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NHMRC Media
Older editions of Tracker, Media releases and RAOs are available on the National Library's Australian Government Web Archive.
Have your say: Research is about people and when people get involved, we move faster towards breakthroughs
"At its core, research is about people and when people get involved, we move faster towards breakthroughs, driving better health outcomes for everyone. "
Tracker - 21 July 2025
Welcome to Tracker, the National Health and Medical Research Council’s (NHMRC) fortnightly newsletter with the latest information on major activities and funding opportunities.
Speaking of Science: New frontiers in brain cancer research with Professor Misty Jenkins AO and Professor Matt Dun
Around 2,000 Australians are diagnosed with brain cancer each year and survival rates remain low.
For researchers Professor Misty Jenkins AO (WEHI and The Brain Cancer Centre) and Professor Matt Dun (University of Newcastle and the Mark Hughes Foundation), they’re just scratching the surface on what's possible in brain cancer research as we collectively move towards finding a cure for this insidious disease.
Have your say: If we want research that changes lives, it has to be grounded in real life and lived experience
"This isn’t just about good intentions, it’s a chance to change how we do things together. Because if we want research that changes lives, it has to be grounded in real life and lived experience."
Recognising high quality health and medical research
The Guunu-maana (Heal) Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Program at The George Institute for Global Health drives meaningful, ethical research and advocacy to transform the health and wellbeing of Indigenous peoples and communities. Recipient of the 2025 NHMRC Research Quality Biennial Award, Guunu-maana is committed to research quality, being led by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander ways of knowing, being and doing to generate evidence that privileges Indigenous knowledges and research quality within the field.
Have your say: Consumer and community involvement is essential for high quality research
"NHMRC believes consumer and community involvement is essential for high quality research, and we know that research where the consumers and the community are involved right from the beginning is better research and has better outcomes and more impact."
$20 million investment towards health and medical research partnerships
NHMRC is investing almost $20 million towards Australian health and medical research partnerships between researchers, decision makers, policy makers, managers and clinicians.
Culture intrinsic to health for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people
Cultural factors critical to the health and wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults have been assessed in the largest cohort study ever, conducted by Professor Raymond Lovett, yielding a new resource for health practitioners, policymakers and Indigenous communities.
Tracker - 7 July 2025
Welcome to Tracker, the National Health and Medical Research Council’s (NHMRC) fortnightly newsletter with the latest information on major activities and funding opportunities.
Better treatment and healing from posttraumatic stress disorder
Professor David Forbes has dedicated his career to helping people heal from trauma and, with Associate Professor Lisa Dell in his team from the University of Melbourne and their project collaborators, they are paving the way to improve the lives of Australians with PTSD.
Speaking of Science: Empowering consumers in health and medical research with Professor James St John and hosted by Ms Ainslie Cahill AM
How do researchers effectively involve consumers and the community in their research?
Updated Australian Drinking Water Guidelines
As Australia’s leading experts on health and medical research, NHMRC develops evidence based advice on priority health topics to prevent disease, improve health and help the states and territories to achieve consistent standards.
Australia’s Research Translation Centres set to expand impact with new funding
A funding investment of $12 million will support Australia’s leading Research Translation Centres (RTCs) in driving the integration of evidence based healthcare to deliver better health outcomes.
Tracker - 23 June 2025
Welcome to Tracker, the National Health and Medical Research Council’s (NHMRC) fortnightly newsletter with the latest information on major activities and funding opportunities.
Trust your gut: how the microbiome impacts mental health
Commonly referred to as a ‘second brain’, the role of the gut extends beyond being a digestor of food and drink. In fact, research has demonstrated time and time again the profound partnership between the gut and the brain, and the range of actions elicited by the chemical factory that is our gut microbiome. The gut-brain-axis operates through several pathways and chemical signals that have an influence over our mood, stress levels and cognitive function. So, with the support of the 100 trillion microbes that live within the human digestive system, Australian researchers are discovering how we can improve mental health conditions through diet.
$4.8 million to generate new evidence for long-term health conditions
NHMRC is investing $4.8 million into Australian health and medical research to generate new evidence to help people experiencing multiple long-term health conditions across the globe.
Food for thought: Exploring how diet can improve mental health
As nutritional and psychological sciences advance, the evidence grows that diet is not only vital for physical health but also plays a significant role in mental wellbeing. While the burgeoning field of Nutritional Psychiatry shows correlations between not only what we eat and how we feel and behave, there is still so much to explore.
Contact with youth justice system standout marker for risk of premature death and poor health
Discover how Professor Stuart Kinner's world first study on the health of justice-involved young people is uncovering critical insights into the risks and causes of premature death among vulnerable young Australians.
Tracker - 10 June 2025
Welcome to Tracker, the National Health and Medical Research Council’s (NHMRC) fortnightly newsletter with the latest information on major activities and funding opportunities.
Speaking of Science: Cultural safety and fostering connections to social and emotional wellbeing with Associate Professor Yvonne Clark
'We work a lot with families, babies, pregnancy and young people, and our goal is to see them flourish or to do research that can move them towards that trajectory of flourishing and not just always surviving.'
Recognising outstanding contributions to Australian health and medical research
Professor Emily Banks AM, recipient of the 2025 NHMRC Outstanding Contribution Award, is a public health physician and epidemiologist working towards improving health and healthcare, at an individual and population level. With interests spanning chronic disease, tobacco control, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health and healthy ageing, Professor Banks’s extensive research into population health is changing public behaviours, guiding healthcare professionals and having a significant impact in the community.
Decoding the revolution of AI powered healthcare
Signaling the arrival of the digital revolution, artificial intelligence (AI) technologies are increasingly appearing within Australia’s health system. From diagnostics to clinical practice, digitisation of healthcare is promising to enhance delivery by supporting workforce capability, enabling better patient engagement and promoting health literacy and self-management of health conditions. Yet while our appetite for AI and its potential in being a safe, ethical, equitable and effective tool has improved with time, a lot remains unknown.
Tracker - 26 May 2025
Welcome to Tracker, the National Health and Medical Research Council’s (NHMRC) fortnightly newsletter with the latest information on major activities and funding opportunities.
Recognising excellence in developing a world-first Indigenous wellbeing index
Ngiyampaa/Wongaibon social epidemiologist and recipient of the 2023 NHMRC David Cooper Clinical Trials and Cohort Studies Award, Professor Raymond Lovett has focused his career on improving Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health. As an Associate Director of Yardhura Walani (Australian National University) and Director of Mayi Kuwayu: The national study of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander wellbeing, Professor Lovett’s research has influenced policy at state and national levels, as well as empowered communities at the local level. He is now aiming to take this to the global stage through the development of a world-first Indigenous wellbeing index.
Remote rehabilitation programs prove excellent option for people with chronic respiratory problems
Learn how dedicated physiotherapists, Professor Anne Holland and Associate Professor Narelle Cox's innovative remote rehabilitation program is transforming lives for those with chronic respiratory conditions. Their groundbreaking work offers accessible, effective care from the comfort of home.
Recognising Excellence in advancing the evidence base in cardiac arrest and resuscitation
Recipient of the 2024 NHMRC Peter Doherty Investigator Grant Award (Emerging Leadership), Dr Ziad Nehme is a paramedic-scientist with expertise in prehospital emergency care and resuscitation research. With a focus on early response to out-of-hospital cardiac arrest patients, Dr Nehme is targeting improvements in early recognition and activation of emergency services, accelerating treatments through community-based care, and enhancing the evidence-base in resuscitation.
Recognising the power of community engagement in health and medical research
Recipient of the 2025 NHMRC Consumer Involvement Award, Professor James St John is a translational neuroscientist specialising in the creation and delivery of therapies to repair injuries and diseases of the nervous system. He has driven the development of a comprehensive consumer involvement program to design and create a cell transplantation therapy for repairing chronic spinal cord injury which is now progressing to a clinical trial.
Tracker - 12 May 2025
Welcome to Tracker, the National Health and Medical Research Council’s (NHMRC) fortnightly newsletter with the latest information on major activities and funding opportunities.
Over $79 million investment towards clinical trials and cohort studies
An investment of over $79 million will support high quality clinical trials and cohort studies that address important gaps in knowledge, with potential for significant health benefits.
Advanced cardiovascular disease risk tests on the horizon
Some genes we inherit from our parents are linked to diseases. Explore how Professors Eric Moses and Peter Meikle are using the Busselton Health Study to uncover genetic risk factors for cardiovascular disease.
Leading through crisis: upholding research integrity in unprecedented times
When Professor Fabienne Mackay stepped into the role of Director and CEO at QIMR Berghofer in late 2020, she expected challenges—navigating a global pandemic, leading a major organisational restructure, and steering a world-class research institute through an evolving funding landscape. What she did not anticipate was facing one of the most significant cases of research misconduct in Australian history.
Preventing and healing painful, chronic wounds through multidisciplinary R&D
Discover how Professor Allison Cowin's innovative stem cell and antibody treatments are transforming chronic wound care. Her groundbreaking work offers hope and improved health outcomes for millions worldwide.
Recognising outstanding contributions to NHMRC’s Principles of Peer Review
Professor Philip Batterham, recipient of the 2025 NHMRC Peer Review Excellence Award (senior/experienced category), exemplifies what it means to be a fair, transparent and enthusiastic peer reviewer. Abiding by our Principles of Peer Review, Professor Batterham has continued to show an unrelenting commitment to providing rigorous assessment of applications for grant funding.
Tracker - 28 April 2025
Welcome to Tracker, the National Health and Medical Research Council’s (NHMRC) fortnightly newsletter with the latest information on major activities and funding opportunities.
Recognising excellence in identifying and overcoming mechanisms of immune evasion in cancer
Recipient of the 2024 NHMRC Fiona Stanley Synergy Grant Award, Professor Marie-Liesse Asselin-Labat is investigating how cancer evades the immune system and how immunotherapies and cancer vaccines can be enhanced to improve treatment outcomes. Professor Asselin-Labat PharmD, PhD, is a Division Head at WEHI, leading a team that studies the interactions between immune and tumour cells in lung cancer, and how external factors can trigger the disease and treatment response.
Speaking of Science: Interrogating the physiology of the human vagus nerve with Professor Vaughan Macefield
A new era of research that promises to uncover novel information on the physiology of the human vagus nerve is unfolding right before our eyes.
Recognising excellence in cancer cachexia research using fruit flies
Associate Professor Louise Cheng, recipient of the 2024 NHMRC Marshall and Warren Ideas Grant Award, is a group leader at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre and the Department of Anatomy and Physiology at the University of Melbourne. Her lab utilises the fruit fly (Drosophila) to study how tumours grow at the expense of other tissues in cancer cachexia- a metabolic syndrome affecting up to 80% of people with advance cancer.
Recognising excellence in turbocharging treatments for type-2 diabetes
Recipient of the 2024 NHMRC Marshall and Warren Innovation Award, Associate Professor Garron Dodd, is globally acknowledged as a top authority in metabolic neuroscience. His research led out of the Metabolic Neuroscience Laboratory at the University of Melbourne has been pivotal in advancing metabolic health both in Australia and internationally, aiming to create innovative therapies for obesity and type-2 diabetes.
Tracker - 14 April 2025
Welcome to Tracker, the National Health and Medical Research Council’s (NHMRC) fortnightly newsletter with the latest information on major activities and funding opportunities.
Teasing out fact from fiction in global guidelines for iron supplements in children
Discover how Professors Sant-Rayn Pasricha and Beverley-Ann Biggs's extensive research on iron supplementation is reshaping global health recommendations. Their work offers new insights into child development and anaemia treatment.
Recognising outstanding scientific imagery beneath the skin’s surface
Associate Professor Arutha Kulasinghe, recipient of the 2025 NHMRC Science to Art Award, is bringing together the rigour of heath and medical research with aesthetically powerful art. With a focus on cutting edge spatial biology and genomic techniques, Associate Professor Kulasinghe is dedicated to unlocking the secrets of individual cell interactions, leading to personalised treatments for several diseases, including cancer.
Tracker - 31 March 2025
Welcome to Tracker, the National Health and Medical Research Council’s (NHMRC) fortnightly newsletter with the latest information on major activities and funding opportunities.
Surviving melanoma has a new genetic story
Australia has the highest incidence of melanoma in the world with one Aussie diagnosed every 30 minutes.1 Delve into the research led by Dr Sarah Ward aiming to unpack the genetic epidemiology of melanoma.
A night of celebrating health and medical research excellence
A gathering of our nation’s foremost health and medical researchers has taken place this evening, celebrating their excellence, leadership and extraordinary contributions to the sector in our annual Research Excellence Awards dinner. This year, the ceremony included the celebration of our Biennial Awards and the talent making impact in an area of importance to NHMRC.
A celebration of the best health and medical research discoveries
When it comes to health and medical research in Australia, our scientists are pioneering key advances to better understand health conditions and answer fundamental questions. This evening, we had the pleasure of launching the highly anticipated 16th edition of our flagship publication, 10 of the Best.
Speaking of Science: Evaluating 23 years of Dementia and Diabetes research
As of 2025, it is estimated that approximately 433,300 Australians are living with dementia, and approximately 1.3 million Australians were living with diabetes in 2022, which equates to roughly 5.3% of the population.
Tracker - 17 March 2025
Welcome to Tracker, the National Health and Medical Research Council’s (NHMRC) fortnightly newsletter with the latest information on major activities and funding opportunities.
Tracker - 3 March 2025
Welcome to Tracker, the National Health and Medical Research Council’s (NHMRC) fortnightly newsletter with the latest information on major activities and funding opportunities.
$15 million investment to support collaborations in health services research
The Australian Government is investing $15 million to improve health outcomes by supporting health service focussed research projects that foster collaboration between health services and research organisations across both metropolitan and regional, rural and remote areas.
$422 million into research for the future of Australia’s healthcare system
Announced today by the Minister for Health and Aged Care, the Hon Mark Butler MP, are 229 high-performing researchers who will share in an investment of over $422 million under the National Health and Medical Research Council’s (NHMRC) Investigator Grants scheme.