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There’s an area of health and medical research, where scientific discoveries are made and are accompanied by artistic imagery that holds both aesthetic power and major promise for further breakthroughs. This area lies at the intersection of science and art.

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).

By 2036, the total cost of dementia is predicted to increase by 81 per cent to $25.8 billion in Australia1

Professor Yvonne Cadet-James, the pioneering researcher, academic, mentor, registered nurse and midwife is celebrating a 25-year legacy of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health research at the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC).

Multidisciplinary and multi-institution research is often the key to scientific advancement. NHMRC supports collaborative approaches to health and medical research. We provide assistance to Australian researchers in collaborative research projects, facilitate collaborative networks and international research partnerships, and researchers can explore opportunities to work with us or use our facilities.

Norovirus is a common viral cause of gastroenteritis (or ‘gastro’). Vomiting is usually the main initial symptom, and there can be a lot of vomit. Other symptoms include diarrhoea, nausea, stomach cramps, fever, headache and muscle aches. Norovirus gastroenteritis can cause dehydration because of the large amount of fluid lost through vomiting and diarrhoea.Outbreaks are common because norovirus spreads very easily and it only takes a small number of virus particles to make someone sick. The disease is more common from late winter to early summer.People who have had norovirus before can be reinfected as new strains of the virus spread around the world every few years.

Salmonella is a bacteria that causes gastroenteritis (or ‘gastro’) and occasionally bloodstream infection. Symptoms include diarrhoea (sometimes with blood or mucus in the faeces), fever, stomach pain, nausea and vomiting. The severity of the symptoms depends on the number of germs swallowed, the person’s age and their general health.Specific types of Salmonella cause typhoid and paratyphoid fever (see separate fact sheet). These can be more severe abdominal and bloodstream infections, but are generally only reported in returned travellers from countries where typhoid is common.

RSV is a common virus affecting the lungs and breathing passages. RSV in children usually causes mild to moderate cold-like symptoms lasting from 8 to 15 days. Symptoms include fever, runny nose, coughing and wheezing.In young children and babies under 12 months old, RSV can cause a chest infection called bronchiolitis. Signs of bronchiolitis include wheezing and difficulty breathing. This may get worse over the first 3 to 4 days before starting to improve. Some children and adults (particularly the elderly) need hospital treatment for their RSV lung infection.

National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) uses a number of research classification systems to categorise research applications and assessors' expertise including Fields of Research, Broad Research Area, Research Keywords and Burden of Disease.

Worldwide, preterm birth (birth before 37 weeks) is the single largest cause of death in the newborn period and early childhood.1 In Australia each year, around 8% of babies (almost 26,000 in 2019)2 are born prematurely. A wide variety of health issues are associated with pre-term birth, including developmental delay, cerebral palsy, hearing and visual impairments, learning difficulties and psychiatric disorders. NHMRC-funded researchers at the South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute (SAHMRI) and other Adelaide-based institutions have made major contributions to reducing the prevalence of premature births and improving the health of premature babies.