Debate@Go8 Mini: Professor Graham Hillis on the Consequences of the MRFF Funding Cap
Takotsubo Syndrome is heart condition that can be brought on by physical or emotional stress and predominantly affects post-menopausal women – although nobody know why. It’s a serious condition that mimics a heart attack and has considerable long-term consequences – including reduced survival – but whereas there are a range of long-term treatments for a heart attack, there are none for Takotsubo Syndrome. Professor Graham Hillis from The University of Western Australia and Royal Perth Hospital wanted a Medical Research Future Fund grant to enrol Australian women in a UK trial looking into a potential treatment, but his funding was knocked back – leaving Australian researchers (and the women who suffer from the condition) out of the loop on international efforts to improve outcomes. Professor Hillis also tells Go8 CE Vicki Thomson in this Debate@Go8 Mini podcast that loss of access to international trials for Australian researchers poses a risk to our ongoing international research collaboration if international partners were to give up on us – leaving us behind. Recorded November 2025.
