For the most up to date information on COVID-19 please visit the Department of Health and Aged Care.
Latest news and stories
$21.9 million funds research partnerships that meet real-world health needs
NHMRC welcomes today’s announcement by the Australian Government of more than $5.6 million to fund the latest round of Partnership Projects.
Gender disparities in NHMRC’s Investigator Grant Scheme
CEO Communique – 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).
Changes to Publication Assessment
From 2022, researchers applying for National Health and Medical Research (NHMRC) funding through its track record based schemes will be asked to list up to 10 of their top publications in the past 10 years (accounting for career disruptions).
NHMRC statement on iBlastoids
Nature paper: Modelling human blastocysts by reprogramming fibroblasts into iBlastoids
New Principal Committees to advise NHMRC Council
The National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) welcomes today’s announcement by the Minister for Health Greg Hunt of the membership of the Principal Committees of NHMRC for 2021–2024.
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.
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.
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.
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).
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.
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.
Game-changer for cancer research and therapeutic development
2021 ANSTO Eureka Prize for Innovative Use of Technology
Research on a potential biomarker for fatal influenza
Developing an early warning system to predict fatal respiratory viral infection outcomes.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Gain of Function Research Review
Terms of Reference
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.
Driven to improve mental health and intergenerational trauma through research
Having experienced two Indigenous internships with NHMRC, Vernon Armstrong has now started his journey in mental health research.
NHMRC Research Excellence Awards and Biennial Awards
The 2020 NHMRC Research Excellence Awards and 2021 NHMRC Biennial Awards were announced on 16 June 2021. Below is an extract of CEO Professor Anne Kelso's opening remarks before announcing the awards.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Mapping the trajectory of depression in primary care to improve treatment
The Diamond cohort study – Better management of those at risk of persistent and disabling depression.
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 NHMRC's Alcohol Working Group, which is charged with reviewing the guidelines to reduce the health risks from drinking alcohol.
Budget 2021-22
Support for excellent health and medical research in Australia continues in the 2021-22 Budget handed down on 11 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.
Australia’s investment in eradicating malaria
Over the last 10 years NHMRC has invested more than $191 million in research on malaria1
Ensuring evidence is translated into practice
Professor Rachelle Buchbinder is an NHMRC Senior Principal Research Fellow. She is the Director and Professor in the Monash University Department of Epidemiology & Preventive Medicine since 2007.
Music therapy to support people living with dementia
Dr Jeanette Tamplin from The University of Melbourne is using therapeutic singing groups to support people living with dementia.
Working to stop Parkinson's disease
Associate Professor Antony Cooper from the Garvan Institute of Medical Research is a cell and molecular biologist / geneticist with strong interests in elucidating how cellular dysfunction results in human diseases, with a specific interest in neurodegenerative disease such as Parkinson’s Disease.
Tracker - 6 April 2021
Welcome to Tracker, NHMRC’s fortnightly newsletter with the latest information on major activities and funding opportunities.
Transforming how to treat blood cancers
Professor Mark Dawson is a clinician-scientist at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, meaning he both treats blood cancer patients and leads cutting-edge cancer research in the lab.
Addressing the neglected global burden of child and drug-resistant tuberculosis
Ever since completing his PhD whilst working as a young paediatrician in South Africa, Professor Ben Marais from the University of Sydney has been on a mission to raise awareness of childhood tuberculosis (TB) and the transmissibility of drug-resistant TB – having seen first-hand the deadly impacts when this disease is left undiagnosed and untreated.
Measuring the effectiveness of cancer interventions
Economic evaluation is a tool used to decide which medical services and pharmaceuticals should be publicly funded. Professor Madeleine King, Director of the University of Sydney's Quality of Life Office, has developed ways to measure quality of life for use in economic evaluation of cancer interventions in Australia and across the world.
Peer review for Ideas Grants in 2021
CEO Communique, February 2021
Adding new cells to the mature central nervous system – Investigating their normal function and potential for repair
For people with Multiple Sclerosis (MS), the myelin that covers nerve fibres in the central nervous system (brain, optic nerves and spinal cord) is damaged, leading to impairment of cognitive, motor and sometimes sensory functions.
How our immune cells kill cancer
With her team, she discovered that, when target cells do not die quickly, it can cause inflammation, which hampers the body’s immune response.
COVID-3D: A small leap to scale up to COVID-19
Early in 2020, the University of Melbourne’s Bio21 team was working on protein modelling to better understand antimicrobial resistance for improved drug development. In March they turned their attention to the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which had already undergone many mutations. In September, the team’s work was published in Nature Genetics.
Using digital innovations to address depression and binge drinking in young Australians
Professor Frances Kay-Lambkin is a psychologist and leads an international team at the Priority Research Centre for Brain and Mental Health at the University of Newcastle. Her research focuses on the development and translation of evidence-based treatments for comorbid mental disorders for young Australians.
Improving the health and wellbeing of children by making it easy to be active throughout the day
Professor Jo Salmon from the Institute for Physical Activity and Nutrition (IPAN), Deakin University received the Elizabeth Blackburn Investigator Grant Award at last year’s NHMRC Research Excellence Awards. Her research focuses on how to effectively implement physical activity interventions at scale across the population, particularly in children. Physical inactivity is a leading modifiable risk factor for childhood obesity and other physical and mental health conditions.
Building Indigenous research capacity in Australia
For nearly three decades, Professor Jacinta Elston has worked in higher education, furthering efforts to improve Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health in Australia. Professor Elston is an Aboriginal woman from North Queensland and the inaugural Pro Vice-Chancellor (Indigenous) at Monash University.
'10 of the Best': Showcasing health and medical research success stories
Australia’s National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) has launched the 12th edition of 10 of the Best, showcasing significant projects that support the improvement of human health.
CEO Communique – 15 December 2020
Key points
- $260 million investment in 283 Ideas Grants was announced today.
- $20 million of extra funding has been provided to assist the sector’s recovery from disruption of research by COVID-19.
- Streamlined peer review enabled the Ideas Grants round to be completed despite COVID-19.
- Outcomes were released before the end of the year thanks to exceptional support from peer reviewers across the sector.
Targeting dangerous heart attack and stroke-causing plaques
Heart attack and stroke are major causes of death and disability worldwide. With over 500,000 Australians suffering from some form of coronary artery disease.
A smart needle for safer brain surgery
Almost 2000 Australians are diagnosed with a malignant brain tumour each year and, tragically, it is the leading cause of cancer-related death among children. Professor Robert McLaughlin's team at the University of Adelaide, with colleagues at The University of Western Australia, set out to better diagnose the specific type of tumours, which can benefit patients' treatment options and outcomes.
Case study: Neurodegenerative disease and metals
The formation of abnormal proteins in the brain has long been suspected to contribute to the development of Alzheimer’s disease and other neurodegenerative diseases. Yet many individuals with abnormal protein formations do not go on to develop such diseases.