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NHMRC’s goal is to support the highest quality research that will lead to improvements in health over the short or long term. Peer review by independent experts is used to identify well-designed feasible projects that address a significant question and are undertaken by researchers with demonstrated capacity to perform high-quality research.

The National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) are uniquely positioned to work with individuals, philanthropic trusts, foundations and other funders to help support health and medical research in Australia. Philanthropists interested in supporting high quality health and medical research projects are encouraged to review the opportunities for, and benefits of, engaging with us. 

Until the 1970s, people experiencing infertility had few options. Commencing in the late 1960s, NHMRC-funded researchers at Monash University and other research centres in Melbourne began creating in vitro fertilisation (IVF) technologies and developed them into robust medical procedures that are now used worldwide. These technologies have significantly expanded the options available for those wishing to have a baby and today IVF is responsible for about 1 in 20 births in Australia.

Glaucoma is the leading cause of irreversible blindness worldwide, with an estimated 80 million people affected1 including more than 200,000 Australians.2 Over two decades, NHMRC-funded researchers at the Lions Eye Institute (LEI) and the University of Western Australia (UWA) developed a new approach that has revolutionised glaucoma treatment, leading to safer surgery and improved vision outcomes. With later support from an international industry team, this new glaucoma surgery is now in use worldwide.

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) was the fifth leading cause of death in Australia in 2020. With early diagnosis and treatment, people with COPD can breathe better and live healthier lives.

Skin sores and infections are worldwide problems but are particularly important health issues for remote-living Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities in Australia. Rates of skin disease have been high in such communities for decades: not just by Australian urban standards but by world standards. With one study finding impetigo prevalence as high as 70%,1 these problems are so prevalent that they have come to be considered ‘normal’ – by children, their families and even by health care providers. NHMRC-funded researchers at the Menzies School for Health Research (Menzies) and The Kids Research Institute have made major contributions to improving skin health in these communities.

This video is to assist Investigator Grants peer reviewers.

Chronic cough is a common problem in children that impairs quality of life, with a burden often unappreciated by health professionals. Protracted Bacterial Bronchitis (PBB) is the most common cause of chronic cough in children. Untreated, it leads to poor future lung health outcomes such as bronchiectasis.

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a chronic respiratory disorder that leads to disturbed sleep and causes sickness in at least 200 million people globally.1 In 2018–19, over 39,000 Australians were hospitalised with a principal diagnosis of OSA.2

During the mid-20th century, epidemics of hospital-based and antibiotic resistant Staphylococcus aureus – or golden staph – were causing serious illness and death in hospitals internationally, and one strain was a particular problem in maternity hospitals. NHMRC-funded bacteriologists working at the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital (RPA) in Sydney made important contributions to knowledge about how to identify strains of golden staph and how to control its spread.

The Embryo Research Licensing Committee (ERLC) of the National Health and Medical Research Council has considered whether specific embryo models fall within the regulation of the Research Involving Human Embryos Act 2002 and Prohibition of Human Cloning for Reproduction Act 2002. The information below is based on ERLC’s understanding of the science at the time it was considered.

While diabetes has been recognised as a severe disease since ancient times, it was only during the mid-20th century that National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC)-funded researchers at the Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute conclusively demonstrated that there are 2 major types of diabetes – type 2 (T2D) and type 1 (T1D) – based upon whether a person can or cannot produce their own insulin.

How do researchers effectively involve consumers and the community in their research?