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Welcome to Tracker, the National Health and Medical Research Council’s (NHMRC) fortnightly newsletter with the latest information on major activities and funding opportunities.

Driving research translation, innovation and impact: Case studies from Australia’s Research Translation Centres

NHMRC is pleased to announce a series of new case studies showcasing the work of Australia’s accredited Research Translation Centres. 

Through the Research Translation Centre initiative, NHMRC recognises leading centres of collaboration that excel in the provision of research-based healthcare, translation, and training in an evidence-based environment. These centres collaborate nationally as the Australian Health Research Alliance to drive the translation of health and medical research into improvements in national health services and healthcare delivery. They work in partnership with end users to ensure research is informed by lived experience, diverse perspectives, and aligned with community and system identified needs.

The case studies highlight how these centres are addressing significant health challenges, developing innovative platforms and systems, driving workforce initiatives, and improving health outcomes for individuals and communities across Australia.

To explore the case studies, visit the Research Translation Centres webpage.
 

TCR: Oral Health Care in Australia 

On 3 October 2025, the Minister for Health and Ageing, The Hon Mark Butler MP, announced the funding outcomes for the Targeted Call for Research: Oral Health Care in Australia 2024 grant opportunity.

Five research teams will share $4 million to address the gaps in translation and implementation of effective population level oral health interventions, including health services. Based on their findings, this research could reduce overall demand on the health system as well as costs in the long term.

The media release for this announcement is available on the Minister’s media centre and NHMRC’s website.
 

Speaking of Science - Genetics of depression: risk and response to treatment with Dr Brittany Mitchell

One in 7 Australians will experience depression in their lifetime and the World Health Organization estimates that depression will be the number one health concern in both the developed and developing nations by 2030. And yet still 30% of people do not respond to any treatment.

With a nod to World Mental Health Day (10 October), we’re rethinking the future of how we treat mental health. Pioneering researcher into the genetics of depression, Dr Brittany Mitchell, will join us for Speaking of Science tomorrow, Tuesday 14 October 2025 from 11:00AM (AEDT).

Dr Mitchell will discuss her research and how she is revolutionising the future of mental health treatment.

There will be a Q&A session at the end, so we encourage you to attend and ask questions! Register on Eventbrite now.

Don't miss out on the chance to learn, engage, and connect. Be the first to know about our upcoming Speaking of Science webinars by subscribing on our website.
 

Sapphire user experience survey and reference groups

Sapphire user experience survey
NHMRC recently announced the future of its grant management system Sapphire, which involves transitioning Sapphire from a vendor-managed system to an internally managed and configured system by mid-2027. With this move, NHMRC hopes to build confidence in Sapphire, reduce administrative burden, and ensure it remains fit for purpose in a dynamic research funding environment.

To support this transition, we invite members of the research community to provide feedback on the current Sapphire system and assist in identifying challenges or areas for improvement.

We invite you to fill out the Sapphire user experience survey and share it within your networks.

Call for Sapphire refresh reference groups
NHMRC is seeking to establish external reference groups to contribute to requirements gathering and user acceptance testing throughout various phases of the project.

If you are interested in joining a Sapphire refresh reference group please indicate this when completing the Sapphire user experience survey. Alternatively, email Sapphire.Refresh@nhmrc.gov.au and include your Sapphire role (i.e. grant applicant, peer reviewer etc.). We will reach out to individuals as opportunities arise. 

Your feedback and engagement are vital to ensuring Sapphire continues to meet the needs of a dynamic research funding environment.

For further queries contact Sapphire.Refresh@nhmrc.gov.au.
 

Support for innovations to replace, reduce and refine animal use

NHMRC welcomes funding applications into the development and validation of models, methods, tools and methodologies to replace, reduce and refine (3Rs) animal use in health and medical research.

Proposals for funding must meet the specific criteria for the relevant scheme in NHMRC’s Grant Program and must demonstrate a direct relationship with, or significance for, improvement in human health.

Further information can be found on NHMRC’s website.
 

Prevention of HIV transmission

NHMRC has recently published a new impact case study. It describes how NHMRC funded researchers at the Kirby Institute at UNSW pioneered new ways to prevent HIV transmission. Their work demonstrated the effectiveness of antiretroviral treatment showing that people with HIV who have undetectable viral loads cannot transmit the virus. They also led research into HIV self-testing, pre-exposure prophylaxis usage and helped shape national and global policies. These innovations have reduced HIV infections in Australia and positioned the country as a global leader in HIV prevention.

Read more about this and other positive impacts arising from NHMRC grant funding in our impact case studies.
 

Guidelines for Guidelines – new modules

The Guidelines for Guidelines Handbook is designed to help guideline developers produce high-quality guidelines that meet the 2016 NHMRC Standards for Guidelines. It covers all stages of guideline development and is equally relevant to clinical, public and environmental health guidelines. 

Following public consultation, NHMRC has produced 2 new NHMRC Guidelines for Guidelines modules:

NHMRC thanks those people who provided feedback on these modules. 

For any questions about the Guidelines for Guidelines resource please contact clinicalguidelines@nhmrc.gov.au.
 

NHMRC approved third party guidelines

Under section 14A of the National Health and Medical Research Council Act 1992, the Chief Executive Officer of NHMRC, Professor Steve Wesselingh, approved the living recommendations of the following guidelines:

The above living recommendations were approved on 3 September 2025.
 

Excellent Paper in Neuroscience Award 2025 – closing soon

The Network of European Funding for Neuroscience Research (NEURON) is reminding early-career researchers that applications for the 2025 Excellent Paper in Neuroscience Award (EPNA) are closing soon.

The award includes a prize of €3,000 and an invitation to present the winning paper at a neuroscience conference, with travel support provided.

Two EPNA calls are currently open for applications:

  • The EPNA Biomedical call focuses on mechanisms of resilience and vulnerability to environmental challenges in mental health.
  • The EPNA ELSA call addresses ethical, legal, and social aspects of neuroscience—a category introduced for the first time in 2024.  

EPNA is targeted to early-career researchers who are sole first authors of original research articles published in international peer-reviewed journals. Eligible articles must be relevant to disease related, translational neuroscience, and the research must have been conducted in an European research area networks NEURON participant country.

Applications for both the ELSA and biomed EPNA calls must be submitted to the NEURON Secretariat via email using the online PDF form available on NEURON’s webpage.

Applications for both calls close on 15 October 2025 at 5:00 PM (UTC-GMT) (4:00 AM AEDT). 

For further information please refer to NEURON’s webpage.   
 

NHMRC-GACD funding call - stage 2 applications closing soon

Shortlisted applications for stage 2 of the GACD: Strengthening Health Systems Funding Call 2025 must be submitted:

  • to GACD via the online portal by Thursday 23 October 3:00AM AEDT (Wednesday 22 October 2025 16:00 UTC) and
  • to NHMRC via Sapphire by Tuesday 28 October 2025 17:00 (AEDT).

Applicants are encouraged to work closely with their RAOs well in advance of the due date to ensure applications are submitted on time.

Applicants are reminded that:

  • Only applicants who were shortlisted from stage one can submit a full application in stage 2.
  • Researchers listed on applications must have a Sapphire account. New account registrations must be submitted at least 72 hours prior to application close.
  • The Research Help Centre will continue to respond to Sapphire related enquiries until Tuesday 28 October 2025 13:00 (AEDT).

Further information is available on the GrantConnect, NHMRC and GACD websites.

Please contact help@nhmrc.gov.au for further assistance.
 

Key dates

Refer to Funding schemes and calendar.

Tracker

See previous editions of Tracker.

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If you have any questions about the newsletter, email communications@nhmrc.gov.au. 

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