Welcome to this special edition of Tracker. In this edition, you will find all the information about the upcoming 2025 NHMRC Biennial Awards including how to nominate.
2025 NHMRC Biennial Awards
The NHMRC Biennial Awards celebrate leadership and outstanding contributions to the health and medical research sector.
Each award category recognises a group or an individual who has made a special contribution in an area of importance to NHMRC. Recipients of these awards are invited to attend our annual event, NHMRC’s Research Excellence Awards to receive this recognition.
These awards have been carefully reviewed and the criteria for each has been updated for 2025, and we are pleased to announce the details.
There are 6 award categories, including a brand-new award for 2025:
- Consumer Involvement Award
- Ethics and Integrity Award
- Research Quality Award
- Science to Art Award
- Outstanding Contribution Award
- Peer Review Excellence Award (NEW!)
Nominations for 2025 NHMRC Biennial Awards are now open!
NHMRC is seeking nominations for outstanding individuals, groups of individuals or institution/organisations from the health and medical research community for consideration in the 2025 Biennial Awards.
More information about each award and links to nomination pages (where applicable) is provided below.
NHMRC Consumer Involvement Award
The NHMRC Consumer Involvement Award recognises an individual or an organisation that has made a long-term contribution to consumer and community involvement in health and medical research.
Nominees are considered strong advocates for health and medical research and inspirational role models for consumer involvement, who want to improve and support community interactions with research.
Nominations for the 2025 NHMRC Consumer Involvement Award are now open on our website.
In 2023, the Queensland Aphasia Research Centre was the recipient for their work in bringing together people with aphasia, their families and friends’ clinicians, and researchers in the collaborative development of innovative and novel health interventions that transform lives. Read more about the 2023 Biennial Awards.
Pictured The Queensland Aphasia Research Centre Team
NHMRC Ethics and Integrity Award
The NHMRC Ethics and Integrity Award recognises an individual, a group of individuals, or an organisation who has made a significant contribution to supporting the highest ethical standards in Australian health and medical research.
We are seeking nominees that have demonstrated innovation in the formulation of ethics and/or integrity policy, leadership in the formulation of ethics and/or integrity standards, or services above and beyond the normal requirement of Human Research Ethics Committee membership.
Nominations for the 2025 NHMRC Ethics and Integrity Award are now open on our website.
NHMRC Research Quality Award
The NHMRC Research Quality Award recognises the outstanding contribution of an individual, team or organisation who has made a significant contribution to supporting and/or uplifting the quality of Australian health and medical research beyond their own program of research.
The award is intended to reinforce the importance of institutional culture to the conduct of high-quality research.
Nominations for the 2025 NHMRC Research Quality Award are now open on our website.
NHMRC Science to Art Award
The NHMRC Science to Art Award recognises outstanding imagery that has arisen from NHMRC-funded research. Imaging is now an integral technology in medical research and while they are scientifically important, they can also be aesthetically powerful.
Submissions for the 2025 NHMRC Science to Art Award are now open on our website.
NHMRC Outstanding Contribution Award
The NHMRC Outstanding Contribution Award recognises outstanding long-term contributions, individual commitment and support to NHMRC.
Please note that nominations for this award are by invitation only.
Professor Doug Hilton AO was the recipient of the Outstanding Contribution Award in 2023 for his inspiring advocacy for health and medical research. Professor Hilton has made deep and long-lasting contributions through his many advisory and leadership roles and his commitment has improved the landscape of health and medical research in Australia for the benefit of us all. Read more about the 2023 Biennial Awards.
Pictured Professor Doug Hilton AO
NHMRC Peer review Excellence Award (NEW!)
The NHMRC Peer Review Excellence Award recognises the outstanding contribution of an individual who demonstrates their commitment to NHMRC’s principles of peer review. This includes, but is not limited to, extent of contributions, enthusiasm to participate, quality of assessment, willingness to take on additional requests, and their commitment as mentors.
This new award has 2 categories:
• Senior/experiences peer e reviewer
• Early or mid-career researcher as a peer reviewer.
Please note that nominees will be identified and selected by the office of NHMRC.
We encourage you to share this information for the updated Biennial Awards with your networks and if you know someone who could be of interest, please encourage them to nominate.
Nominations will close at 5pm Friday 31 January 2025 AEDT.
If you have any questions regarding the Research Excellence Awards, please contact nhmrc.awards@nhmrc.gov.au.
More information will be available over the coming months, so continue to check our website and social media channels for further updates.
Dr Caleb Dawson of WEHI received the 2023 Science to Art Award for his work titled In Bloom – Breast tissue showing muscle-like cells. This image scientifically depicts just 1 mm of healthy breast tissue in lactation. Images like this have helped discover a unique breast immune cell that removes the milk-producing cells after weaning to keep the breast healthy.
Pictured Dr Caleb's Dawson's science to art image, In Bloom