13 April 2026

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 - from discovery to impact: improving access to mental health care for children

Anxiety disorders are the most prevalent mental health conditions for children and adolescents globally, affecting 5-10% of young people.  

This World Infant, Child and Adolescent Mental Health Day (23 April), Speaking of Science is shining a spotlight on the impact of NHMRC funded research that led to the development of new treatments to help kids with anxiety.

We will be joined by leading researcher in childhood mental health, Professor Jennie Hudson from the Black Dog Institute to discuss how NHMRC funding led to the development of highly effective treatment methods for childhood anxiety that are now in use globally.

There will be a Q&A session at the end, so we encourage you to attend and ask questions!  

This webinar will take place on Thursday 23 April 2026 from 2:00PM – 3:00PM AEST.

Register on Microsoft Teams here.
 

Celebrating excellence in Australian health and medical research

Research Excellence Awards

On Tuesday 31 March 2026, NHMRC celebrated Australia’s outstanding health and medical research leaders at our annual Research Excellence Awards.

These awards are given to top ranked researchers and teams following peer review of applications to NHMRC’s highly competitive grant schemes. The prestigious awards are named in honour of some of the greatest pioneers of Australian health and medical research.

NHMRC CEO Professor Steve Wesselingh said 'it’s a privilege to highlight the extraordinary depth of talent across Australia’s health and medical research sector and recognise our top ranked researchers who continue to champion bold ideas and push the boundaries of discovery.’

‘Congratulations to each of the awardees honoured for their achievements and thank you for your contributions to health and medical research,’ he said.

Find out more about the awards in our media release.

10 of the Best - 17th Edition

NHMRC also took the opportunity to release the 17th edition of our flagship publication, 10 of the Best at the awards ceremony, showcasing  NHMRC funded researchers whose work has combined fundamental scientific research with national health priorities such as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health, cardiovascular disease, cancer and chronic disease to achieve better outcomes across the nation. 

This year's edition tells the compelling stories behind ten groundbreaking Australian health and medical research projects which were funded under NHMRC’s grant program and completed in 2023.

Read more about the 10 of the Best edition in our media release.
 

Forecast opportunity – Regional, Rural and Remote Capacity Building grant opportunity 2026

NHMRC is pleased to announce a new grant opportunity to support health and medical researchers in regional, rural and remote (RRR) Australia. It will provide funding to help established RRR researchers lead and mentor early to mid career researchers, support emerging researchers (including clinicians) to become future leaders, and fund high quality place-based research that benefits RRR communities.

The Regional, Rural and Remote Capacity Building grant opportunity is expected to open for applications in mid-2026. Grants of $5 million each will be distributed over a 7-year period.

We encourage potential applicants to ensure their Sapphire account is active or request a new account. 

More information can be found on GrantConnect and on NHMRC’s news centre. 

For assistance please contact help@nhmrc.gov.au.
 

HREC Annual Report – 2025 report form open for completion and 2024 activity report available

NHMRC-registered Human Research Ethics Committees (HRECs) and NHMRC-certified institutions are required to submit annual reports to NHMRC about their activities in the preceding calendar year. The 2025 report form is now available and must completed by Monday 10 August 2026.

Further details, including how to access the form, have been emailed to registered HRECs and certified institutions. If your institution or HREC Chair have not received this email or require assistance, contact HREC.admin@nhmrc.gov.au.

The 2024 HRECs activity report provides an overview of the Australian system of ethical oversight of research involving humans, including the composition of HRECs and their processes for considering research proposals and monitoring approved research. The activity report is a compilation of information provided by NHMRC registered HRECs and NHMRC certified institutions that are required to submit annual reports to NHMRC. The activity report for 2024 is available on NHMRC’s HREC webpage. 
  

Key NHMRC grant program dates

NHMRC grant opportunities are funded through the Medical Research Endowment Account (MREA).

The following opportunities are now open for applications:

  • Targeted Call for Research (TCR): Childhood Dementia 2026
    This grant opportunity is now open for applications in Sapphire. 
    This opportunity aims to accelerate research that transforms the diagnosis, care and therapeutic landscape for children with dementia and their families.  
    Key dates:

    • Minimum data due on Wednesday 20 May 2026 17:00 (AEST)
    • Applications will close on Wednesday 3 June 2026 at 17:00 (AEST). 

    Further details on this grant opportunity, including the grant guidelines are available on GrantConnect.
    For further information or assistance, please contact help@nhmrc.gov.au.

     

  • Postgraduate Scholarships 2026

    This grant opportunity is now open for applications in Sapphire. 
    This scheme funds successful applicants to attain a research based postgraduate degree – Doctor of Philosophy or a Research Masters Degree.  
    Key dates:  

    • Minimum data due on Wednesday 13 May 2026 at 17:00 (AEST)
    • Applications close on Wednesday 3 June 2026 on 17:00 (AEST). \

    To assist applicants and RAOs in preparing applications, the following resources are available on GrantConnect (GO8345): 

    • Postgraduate Scholarships 2026 Guidelines  
    • Postgraduate Scholarships 2026 Peer Review Guidelines   
    • 2026 Postgraduate Scholarships Grant Proposal Template
    • Funding Partners – Postgraduate Scholarships 2026.  

    New user registrations  
    Applicants and their supervisors who do not yet have a Sapphire account should register on Sapphire as soon as possible, well in advance of the minimum data deadline. It is not possible to start a new application once the minimum data deadline has passed. Submission of a registration form and activation of a Sapphire account must occur at least 3 business days before application close, noting that account activation processes cannot be guaranteed in less than this time. 

    For technical assistance contact help@nhmrc.gov.au. 
     

Medical Research Future Fund – grant opportunities key dates

The following MRFF grant opportunity has opened for applications: 

Details on how to apply for MRFF grant opportunities and all MRFF close dates are available on GrantConnect. Applicants are reminded that only applicants who completed minimum data by the due date can submit an application. It is also the applicant’s responsibility to ensure they meet all eligibility requirements, including limits on the number of times a person can be named as a Chief Investigator on applications submitted to a grant opportunity.

Applicants should ensure:

MRFF grant assessment committee self nomination
Register your interest to become a member of a MRFF grant assessment committee.
 

Key dates

Please see the funding schemes and calendar page.
 

Tracker

See previous editions of Tracker.

Do you know someone who would like to receive this newsletter? They can visit the Newsletter sign up page.

If you have any questions about the newsletter, email communications@nhmrc.gov.au. 

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