support the FMCF has given my team and I through its annual granting round has been invaluable. Without it, we would have to source these funds from other institutions and charitable bodies- which not only takes countless hours to prepare the applications, but we are competing with research groups from across Australia for what is usually a limited pool of funds. This means many valid projects must miss out, particularly those in their early stages.

Funding from the FMCF makes it easier for Flinders researchers to focus on what's really important - our research. My original FMCF grants supported early stage projects which have since been funded to the value of over $1.7 million by large federal government grants.

Your small support can have large outcomes."

-Dr Damien Keating, recipient of a 2010 Young Tall Poppy Award for Science in South Australia, pictured right

By supporting medical research through the Flinders Medical Centre Foundation, your donation is helping the tall poppies at Flinders make important discoveries which will benefit present and future generations by providing the grounds for the development of new targets for disease treatments and prevention.

Last year Dr Damien Keating was selected as a South Australian Young Tall Poppy award winner on the basis of his achievement in medical research. The award is only for scientists under the age of 35, but is not limited to the medical research field.

In 2009, leading Flinders ophthalmic and genetic researcher Dr Kathryn Burdon was also the recipient of a South Australian Young Tall Poppy Award. Dr Burdon (pictured right with Associate Professor Jamie Craig) has dedicated her career to uncovering the underlying genetic and environmental causes of co

mmon eye diseases including cataract, glaucoma, keratoconus, and diabetic eye disease.

From a seeding grant of $9,000 from the FMC Foundation in 2008, Dr Burdon was able to obtain enough results to give her the background and validation required to apply for a large grant from national funding body the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC). Dr Burdon was successful in receiving a grant of more than $952,000 in 2009 from the NHMRC to research the genes behind diabetes-linked blindness.

If a specific gene linked to the disease, or to other eye diseases such as glaucoma, is uncovered by Dr Burdon (pictured left with Associate Professor Jamie Craig) and her team, a screening programme with early interventions can be developed to prevent these patients from ever going blind.

By donating now to research through the FMC Foundation your money will be used in the 2011 grant round, which will help get many innovative research projects off the ground or will help researchers such as Dr Keating and Dr Burdon continue their groundbreaking work. You will also be able to claim your donation on this year's tax return.

You can make a donation via our secure online donation server, Givewell or by contacting the Flinders Medical Centre Foundation on (08) 8204 5216 or email foundation@health.sa.gov.au.  You can also mail a cheque or money order donation to Tall Poppies Appeal, Flinders Medical Centre Foundation, Flinders Drive, Bedford Park SA 5042.


Your support, no matter how large or small, will enable our tall poppies to continue to work towards a brighter future for us all.