NHMRC e-ASIA Joint Research Program Grants 2020

Program Description

The e-ASIA Joint Research Program selects research projects through an open call for proposals. Fields of cooperation are decided among the e-ASIA participating member organisations and funding is for up to three years.

NHMRC has committed up to $3 million to support the Australian component of projects commencing in 2020 in the e-ASIA JRP 9th Health Research and Environment calls. 

9th Health Research Call 

NHMRC is participating in the 9th Health Research call in the e-ASIA JRP. Applications are invited for the following topics:

i) Emerging and re-emerging infectious disease research focussed on, but not limited to Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR), cholera and tropical diseases, including Chikungunya fever, Zika virus, and avian and other influenza strains. Research may focus on any stage of the infectious disease pathway and can incorporate the application of precision medicine.

ii) Cancer research focused on prevention, diagnosis, treatment, or monitoring. The projects may include, but not are not limited to, the use of precision medicine such as targeted therapy, cell therapy or engineered cell therapy, therapeutic antibody-based therapy, cancer vaccine: dendritic cell-based, peptide vaccine, or RNA vaccine. 

iii) Mental health research that aims to improve the life expectancy for people living with mental illness, including building resilience to natural and man-made disasters and catastrophic events, depression, and suicide prevention.

Participating Member Organisations in the 9th Health call and the topics they support are:

1. Australia: National Health and Medical Research Council - all topics
2. Cambodia: Ministry of Health (MOH) - all topics
3. Indonesia: Ministry of Research, Technology and Higher Education (RISTEKDIKTI) – all topics
4. Japan: Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development (AMED) – Infectious Diseases & Cancer Research
5. Lao PDR: Ministry of Health (MOH) - all topics
6. Myanmar: Ministry of Education (MOE)  - all topics
7. New Zealand: Health Research Council (HRC) – all topics
8. Philippines: Department of Science and Technology (DOST-PCHRD) - all topics
9. Russia: Russian Foundation for Basic Research (RFBR) - all topics
10. Thailand: Thailand Center of Excellence for Life Sciences (TCELS) - Infectious Diseases & Cancer Research
11. USA: National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) - infectious Diseases
12. Vietnam: Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) – all topics

9th Environment Call 

NHMRC is participating in the 9th Environment call in the e-ASIA JRP. Applications are invited for research projects that focus on the Human Health impact of Climate Change in the East Asia region. Applications outside of this scope are not eligible for NHMRC funding. 

Participating Member Organisations in the 9th Environment call:

1. Australia: National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC)
2. Indonesia: Ministry of Research, Technology and Higher Education (RISTEKDIKTI) 
3. Japan: Japan Science and Technology (JST)
4. Lao PDR: Ministry of Health (MOH)
5. Philippines: Department of Science and Technology (DOST-PCHRD)
6. Russia: Russian Foundation for Basic Research (RFBR)
7. Thailand: National Science and Technology Development Agency (NSTDA) 
8. Thailand: Thailand Center of Excellence for Life Sciences (TCELS)

For more information on participating member organisations and the joint call, refer to the e-ASIA website.

Application Process

• NHMRC will advertise this call through GrantConnect, Tracker, RAO Alert and on the NHMRC website.
• NHMRC opens the grant opportunity in NHMRC's grants management system for researchers to participate in the call:
  • the Lead Principal Investigator of the collaborative project is required to submit the Common Application to the e-ASIA Program Secretariat by the specified due date. For more details please visit the e-ASIA website.
  • Applicants from the Australian team must submit an application addressing the criteria outlined in the Grant Opportunity Guidelines to NHMRC for assessment by the nominated due date.
  • Collaborating partners are responsible for submitting completed applications to respective member organisations supporting the topic call in line with their application closing dates. Note: Collaborating Partners should confirm their Member Organisation is participating in the research call topic prior to submitting an application.
• NHMRC conducts eligibility checks for Australian collaborations
• NHMRC conducts peer review of applications submitted
• NHMRC submits short listed eligible applications to the e-ASIA Joint Review Meeting (membership comprises representatives from each of the participating member organisations)
• e-ASIA Joint Review meeting compiles a final joint ranking list and recommendations for funding to be presented to the e-ASIA Board for approval
• NHMRC funding recommendations approval process.

Eligibility

The NHMRC-e-ASIA JRP scheme has specific eligibility criteria, applications will be excluded from consideration if eligibility requirements are not met, including:

• A minimum of three collaborating partners from supporting member organisations participating in a call topic, per application. 
• Applications specific to each participating member organisation must be completed by the Chief Investigator A (CIA) in their country (e.g. Australian CIA submit to NHMRC while the Japanese CIA submit to the Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development (AMED)).

Key changes

In 2020, applicants can apply for a separate mode of support to that provided in the 2019 e-ASIA JRP call. In addition to requests for direct funding of Australian components of collaborative research teams, applicants can apply for in-kind support. In-kind applications receive the same level of application assessment, but successful applicants only receive NHMRC endorsement to partner with other e-ASIA research teams (using funding from external sources). Further details on in-kind support can be found within the Grant Opportunity guidelines available on GrantConnect.