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Monday
Welcome to Tracker, the National Health and Medical Research Council’s (NHMRC) fortnightly newsletter with the latest information on major activities and funding opportunities.
NHMRC presents: Speaking of Science - Interrogating the physiology of the human vagus nerve with Professor Vaughan Macefield
The human vagus nerve is the largest and longest cranial nerve, supplying structures in the neck, thorax and abdomen. However, there is still limited understanding on the physiology of the vagus nerve in humans.
In this Speaking of Science webinar hosted by NHMRC in acknowledgement of World Creativity and Innovation Week, you will hear from NHMRC Ideas Grants funded researcher, Professor Vaughan Macefield (Monash University), and how his innovation and creativity has led to groundbreaking health and medical research firsts. Professor Macefield will discuss how he is interrogating the physiology of the human vagus nerve by developing a means of capturing microelectrode recordings going to and from the brain. Creative, innovative and promising, this approach aims to provide much needed information on how the organ control provided by the vagus nerve is affected in disease states.
As always, there will be a Q&A session at the end, and we have a feeling that you won’t want to miss this one!
The webinar will take place tomorrow, Tuesday 15 April 2025 between 11:00AM–12:00PM AEST.
National Statement on Ethical Conduct in Human Research 2025
The revised National Statement on Ethical Conduct in Human Research was released in early April 2025. The 2025 update of the National Statement includes a fully revised Section 4 and minor selective changes to other sections of the document.
The 2025 National Statement will take effect on 1 October 2025. Researchers, reviewers and other stakeholders should become familiarise themselves with the updated guidance well before that date.
Further information is available on NHMRC’s website or contact ethics@nhmrc.gov.au.
Peer Review Honour Roll
NHMRC recently published the 2024 Peer Review Honour Roll. The Honour Roll highlights peer reviewers, peer review mentors, panel chairs, community observers, and external assessors who contributed to the peer review process in 2024 across the NHMRC grant program.
We would like to thank all Honour Roll members for their valuable contributions to the peer review process.
Researchers who would like to contribute to the peer review process in upcoming NHMRC grant opportunities can follow the steps found in this assessor self-nominations video or additional guidance on peer review.
Human Research Ethics Committees activity report
The 2023 Human Research Ethics Committees (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 2023 has now been published and can be found on NHMRC’s website.
Impact Case Study - Improving vision with corneal transplants
Improving vision with corneal transplants
Corneal transplantation is the most common form of transplantation surgery occurring in the world and, globally, it provides improved vision to many thousands of people each year. NHMRC funded researchers at Flinders Medical Centre and Flinders University have made major contributions to improving clinical and eye bank practice both in Australia and internationally, through their establishment of the Australian Corneal Graft Registry (ACGR), the largest registry of its type in the world.
In Australia, survival of full thickness corneal grafts (the most common type) is 93% at one year and 73% at 5 years. The ACGR has played a key role in revealing those factors which are both important and unimportant to graft survival. This in turn has enabled clinicians to more accurately predict which patients are most likely to have a successful transplant, and therefore to improve the experience of patients overall.
Read more about this and other positive impacts arising from NHMRC grant funding in our impact case studies.
NHMRC-Global Alliance for Chronic Diseases: strengthening health systems
NHMRC invites Australia-based researchers to submit applications for the 10th Global Alliance for Chronic Diseases (GACD) funding call to GACD, as forecast on GrantConnect on 3 December 2024.
The objective of this grant opportunity is to fund implementation research that will generate evidence about strategies to strengthen health systems in low- and middle-income countries and/or for Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander communities in Australia.
The GACD online application portal is now open for first stage proposals. Applicants should refer to the GACD website for key dates and application guidance. For details on NHMRC’s participation in this grant opportunity refer to GrantConnect.
MRFF progress and final reports in Sapphire
NHMRC has upgraded Sapphire to enable MRFF grant holders to submit their progress and final reports online. The online reporting templates are now available to each MRFF Chief Investigator A (CIAs).
From 9 April 2025, functionality supports submission of reports using the online process. The current offline submission process will be available for a limited period during the pilot and transition phase. It is anticipated that offline submission will no longer be accepted after 30 June 2025.
Find more information on scientific reporting and milestones on our website.
Key NHMRC grant program dates
NHMRC grant opportunities are funded through the Medical Research Endowment Account (MREA). Please see the Funding schemes and calendar page.
Opened:
NHMRC Postgraduate Scholarships
The Postgraduate Scholarships 2025 grant opportunity is now open for applications in Sapphire. The Postgraduate Scholarship scheme funds successful applicants to attain a research-based postgraduate degree – Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) or a Research Masters Degree
Key dates:
- Minimum data due on Wednesday 14 May 2025 at 17:00 AEST
- Applications close on Wednesday 4 June 2025 at 17:00 AEST.
To assist applicants and RAOs in preparing applications, the following resources are available on GrantConnect (GO7640):
- Postgraduate Scholarships 2025 Guidelines
- Postgraduate Scholarships 2025 Peer Review Guidelines
- Postgraduate Scholarships 2025 Grant Proposal
- Funding Partners – Postgraduate Scholarships 2025.
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. 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.
Opening soon:
NHMRC Development Grants
The Development Grants 2025 grant opportunity opens for applications on Wednesday 16 April 2025.
Key dates:
- Minimum data due on 14 May 2025 17:00 AEST
- Applications close on 11 June 2025 17:00 AEST.
Further details on this grant opportunity, including the grant guidelines are available on GrantConnect. Contact help@nhmrc.gov.au for further information.
Medical Research Future Fund - grant opportunities key dates
The following MRFF grant opportunities have close due dates approaching:
- 2024 Post-Acute Sequelae of COVID-19 Grant Opportunity (GO7225)
Applications close on Wednesday 16 April 2025 at 17:00 AEST.
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:
- their Sapphire account is active or access to Sapphire has been requested,
- their organisation is an approved MRFF Eligible Organisation before the close date, and
- any intended participating institutions are listed in Sapphire or request that a new participating institution be added by emailing help@nhmrc.gov.au, including the institution's website address (URL) and ABN (if applicable).
MRFF grant assessment committee self-nomination
Register your interest to become a member of a MRFF grant assessment committee.
Key dates
Refer to Funding schemes and calendar.
Tracker
See previous editions of Tracker.
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