Welcome to Tracker, NHMRC’s fortnightly newsletter with the latest information on major activities and funding opportunities.
Honouring the achievements and dedication of Australian health and medical researchers
Image: NHMRC Research Excellence Awards photographed by Pew Pew Studio.
2023 NHMRC Research Excellence Awards
On Wednesday 27 March 2024, NHMRC was privileged to host our annual 2023 Research Excellence Awards, celebrating outstanding Australian health and medical researchers.
Research Excellence Awards are awarded annually to the top-ranked researchers and teams following peer review of applications to NHMRC's highly competitive grant schemes.
At an intimate ceremony held in Canberra, NHMRC CEO, Professor Steve Wesselingh, was joined by the Minister for Health and Aged Care, the Hon Mark Butler MP, the Council Chair, Professor Caroline Homer AO, and members of NHMRC’s Council, as well as other distinguished guests.
Professor Wesselingh said that each Research Excellence Award recognises a pioneer in Australian health and medical science, honouring their legacy within their chosen field of research.
“It is only appropriate that Australia’s next generation of researchers are recognised for their work that equally reflects both the qualities exemplified by those that came before them, and their sustained contributions to the sector.” said Professor Wesselingh.
Congratulations to all recipients of an NHMRC Research Excellence Award for 2023. We thank them for their outstanding contributions to Australian health and medical research.
Read more on the 2023 Research Excellence Awards, and their recipients, in our media release.
NHMRC 10 of the Best–15th Edition
NHMRC also took the grand opportunity to release its flagship publication, 10 of the Best–15th Edition, at the Research Excellence Awards ceremony, showcasing the innovative projects, and their outcomes, that have been translated into our research-embedded health system.
This edition includes stories, from across Australia, of researchers examining the use of addiction therapeutics to treat obesity, evaluating vaccine formulations to prevent ear disease among school-aged Indigenous children, redefining the nutritional requirements and dietary energy balance for pregnant women to prevent preterm birth, and developing a program to assist schools in improving physical activity levels among adolescents.
Read more on the launch of NHMRC’s 10 of the Best–15th Edition and the inspiring Australian researchers delivering extraordinary outcomes in our media release.
2024 Commonwealth Health Minister’s Award for Excellence in Health and Medical Research
Among the honours awarded during the night was the 2024 Commonwealth Health Minister’s Award for Excellence in Health and Medical Research.
Presented by the Minister for Health and Aged Care, the Hon Mark Butler MP, this annual award is given to NHMRC’s top ranked Investigator Grant in Emerging Leadership Level 2 category in the previous year’s round.
Dr Sean Humphrey from Murdoch Children’s Research Institute was the recipient of this prestigious award, affirming him as a driving force in proteomic research in Australia, through the development of new methods that use cutting-edge mass spectrometry to improve our understanding of proteins.
This award recognises the outstanding achievements of an Australian medical researcher who has completed a Doctor of Philosophy or Doctor of Medicine within the last 10 years. It is an award that also recognises the potential of the researcher and the future impact of their work. By accepting this prestigious award, Dr Humphrey will receive a further $50,000 to help support his research in addition to his recent 5-year NHMRC Investigator Grant funding.
Invitation for public submissions: Australian Pregnancy Care and Australian Postnatal Care guidelines
The Living Evidence for Australian Pregnancy and Postnatal Care (LEAPP) consortium is seeking NHMRC approval under section 14A of the National Health and Medical Research Council Act 1992 for its Australian Pregnancy Care Guidelines and Australian Postnatal Care Guidelines.
Consultation on recommendations from both guidelines is now open until Tuesday 23 April 2024. The recommendations include guidance on screening for depression, anxiety, and psychosocial risk factors.
View the Australian Pregnancy Care Guidelines and make a submission.
View the Australian Postnatal Care Guidelines and make a submission.
Find out more about the 5-year Australian Pregnancy and Postnatal Care Living Guidelines project on the LEAPP Guidelines website.
Guidelines under the Privacy Act 1988
NHMRC has remade the following guidelines issued under the Privacy Act 1988 that support the research sector to apply that Act in certain activities:
• Guidelines under Section 95 of the Privacy Act 1988 provides a framework in which medical research involving personal information obtained by Commonwealth agencies should be conducted to ensure the information is protected.
• Guidelines approved under Section 95A of the Privacy Act 1988 provides a framework for human research ethics committees and others to weigh the public interest in research activities against the public interest in the protection of privacy.
• Guidelines approved under Section 95AA of the Privacy Act 1988 specifies the requirements that must be met by health practitioners if they choose to use or disclose genetic information without patient consent.
All 3 guidelines have been remade in substantially the same terms as the 2014 guidelines, minor revisions have been applied to maintain their currency.
This action was triggered by the scheduled sunsetting of legislative instruments that enact the 2014 versions of these guidelines. It was taken to ensure the utility of these guidelines whilst the Australian Government implements its response to a substantial review of the Privacy Act that proposed significant changes to the legislation with implications for these guidelines.
Participation reminder: Review of the Statement on Consumer and Community Involvement in Health and Medical Research
NHMRC and the Consumers Health Forum of Australia Ltd (CHF) are collaborating to review the 2016 Statement on Consumer and Community Involvement in Health and Medical Research (the Statement).
The Australian Health Research Alliance (AHRA) is running workshops around Australia throughout April 2024, using the Consumer Statement Review position paper as the basis for discussion. All interested stakeholders are encouraged to attend a workshop to have their say on what should be included in the revised Statement.
View the workshop schedule online via the Engagement on CCI Statement - AHRA website.
All interested stakeholders are encouraged to provide responses to the questions in the position paper through NHMRC’s Consultation Hub by Friday 31 May 2024.
NHMRC approved third party guidelines
On 8 December 2023, NHMRC approved the recommendations of the following guidelines under section 14A of the National Health and Medical Research Council Act 1992.
• The 2024 Care Around Stillbirth and Neonatal Death Clinical Practice Guideline developed by the NHMRC Centre of Research Excellence in Stillbirth in partnership with the Perinatal Society of Australia and New Zealand. The purpose of the guideline is to promote best practice care around the time of perinatal death.
• The 2023 National Guideline for the Assessment and Diagnosis of Autism in Australia (registration required) updated by the Autism Cooperative Research Centre. The guideline is focused on assessment that is conducted where a clinical diagnosis of autism is being considered.
Reminder: Speaking of Science – working towards a National Indigenous Genomics Agenda with Professor Alex Brown
The next edition in our Speaking of Science webinar series, ‘Working towards a National Indigenous Genomics Agenda’ is coming up this Thursday 11 April 2024 from 12:00-13:00 AEST.
It is not too late to join us as we host internationally-acclaimed Aboriginal doctor and researcher Professor Alex Brown from the Telethon Kids Institute and the Australian National University.
Professor Brown will discuss Indigenous genomics, and how his transdisciplinary program of research is helping to improve health disparities among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. There will also be an opportunity to engage in a Q&A session, so we encourage you to attend and ask questions.
Register for this free event via Eventbrite.
NHMRC/MREA - grant opportunities key dates
The following NHMRC/Medical Research Endowment Account (MREA) grant opportunities are opening soon:
NHMRC Postgraduate Scholarships:
NHMRC Postgraduate Scholarships scheme will open for applications on Wednesday 10 April 2024.
- Key dates:
- Minimum data due: Wednesday 8 May 2024 17:00 AEST
- Applications close Wednesday 5 June 2024 17:00 AEST.
The following NHMRC/MREA grant opportunities have minimum data due soon:
NHMRC Ideas Grants 2024:
Minimum data for NHMRC Ideas Grants applications is due on Wednesday 17 April 2024 17:00 AEST.
Applicants must complete the required fields with correct information. Using placeholder text is not acceptable as minimum data. Minimum data fields are outlined in Appendix E of the Ideas Grant 2024 Guidelines. The Guidelines and other supporting documents are available on GrantConnect.
Failure to meet these minimum data requirements by the deadline will result in the application not proceeding.
Contact Research Help Centre by emailing help@nhmrc.gov.au for enquiries.
Key NHMRC grant program dates:
Please see the Funding schemes and calendar page
Medical Research Future Fund – grant opportunities key dates
The following MRFF grant opportunity has a close date approaching:
- 2023 Multidisciplinary Models of Primary Care (Streams 1-3) (GO6508)
- Applications close on Wednesday 10 April 2024 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.
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.