NeuRA research into respiratory health has been recognised at the 2018 NHMRC Research Excellence Awards.

NeuRA researcher, Professor Jane Butler, has been honoured with a National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) 2018 Research Excellence Award for outstanding contributions to health and medical research.

Each year, the NHRMC recognises the individual achievements, leadership and exceptional contributions of Australian researchers to their fields of research.

This year, Professor Butler is among 23 researchers whose grant applications were ranked the highest by their peers during NHMRC’s highly competitive peer review process.

Professor Butler, a principal research scientist at NeuRA and conjoint academic at UNSW Medicine, won the Elizabeth Blackburn Fellowship in Clinical Research.

Professor Butler is internationally recognised for her work on the neural control of human respiratory muscles in health and disease. Her research aims to improve respiratory health in the critically ill and those with tetraplegia through the completion of novel clinical trials to improve respiratory muscle function.“I am honoured to receive the NHMRC Elizabeth Blackburn Award that recognises the work of women in research and across the medical profession,” says Professor Butler.

Professor Butler’s current studies include the investigation of the behaviour of single motor units in respiratory muscles and respiratory neural control during normal breathing and in patients with sleep apnoea, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and methods to improve respiratory function and health after spinal cord injury. She also studies the changes in the motor pathway that occur during normal movement and fatigue.