By FRANCESCA MOLD
A three-year study evaluating the psychological impact of rape is among 73 new projects to receive money from a multimillion-dollar Government research fund.
The Marsden Fund, which supports research into the sciences, social sciences, humanities and engineering, has distributed $9.5 million to researchers this year.
The money comes from a $25.8 million Government-created pool.
University of Auckland psychology lecturer Dr Nicola Gavey has received $292,000 for a three-year study of how society views the impact of rape.
Dr Gavey will interview women who have been raped, psychologists and experts in rape trauma counselling, and will examine the way the news media treat the subject.
One of the biggest grants this year, worth almost $600,000, has gone to University of Otago researchers investigating the development of atherosclerosis of the coronary arteries - a leading cause of premature death in New Zealand.
Atherosclerosis is a condition in which artery walls become weakened and lesions can develop.
The new research will look at the earliest stages of this condition, and may pave the way for the development of methods for blocking it.
Other projects being financed by the Marsden Fund include studies into why spiders' silk is stronger than steel, how cells flex their muscles and how plants know when to flower.
Rape researcher gets $292,000 study grant
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