31 March 2025

Welcome to Tracker, the National Health and Medical Research Council’s (NHMRC) fortnightly newsletter with the latest information on major activities and funding opportunities.

A celebration of the best health and medical research discoveries

When it comes to health and medical research, Australian scientists are pioneering key advances to better understand health conditions and answer fundamental questions. 

NHMRC recently released its flagship publication, 10 of the Best–16th Edition, showcasing the innovative projects, and their outcomes, that have been translated into our research-embedded healthcare system. The stories told in this edition span the research spectrum, from exploring the relationship between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultural engagement, identity formation and health and wellbeing outcomes, to uncovering insights into the risks and causes of premature death among justice-involved young people. 

This edition details projects completed by some of the most amazing health and medical researchers whose work has been funded by the Australian Government through NHMRC. These projects exemplify hundreds of successful high-quality projects that were completed in 2022. 

Read more on the launch of NHMRC’s 10 of the Best–16th Edition and the inspiring researchers delivering extraordinary on our website.

Pictured from L to R: Professor Stuart Kinner, Professor Allison Cowin, Dr Prashant Bharadwaj, Professor Prudence Francis, Professor Sant-Rayn Pasricha, Professor Eric Moses, Associate Professor Narelle Cox and Professor Anne Holland.

Image credit: Hilary Wardhaugh Photography

NHMRC 2024 Research Excellence Awards and 2025 Biennial Awards

On Wednesday 26 March 2025, NHMRC was privileged to host our annual Research Excellence Awards dinner, celebrating excellence, leadership and extraordinary contributions to Australian health and medical research.

Coinciding with the 2-day meeting of NHMRC Council and the Australian Medical Research Advisory Board in Canberra, the ceremony was attended by Chair, Professor Caroline Homer AO, committee members, as well as other distinguished guests. They were joined by some of Australia’s leading health and medical researchers and receiving NHMRC’s Research Excellence Awards and NHMRC’s 2025 Biennial Awards.

Congratulations to all 2024 NHMRC Research Excellence Award and 2025 NHMRC Biennial Award recipients. We thank them for their outstanding contributions to Australian health and medical research. 

Read more on the Research Excellence Awards, and all recipients, on our website.

National public consultations on Quality Standards and an Accreditation Scheme for Human Research Ethics Committees and their Host Institutions

The Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care, in collaboration with all state and territory governments via the Inter-Governmental Policy Reform Group, has developed draft quality standards for Human Research Ethics Committees (HREC) and their host institutions. The standards aim to improve the quality, consistency and efficiency of ethics reviews while maintaining the highest standards of integrity.

The accreditation scheme will be open to all HRECs reviewing health and medical research, including those hosted by public and private health organisations, universities, medical research institutes and not-for-profit organisations.

Public consultations on the draft quality standards and the options for the proposed accreditation scheme will be held from 3 March to 17 April 2025. The survey can be accessed via the consultation page on the Department of Health and Aged Care’s website.
  

Postgraduate Scholarships 2025 - opening soon  

The 2025 Postgraduate Scholarship scheme will open for applications on Wednesday 9 April 2025. This scheme funds successful applicants to attain a research based postgraduate degree – Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) or a Research Masters Degree.  

Key dates:  

  • Scheme opens on Wednesday 9 April 2025.  
  • Minimum data due on Wednesday 14 May 2025 17:00 AEST  
  • Applications close on Wednesday 4 June 2025 17:00 AEST.  

New user registrations  
Applicants and their supervisors need to ensure that their Sapphire account is active or register for access to Sapphire well in advance of the minimum data deadline. 
 

Investigator Grants 2026 - forecast opportunity

NHMRC is planning to open the Investigator Grants 2026 grant opportunity in June 2025.

This forecast opportunity, published on Thursday 27 March 2025, gives advanced visibility to prospective applicants of the planned changes to the research impact assessment criteria and to the score descriptor appendix.

For details, refer to the forecast opportunity on GrantConnect.
 

Clinical Trials and Cohort Studies - open in September 2025  

The 2025 Clinical Trials and Cohort Studies grant scheme will now open on Wednesday 10 September 2025, and close Wednesday 5 November 2025. This change in timeline will allow for consumer and community representatives to be represented in the peer review process.

For further information, visit NHMRC’s website.

Key dates:

  • Applications open on Wednesday 10 September 2025
  • Minimum data due on Wednesday 8 October 2025 17:00 AEDT
  • Applications close on Wednesday 5 November 2025 17:00 AEDT
     

e-ASIA Joint Research Program - closing soon 

Applications for the 2025 NHMRC e-ASIA Joint Research Program (JRP) 14th Health Research call grant opportunity must be submitted:  

  • to the e-ASIA Secretariat by Monday 31 March 2025, and
  • via Sapphire by Wednesday 2 April 2025 17:00 AEDT.  

Applicants are encouraged to work closely with their RAOs well in advance of the due date to ensure applications are submitted on time.  

Details are available on the GrantConnect, NHMRC and e-ASIA websites.  

Please contact help@nhmrc.gov.au for further assistance.

Partnership Projects 2025 PRC 1 – closing soon 

Applications for the Partnership Projects 2025 Peer Review Cycle 1 close on Wednesday 2 April 2025 17:00 AEDT.  

We encourage applicants to work closely with their RAOs well in advance of the due date to ensure they can submit applications on time.  

Applicants are reminded that:  

  • Researchers listed on applications must have a Sapphire account. New account registrations must be submitted at least 72 hours prior to application close. The Research Help Centre will continue to respond to Sapphire-related enquiries until Wednesday 2 April 2025 13:00 AEDT.  
  • Only applicants who completed minimum data requirements by the deadline on 19 March 2025 17:00 AEDT can submit a full application.  
  • Applications submitted after close of round will not be accepted.  

Further information can be found on GrantConnect. Please contact help@nhmrc.gov.au for further assistance.

Medical Research Future Fund – grant opportunities key dates 

The following MRFF grant opportunities have minimum data due dates approaching:

The following MRFF grant opportunities have close due dates approaching:

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

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.

Closing soon:  

Opening soon:

  • Development Grants 2025 
    • Applications open on 16 April 2025
    • Minimum data due on 14 May 2025 17:00 AEST
    • Applications close on 11 June 2025 17:00 AEST.

Contact us: 
Further information can be found on GrantConnect and email help@nhmrc.gov.au for further assistance.  

Impact Case Study: helping premature babies breathe  

Helping premature babies breathe  

Nearly 1 in 10 babies are born prematurely each year in Australia. Premature babies often have underdeveloped lungs, causing breathing difficulties that require medical intervention. Traditional interventions like intubation and mechanical ventilation frequently damaged their fragile lungs and led to complications.

NHMRC-funded researchers explored continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) and nasal High Flow (nHF) technologies as non-invasive alternatives. They found that CPAP and nHF posed fewer risks and required less training to administer than traditional interventions.  

CPAP is now the preferred respiratory support for most premature babies in Australia and globally, with nHF usage also increasing. These treatments have improved newborn care, reduced transfers to neonatal intensive care units, alleviated parental and healthcare system burdens, and saved approximately $1,700 AUD per child.

Read more about this and other positive impacts arising from NHMRC grant funding in our impact case studies.

Tracker

See previous editions of Tracker.

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