31 July 2023

Welcome to Tracker, NHMRC’s fortnightly newsletter with the latest information on major activities and funding opportunities.

Associate Professor Alice Rumbold (centre) with Mandy and Stuart Sampson and their twin daughters Kora and Sage, who received donor milk as part of the GIFT Trial pilot program.

Donor milk study - one of 28 projects to share in $73 million in NHMRC Clinical Trials and Cohort Studies Grants

Today, the Minister for Health and Aged Care, the Hon Mark Butler MP, announced the funding outcomes for the Clinical Trials and Cohort Studies 2022 round.

Associate Professor Alice Rumbold from the University of Adelaide and South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute (SAHMRI), and her collaborators, will receive over $2.2 million for their donor milk study known as the GIFT Trial.

The researchers will compare the health and economic impacts of using pasteurised donor human milk (donor milk) versus infant formula as a source of nutrition for babies born preterm, between 32 and 36 weeks, when maternal breast milk is not available or in short supply.

Associate Professor Rumbold says that the donor milk, which is currently prioritised for babies born very preterm (before 32 weeks of pregnancy), should be made available to all babies born early.

Read more about the 28 funded projects in our media release.

Photo: Associate Professor Alice Rumbold (centre) with Mandy and Stuart Sampson and their twin daughters Kora and Sage, who received donor milk as part of the GIFT Trial pilot program.

Public consultation on Section 4 of the National Statement on Ethical Conduct in Human Research

Public consultation on revised draft Section 4 of the National Statement on Ethical Conduct in Human Research and associated changes to other sections is now open. 

Section 4 addresses the impact of research on participants and special consideration that may be required for participants at increased risk of harm. Further information is available on the consultation page.

National consultation – Indigenous Research Excellence Criteria review

NHMRC and the Principal Committee Indigenous Caucus (PCIC) invite you to contribute to the review of the Indigenous Research Excellence Criteria (IREC).

Online consultation opens this week and closes 8 September 2023

Your contributions will inform a report and recommendations for the improvement of the IREC, to ensure that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health research is of the highest scientific merit and is beneficial and acceptable to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and communities.

Find more information on how to contribute to the online consultation or register for a face-to-face workshop via Eventbrite.

Investigator Grants – 2024 scheme dates announced

NHMRC will open the 2024 Investigator Grant round in September 2023. This is in response to sector feedback about the schedules of our largest grant schemes and aims to enable Investigator Grant outcomes to be advised prior to 2024 Ideas Grants closing.

Key dates:

  • Applications open Wednesday 13 September 2023.
  • Minimum data due Wednesday 11 October 2023 17:00 AEDT.
  • Applications close Wednesday 8 November 2023 17:00 AEDT.
  • Conflict of interest and suitability declarations will occur late November/early December.
  • Assessments commence late January 2024.
  • Outcomes are expected to be advised in early May 2024 ahead of the Ideas Grant scheme closing.
  • Grants will commence 1 January 2025.

All current and upcoming funding scheme dates are listed here. November 2023 will be a very busy time in the funding calendar. Applicants should plan early and will need to work closely with their RAOs to meet internal submission deadlines.

2023 Investigator Grant outcomes

NHMRC is working to finalise the 2023 Investigator Grant outcomes as soon as possible and applicants can expect to be advised of their outcome in late August/early September, prior to the opening of the 2024 Investigator Grant round.

Partnership Projects 2023 - PRC1 round close

Applications for Partnership Projects 2023 PRC1 will close Wednesday 9 August 2023 17:00 AEST.

Applicants are reminded that:

  • only applicants that completed minimum data by Wednesday 26 July 2023 17:00 AEST can submit a full application.
  • applications submitted after close of round will not be accepted.

Please email all enquiries to help@nhmrc.gov.au.

Development Grants 2023 assessments are underway

Thank you to over 175 potential peer reviewers for completing conflict of interest and suitability declarations for the 2023 Development Grant peer review process.

Peer reviewers have now been assigned to applications based on results of the conflict of interest and suitability survey. Peer reviewers will examine applications, submit scores and provide qualitative feedback against the assessment criteria between now and late August 2023. Read more about the peer review process.

Ideas Grants 2023 assessments are being finalised

Peer review assessments for the 2023 Ideas Grant scheme are due to be completed this week.

Thank you to the many peer reviewers across the country who have been busy finalising their assessments. To increase transparency and accountability of the peer review process, NHMRC will provide peer reviewers with de-identified comments from other reviewers who assessed the same application/s.

This will provide individual reviewers with feedback on their own assessments and holds peers accountable to each other in ensuring high-quality, impartial and transparent peer review.

New and updated NHMRC-approved third party guidelines

NHMRC has approved the recommendations of two new and one updated guidelines under section 14A of the National Health and Medical Research Council Act 1992.

New guidelines

Clinical practice guidelines for hepatocellular carcinoma surveillance for people at high risk in Australia developed by Cancer Council Australia were approved on 14 April 2023.

Mental health care in the perinatal period guideline developed by the Centre of Perinatal Excellence were approved on 14 April 2023.

Updated (living) guideline

Version 70.1 of the Australian Guidelines for the Clinical Care of People with COVID-19 developed by the National COVID-19 Clinical Evidence Taskforce. Contains 20 new, one updated, three reworded recommendations and six new recommendations for use only in the context of research. These were approved on 14 April 2023.

Invitation to learn about consumer involvement in MRFF-funded research

Consumers bring a broad range of valuable perspectives and experiences that can improve the quality, relevance and impact of research.

NHMRC invites you to join the Department of Health and Aged Care’s webinar on Thursday 3 August 2023 12:00 AEST to learn about consumer involvement in MRFF-funded research.

Hosted by Mr John Stubbs AM, Chair of the MRFF Consumer Reference Panel, and Dr Masha Somi, Chief Executive Officer, Health and Medical Research Office, the webinar will include:

Register for the MRFF webinar.

Medical Research Future Fund grant opportunities - key dates

The following Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF) grant opportunities have opened for applications:

2023 Mental Health Research (GO6298) 

  • minimum data due Wednesday 1 November 2023 17:00 AEDT 
  • applications close Wednesday 29 November 2023 17:00 AEDT 

2023 Genomics Health Futures (GO6287) 

  • minimum data due Wednesday 1 November 2023 17:00 AEDT 
  • applications close Wednesday 29 November 2023 17:00 AEDT 

The following MRFF grant opportunities have close dates approaching: 

2023 Primary Health Care Research (GO6034)  

  • applications close Wednesday 2 August 2023 17:00 AEST  

2023 Clinician Researchers: Applied Research in Health (GO6033)  

  • applications close Wednesday 2 August 2023 17:00 AEST  

Details on how to apply for MRFF grant opportunities are available on GrantConnect. Only applicants who have completed minimum data by the due date can submit an application. It is the applicant’s responsibility to ensure they meet all eligibility requirements, including limits on the number of times a person can be named as a Chief Investigator on applications submitted to a grant opportunity. 

Applicants should ensure: 

MRFF Grant Assessment Committee self-nomination

Register your interest to become a member.

Key NHMRC grant program dates

Please see the Funding schemes and calendar page.

Tracker

See previous editions of Tracker

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