The National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) has released the 14th edition of its '10 of the Best' publication featuring the outcomes of some of the outstanding research that has been funded under NHMRC’s grant program.
This annual publication is a tribute to the exceptional researchers and their teams around Australia who are adding new evidence to our mounting knowledge and understanding of health by addressing Australia’s greatest health challenges.
Research is critical to understand, prevent, detect, and treat disease. NHMRC, as the Australian Government’s lead agency for the support of health and medical research, plays a key role in funding research that has the potential to improve the lives of millions with the ultimate vision of building a healthy Australia.
The projects featured in 10 of the Best – Fourteenth Edition exemplify the extraordinary quality and diversity of projects funded each year by NHMRC. Projects are selected from a review of the final reports submitted to NHMRC for over a thousand grants. The report highlights the research that was conducted, what was achieved, and the next steps of what is yet to come.
The projects showcased in this edition are just a small sample of the outstanding research funded under NHMRC’s grant program each year, of which spans the spectrum of health and medical research, working across the full extent of biomedical, clinical, public health and health services.
NHMRC CEO Professor Steve Wesselingh said that 'every day, Australians and people around the world benefit from the discoveries of researchers such as the ones featured in the publication, without knowing the journey'.
'In showcasing this research, we hope to give much deserved recognition to the researchers who strive towards improving the health and wellbeing of all Australians,'
As the Australian Government’s lead agency for the support of health and medical research, NHMRC maintains an integral role in funding research that is critical to our understanding, prevention, detection and treatment of disease.
10 of the Best – Fourteenth Edition presents stories of researchers across Australia delivering culturally-safe maternity care for Aboriginal women, discovering and developing better pain treatments, improving in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) treatment methods, and harnessing the body’s own immune system to improve vaccines to name a few.
'Working together and sharing expertise, NHMRC-funded projects will continue to add evidence to our mounting knowledge and understanding of health,
'The future of Australia’s health and medical research sector is in good hands with researchers, such as the ten featured in this publication, who are leading the way in their respective fields.
'Congratulations to the researchers and their teams profiled for their outstanding work and achievements, we thank you for your dedication in supporting NHMRC’s vision of building a healthy Australia,' said Professor Wesselingh.
The 10 projects showcased are listed in the table below.
| Title | CIA | Institution |
|---|---|---|
| Delivering a legacy of culturally safe maternity care | Professor Rhonda Marriott | Murdoch University |
| Enhancing future pain treatments using venoms | Professor Richard Lewis | University of Queensland |
| Driving change in aged care pharmacy practices through data | Dr Lisa Pont | Macquarie University |
| Mentors inspire an indigenous research career with impact | Professor Cath Chamberlain | La Trobe University |
| Improving fertility treatment through innovation | Professor Robert Gilchrist | University of New South Wales |
| Fighting biofilms with a trojan horse | Dr Nicky Thomas | University of South Australia |
| Community-designed and delivered suicide intervention | Professor Maree Toombs | The University of Queensland |
| Harnessing the power of natural immunity to extend vaccine protection | Associate Professor Linda Wakim | University of Melbourne (The Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity) |
| Accelerating change in driver safety screening | Professor Kaarin Anstey | University of New South Wales |
| Growing up and getting stronger: Improving the long-term health of premature babies | Professor Lex Doyle | Murdoch Children’s Research Institute |