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Excellence in consumer engagement: optimising the lives of people with aphasia

The Queensland Aphasia Research Centre (QARC) brings together people with aphasia, their families and friends, clinicians and researchers in the collaborative development of innovative and novel health interventions that transform lives. At NHMRC's Research Excellence Awards in March, QARC received the 2023 NHMRC Consumer Engagement Award, which recognises an individual, a group of individuals or an organisation that has made a long-term contribution to consumer and community involvement in health and medical research.

• InFocus
• 1 June 2023

Research Excellence: A vision for the elimination of tuberculosis

Professor Greg Fox is a respiratory doctor and clinical trialist at the University of Sydney and Director of the Sydney Vietnam Institute who is contributing to the momentum towards tuberculosis (TB) elimination. Professor Fox received the 2021 NHMRC David Cooper Clinical Trials and Cohort Studies Award, recognising the highest ranked recipient in the Clinical Trials and Cohort Studies scheme.

• InFocus
• 19 May 2023

Research excellence: Transforming midwifery in the Asia-Pacific region

Professor Caroline Homer AO is a midwife and maternal and newborn health researcher. Her research addresses maternal and newborn health issues, especially the role of midwives in improving outcomes in limited-resource settings, with a focus for more than 20 years on the Asia-Pacific region.

• InFocus
• 5 May 2023

Research Excellence: New antibody therapies against malaria and COVID-19

Professor Wai-Hong Tham was one of four distinguished female researchers to receive 2022 NHMRC Elizabeth Blackburn Investigator Grant Awards. Her award was for the highest ranked female recipient (Leadership category) in the Basic Science research area of the Investigator Grants scheme. Professor Tham is Head of the division of Infectious Diseases and Immune Defence at WEHI and co-Chair of the WEHI Biologics Initiative. 

• InFocus
• 24 April 2023

Research Excellence: Identifying gaps and solutions needed for HIV elimination

Dr Tafi Marukutira is a medical doctor and public health researcher, specialising in infectious diseases epidemiology. Dr Marukutira received the 2022 NHMRC Frank Fenner Investigator Grant Award (Emerging Leadership), which recognises the highest ranked recipient in the Emerging Leadership Level 1 Investigator Grant category within the Basic Science or Public Health research areas, for his work on equitable access to HIV care and treatment.  

• InFocus
• 6 April 2023

Communities driving health care research

'It’s about coming with an open mind and heart, and willingness to deeply listen to community… to have any preconceptions challenged and re-learn ways of doing research' - Dr Veronica Matthews , co-lead investigator, STRengthening systems for InDigenous healthcare Equity (STRIDE)

• InFocus
• 14 March 2023

$5 million for Indigenous-led Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander maternal and child health research project

A research team led by clinical psychologist Associate Professor Yvonne Clark will receive almost $5 million in NHMRC-administered funding for a project to improve Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health and wellbeing during pregnancy, birth and the early years.

• Media release
• 24 February 2023

Improving carer wellbeing and empowering Indigenous communities

Associate Professor Dina LoGiudice is a geriatrician and clinical researcher with a special interest in dementia and ageing well. For close to two decades, she has been studying the impacts of ageing and dementia in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.

• Ten of the Best
• 13th Edition
• 23 February 2023

Smiles saved with a major improvement in dental health of young Aboriginal children

For much of his professional life in the United Kingdom, Professor Anthony Blinkhorn has focussed on improving the oral health of children in poorer communities through collaborative approaches with government agencies. This work saw him appointed as Chair of Population Oral Health at the University of Sydney in 2007, funded by the NSW Health Centre for Oral Health Strategy.

• Ten of the Best
• 13th Edition
• 15 February 2023

Mind the gap – Filling in the missing evidence for massive blood transfusion policy

Professor Jamie Cooper AO is Sir John Monash Distinguished Professor in the School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine at Monash University, and Senior Specialist in Intensive Care at The Alfred Hospital in Melbourne.

• Ten of the Best
• 13th Edition
• 7 February 2023

Developing immunity to cancer

Immunologist Dr Jason Waithman leads the Cancer Immunotherapy Group at the Telethon Kids Institute in Western Australia.

• Ten of the Best
• 13th Edition
• 3 February 2023

Healthier hearts in the tropical north

Professor Anna Ralph is a practicing medical specialist and leads the Global and Tropical Health division at Menzies School of Health Research in Darwin.

• Ten of the Best
• 13th Edition
• 24 January 2023

Unravelling genomes to find an answer

Autoimmune diseases account for one of the largest burdens of chronic disease on our health system. According to Professor Chris Goodnow FAA FRS, there are more than 100 autoimmune diseases that collectively affect 10% of people.

• Ten of the Best
• 13th Edition
• 10 January 2023

Lessons from the best to improve Indigenous health services: a collaborative learning approach

Professor Sarah Larkins has focused on improving equity in health care services in rural, remote and Indigenous populations since a medical education placement in the Northern Territory highlighted the tremendous inequities in health care access in the region.

• Ten of the Best
• 13th Edition
• 5 January 2023

10 of the Best - Harnessing the power of science to understand and overcome today’s health challenges

Welcome to National Health and Medical Research Council's (NHMRC) 10 of the Best – Thirteenth Edition, a tribute to the researchers and their teams around Australia who are tackling the health challenges that we face from birth to later life. 

• Media release
• 21 December 2022

Metal complexes for the treatment of age-related diseases of the brain

Dr Jeffrey Liddell from the University of Melbourne is a mid-career neurobiologist, with an interest in neurodegenerative diseases and understanding their underlying causes.

• Ten of the Best
• 13th Edition
• 13 December 2022

Born too soon – A better life for preterm babies

A major achievement for Associate Professor Shannon Simpson was the recent establishment of PELICAN (Prematurity’s Effects on the Lungs In Children and Adults Network), which she co-chairs with Dr Jenny Hallberg from the Karolinska Institute in Sweden.

• Ten of the Best
• 13th Edition
• 12 December 2022

Helping children get the best start to life

Professor Harriet Hiscock is a paediatrician researcher at the Murdoch Children's Research Institute. Her work focuses on keeping children out of hospital, reducing low value care, and improving access to and quality of care – especially mental health care.

• Ten of the Best
• 13th Edition
• 12 December 2022

Consultation on options to reach gender equity in the Investigator Grant scheme: Consultation closed

NHMRC's vision is a gender diverse and inclusive health and medical research workforce to take advantage of the full range of talent needed to build a healthy Australia.  

NHMRC has completed its consultation on options to reach gender equity in the NHMRC Investigator Grant scheme.

• News
• 2 August 2022

Forging a farsighted agenda with a novel global way of thinking about science

The Human Frontier Science Program (HFSP) was established in 1990 to promote international collaboration in basic research focused on the elucidation of the sophisticated and complex mechanisms of living organisms. Since then, 1180 research grants have been awarded to more than 7500 researchers representing 71 nationalities, including Australia. 

HFSP Secretary-General Professor Pavel Kabat introduces the program and three prominent researchers tell us how their HFSP grants advanced their research.

• InFocus
• 7 June 2022

A paradigm shift in kidney research

Surprisingly, understanding of organ assembly is extremely limited. Professor Melissa Little and team received an Human Frontier Science Program (HFSP) grant and established the most comprehensive quantitative image-based analysis of any organ ever described. The challenges of bringing together researchers from different fields is one of vocabulary, but the benefit is considerable.

• InFocus
• 7 June 2022

Towards cyborg biology - electrochemical biosensors of everything

There is a long running interest in the idea of machine-organism hybrids, although the integration of electronic and biological systems remains underdeveloped. Professor Kirill Alexandrov and his collaborators received Human Frontier Science Program (HFSP) funding to explore the 'undoable'. Multidisciplinary teams are a must and spur new creative projects.

• InFocus
• 7 June 2022

Lipid droplets and our defensive arsenal - killing the bacteria to prevent infection

Lipid droplets are exploited by pathogens that invade cells and then use the cellular lipid droplets as a source of fats. Professor Rob Parton and his team received a Human Frontier Science Program (HFSP) grant to explore the possibility that lipid droplets might also be a crucial form of defence against pathogens. International collaborative networks have allowed access to techniques and expertise. They have also facilitated mentoring and collaboration for students and early career researchers.

• InFocus
• 7 June 2022

Making a decision to do the hard research, that’s what discovery is about

Deciding to commit to a research life is brave – so is committing to do the hard research. Professor Cath Chamberlain says with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health, in particular, 'we are going to need to take some more risks to do things differently'. 

• InFocus
• 31 May 2022

Internship brings entirely new set of skills

Sharna Motlap has always been interested in creating and implementing evidence-based programs specifically tailored to Indigenous communities. 

• InFocus
• 12 May 2022

'I leave not only a more confident worker but also a more confident person.'

Emily McDonald’s journey to becoming an intern at NHMRC has not been exactly straightforward.

• News
• 12 May 2022

Regional research collaborations fighting dengue fever

The spread of Japanese encephalitis virus in south eastern Australia is a reminder that mosquito-borne viruses pose an ongoing threat to lives and livelihoods, particularly in our region. That includes dengue fever spread by the Aedes aegypti mosquito. Australian researchers are collaborating closely with colleagues on two fronts – to eradicate the virus and find biomarkers that will lead to better diagnosis and treatment.

• InFocus
• 8 April 2022

A passion project to make the heart sing: Urban planning for healthier lives

Professor Billie Giles-Corti was a 'lone wolf', she says, when she started her research career. In 2022, the time has come for public discourse about the direct links between city planning and health. She is part of a global network making the connections between liveability and health outcomes. 

• InFocus
• 7 April 2022

HEAL national research network addressing the health effects of environmental change

The Healthy Environments and Lives National Research Network (HEAL) was announced at the end of 2021 with a grant of $10 million over five years, as an NHMRC Special Initiative to provide national and international leadership in environmental change and health research. HEAL formally starts in May 2022; a lot of groundwork has been done to create the foundations for a large and diverse collaboration to deliver its ambitious work plan over the next five years and beyond.

• InFocus
• 7 April 2022

Gender disparities in NHMRC’s Investigator Grant Scheme

CEO Communique – February 2022

• Communique
• 3 February 2022

Speech is a uniquely human skill many take for granted

Professor Angela Morgan is head of speech and language at the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute and Professor of Speech Pathology at the University of Melbourne and was the recipient of the 2020 NHMRC Elizabeth Blackburn Investigator Grant Award (Leadership in Clinical Medicine and Science).

• InFocus
• 31 January 2022

To improve child health, focus on conception

Professor Sarah Robertson from The University of Adelaide is recipient of an NHMRC Investigator Award and was awarded the Elizabeth Blackburn Investigator Grant Award (Leadership in Basic Science) at the 2020 NHMRC Research Excellence Awards.

• InFocus
• 9 December 2021

How Anne McKenzie went from ‘just a mum from Morley’ to consumer engagement champion

Pioneering health consumer advocate Anne McKenzie AM has been awarded NHMRC’s Consumer Engagement Award in recognition of an almost 30-year career during which she has helped thousands of Australian clinicians and researchers understand the value of listening to consumers.

• InFocus
• 26 November 2021

Developing innovative vaccines to tackle influenza B virus

Dr Marios Koutsakos is a postdoctoral research fellow at the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity, University of Melbourne. He works on the development of a universal influenza B vaccine and on understanding the fundamental biology of immune responses to vaccination. Dr Koutsakos received the 2020 NHMRC Frank Fenner Investigator Grant Award. 

• InFocus
• 22 November 2021

Developing innovative interventions to eliminate parasitic worm infestations

Professor Don McManus is senior scientist at QIMR Berghofer and an internationally acclaimed parasitologist. This year, he was awarded the 2020 NHMRC Peter Doherty Investigator Grant Award (Leadership).

• InFocus
• 8 November 2021

Patient collaborators in groundbreaking brain cancer research

Patients are collaborators along with structural biologists, immunologists and neurosurgeons in the groundbreaking brain cancer research being conducted by the tight, multidisciplinary team being led by WEHI’s Associate Professor Misty Jenkins.

• InFocus
• 22 October 2021

Science to art: Research behind the science behind the image

Professor Frédéric (Fred) Hollande is Deputy Head at the Department of Clinical Pathology, University of Melbourne, and a group leader at the University of Melbourne Centre for Cancer Research. He’s also behind the image recognised in the Science to Art NHMRC Biennial Award.

• InFocus
• 13 October 2021

Game-changer for cancer research and therapeutic development

2021 ANSTO Eureka Prize for Innovative Use of Technology

• InFocus
• 11 October 2021

Crossing disciplines to answer complex research questions

University of Adelaide's Professor Ian Olver received the 2021 NHMRC Ethics Award in recognition of his significant contribution to Australian health and medical research ethics over the last decade. As chair of NHMRC’s Australian Health Ethics Committee, and as a valued member of NHMRC Council from 2012 to 2018, his balanced and considered leadership style and willingness to engage sensitively on tough issues supported a wider understanding of the ethical impact of emerging health and medical research innovations and technologies.

• InFocus
• 6 September 2021

New research on boosting killer immune response to cancer

Drugs already approved and available could be the answer to boost the production of killer T cells and improve the success rate of immunotherapies for cancer.

• InFocus
• 23 August 2021

Working beyond our own borders for a better world

Associate Professor Joshua Vogel is a Principal Research Fellow at the Burnet Institute in Melbourne, where he co-heads the Global Women’s and Newborn’s Health Group. His research focuses on addressing maternal and perinatal health issues affecting women and families in limited-resource settings. Associate Professor Vogel was the winner of the 2020 Peter Doherty Investigator Grant Award, and the Commonwealth Health Minister’s Award for Excellence in Health and Medical Research.  

• InFocus
• 18 August 2021

Australian research delivers rapid Hep B test for earlier treatment

Hepatitis B is an infectious disease that causes the liver to become inflamed and contributes to increasing rates of liver cancer in Australia and globally.

• InFocus
• 26 July 2021

Getting to the cause of type 2 diabetes

The daily burden of living with diabetes can be significant. It’s estimated that people with diabetes face up to 180 diabetes-related decisions every day. That’s more than 65,000 extra decisions a year. These decisions can range from managing daily blood sugar levels, food intake and exercise to the management of serious diabetes complications.

• InFocus
• 8 July 2021

Driven to improve mental health and intergenerational trauma through research

Having experienced 2 Indigenous internships with NHMRC, Vernon Armstrong has now started his journey in mental health research.

• InFocus
• 2 July 2021

Diamond-enriched silk dressings the answer to next-generation smart wound treatment

A diamond-enriched smart dressing made of silk that enables doctors to read the chemistry of an infected or healing wound could be the answer to more effective therapies, particularly for burns.

• InFocus
• 17 June 2021

Addressing Australia’s national transfusion research priorities

Professor Erica Wood is head of the Transfusion Unit at Monash University. Her research describes how blood is used in Australia, and how its use can be improved and made safer and more cost-effective. Through registry data and clinical trials, and studies of novel blood products, Professor Wood and her team aim to improve access and transfusion outcomes for patients.

• InFocus
• 15 June 2021

Indigenous female researcher inspires next generation

As one of NHMRC’s first Indigenous Interns, Nada Powell is about to embark on her next journey which is likely to now include research.

• InFocus
• 27 May 2021

Unlocking the secrets of the brain

Professor John Bekkers from the John Curtin School of Medical Research and his team are currently working on the neurons and circuits in the brain that underlie the sense of smell. His team focus on the olfactory cortex, a brain region that is responsible for our ability to recognise and remember odours. 

• Video
• 24 May 2021

Partnership with Aboriginal communities for a meaningful contribution

Professor Kate Conigrave from The University of Sydney is an Addiction Medicine Specialist and Public Health Physician based at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital. Her work combines treating individuals with alcohol, drug and tobacco problems, promoting the health of communities and research and teaching. She is currently the chair of the National Health and Medical Research Council's (NHMRC) Alcohol Working Group, which is charged with reviewing the guidelines to reduce the health risks from drinking alcohol.

• Video
• 17 May 2021

Breathing easy – Improving access to respiratory disease rehabilitation

The average adult takes up to 20 breaths every minute, something most people give little thought. However, breathing can be a daily struggle for people with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD),an umbrella term for a group of lung conditions that includes emphysema, chronic bronchitis and chronic asthma.

• InFocus
• Ten of the Best
• 4 May 2021