Tag: MRFF

Endometriosis Research Grant Opportunity (EPCDR Initiative)
The Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF) Emerging Priorities and Consumer Driven Research (EPCDR) Initiative aims to enable or support:
- High quality biomedical, clinical, health services and/or population health research which improves patient care
- Translation of new discoveries into clinical practice
- New diagnoses, treatments and cures to those suffering from rare and debilitating conditions
- Joint collaboration of consumers and researchers in undertaking research in emerging priority areas, and
- Many Australians with debilitating conditions
The objectives of the 2019 Endometriosis Research grant opportunity aims to:
- Facilitate innovative, high quality research which will lead to:
  - Improved diagnosis and treatment of endometriosis
  - Research which will address the gaps in research, leading to a better understanding of the causes and underlying factors which contribute to the development and progression of endometriosis
  - Facilitate consumer involvement in the design and evaluation of the research project (including participation in the conduct of the research)
  - Provide high-quality evidence for the new health treatments and/or drugs (where appropriate)
  - Enable rapid translation of consumer-relevant research into clinical practice, health policy and/or health advice which will lead to positive impacts for consumers
  - Encourage the development of multi-disciplinary research teams which deliver measurable outcomes which are a priority for consumers
  - Encourage collaboration between research teams, policy makers, healthcare funders and the health delivery sector (e.g. education, community, industry and/or healthcare)
The total amount available is $9 million. Applications must be submitted electronically via the Research Grants Management System (RGMS). More information

Applications are now open, with minimum data due 22 January, 2020. Applications close 2pm (AWST), Wednesday 5 February, 2020.
November 28, 2019
Rare Cancers, Rare Diseases and Unmet Need Grant Opportunities
The Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF) Clinical Trial Activity in the Rare Cancers, Rare Diseases and Unmet Need Grant Opportunities are now open. The Minimum Data submission date is 2pm (AWST), Wednesday January 22.

Applications must satisfy all the requirements set out in the 2019 Rare Cancers, Rare Diseases and Unmet Need Grant Opportunity Guideline.

The following opportunities are open:
- 2019 Reproductive Cancers Grant Opportunity – Read More
  - Applicants to this opportunity must propose a clinical trial which addresses a gap in current research and/or knowledge in reproductive cancer
  - Total amount available = $15 million
- 2019 Childhood Brain Cancer Grant Opportunity – Read More
  - Applicants to this opportunity must propose a clinical trial which addresses a gap in current research and/or knowledge in childhood brain cancer
  - Total amount available = $5 million
- 2019 Neurological Disorders Grant Opportunity – Read More
  - Applicants to this opportunity must propose a clinical trial which addresses a gap in current research and/or knowledge in neurological disorders, including (but not limited to) Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD), spinal cord injuries (SCI), and Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD)
  - Total amount available = $20 million
- 2019 Rare Cancers, Rare Diseases and Unmet Need Grant Opportunity – Read More
  - Applicants to this opportunity must propose a clinical trial which addresses a gap in current research and/or knowledge in rare cancers, rare diseases and areas of unmet medical need
  - Total amount available = $15 million
November 18, 2019

WAHTN awarded Federal Budget funds for the Rapid Applied Research Translation program

Today the Australian Government’s Minister for Health, Hon. Greg Hunt MP, has announced eight national translation research centres, including the Western Australian Health Translation Network (WAHTN), will receive more than $33 million for research into health care practices and interventions. The funding will focus on people with, or at risk of, developing chronic conditions.

The WAHTN has been awarded $4.14 million in the latest round of the Australian Government’s Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF) as part of the Rapid Applied Research Translation (RART) program. This round of RART grants was targeted to primary care research, with an emphasis on multidisciplinary care and public health interventions which address lifestyle factors which lead to chronic disease. This builds on $1.97 million previously awarded to WAHTN in 2018, totalling $6.1 million provided by the Australian Government over three years.

Commenting on the successful funding application, Executive Director of WAHTN, Professor Gary Geelhoed, said “The awarding of these funds to WAHTN and to similar bodies around Australia, comprising the Australian Health Research Alliance (AHRA), confirms the ongoing commitment of the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) and MRFF to the importance of these entities in promoting medical research and its timely application.”

The grant will provide funding for 12 research projects from WAHTNs Health Service Translational Research Projects (HSTRP) initiative, three Targeted Translational Research (TTR) Fellowships and several National System Level Initiatives, which are projects carried out across the nine AHRA Centres throughout Australia.

The TTR Fellowships align with WAHTNs aim to support our emerging research talent. Along with building and strengthening the research workforce within WA and enhancing our capacity and capability to undertake high quality translational research. The Fellowships will be targeted to the research areas of:

Wound Care
Biostatistics

The HSTRP program attracted 68 applications from the public and private health sector, PathWest and the WA Primary Health Alliance. The large number of quality applications made the process highly competitive. It also provided an encouraging snapshot of the strength and breadth of translational health research occurring in WA hospital and primary health settings. The successful projects, listed in the table below, will be supported by $2.84 million in MRFF funding, with matched funding from the health services.

Read the Australian Government’s media release

The successful HSTRP recipients are:

Recipient	Project Title	Health Service
Dr Christopher Brennan-Jones	PCH Ear Portal: Improving access to specialist ENT and Audiology services in metropolitan Perth	Child and Adolescent Health Service
Dr André Schultz	Implementation of solutions to improve follow-up for Aboriginal children hospitalised with lower respiratory tract infections	Child and Adolescent Health Service
Prof Graham Hillis	Community based education and exercise training in heart failure: Harnessing an existing resource to bridge a gap	East Metropolitan Health Service
Prof Christobel Saunders	Measuring the cost of continuous improvement in care-cancer at Royal Perth Hospital – a ‘proof-of-concept’	East Metropolitan Health Service
Assoc Prof Paul Cohen	Getting the MOST out of follow-up: a randomised controlled trial to compare three-monthly nurse-led telephone follow-up, including monitoring serum CA125 and patient reported outcomes using the MOST (Measure of Ovarian Symptoms and Treatment concerns) with routine clinic-based follow-up, following completion of first-line chemotherapy in patients with epithelial ovarian cancer	North Metropolitan Health Service
Prof Michael Millward	Integrating Tumour Mutational Burden (TMB) testing for appropriate selection of immuno-oncology therapy in metastatic melanoma fit for the modern era	North Metropolitan Health Service
Prof Girish Dwivedi	High Performance Medicine through Artificial Intelligence in the Emergency Department	South Metropolitan Health Service
Assoc Prof Andrew Maiorana	Primary Care Adherence to Heart Failure guidelines IN Diagnosis, Evaluation and Routine management (PATHFINDER) Study	South Metropolitan Health Service
Dr Wei-Sen Lam	TeleTrials in WA: A feasibility study to develop and pilot a TeleTrials framework to bring clinical trials closer to home for country patients	WA Country Health Service
Ms Jo Moore	A community and health system partnership to prevent hospitalisation and improve outcomes through a Compassionate Communities Model of End of Life Care	WA Country Health Service
Prof Desiree Silva	Embedding E-Health (Pregnancy Lifestyle, Activity, Nutrition (PLAN)) into routine clinical practice pathways to provide a healthy start to life	Ramsay Health Care
Mr Richard Varhol	Unlocking the potential of health system integration through data linkage: Combining primary and secondary data across the continuum of care to support policy development and clinical management of chronic disease in WA	WA Primary Health Alliance

September 18, 2019

New Medical Research Future Fund Investigator Grants Opportunity
The Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF) Investigator Grants is a new opportunity to ensure the next generation of Australian researchers have the capacity to make and progress medical discoveries. The Investigator Grants also aim to promote opportunities for clinical researchers to work in partnership with professional colleagues and industry.

The objectives of the Grants is to support the research program of outstanding early- to mid-career clinical researchers which contribute to the following MRFF priority research areas:
1. Australian Brain Cancer Mission
2. Million Minds Mission
3. Genomics Health Futures Mission
4. Ageing, Aged Care and Dementia Mission
5. Indigenous Health Research Fund
6. Stem Cell Therapies Mission
7. Mission for Cardiovascular Health
8. Traumatic Brain Injury Mission
9. Preventative and Public Health Research
10. Primary Health Care Research
11. Global Health – Tacking Antimicrobial Resistance and Drug Resistant Tuberculosis
In line with the MRFF supporting and funding research translation, all applicants will need to also demonstrate how the grant will influence one or more of the following:
- Best practice clinical care
- Commercial health or medical research product / technology development
- Health policy
- Health system improvement
The Grant will consolidate salary and research support into a single grant scheme by offering a salary component (if required) and a Research Support Package (RSP).

To support its objective, this Grant opportunity will only support applicants at the Emerging Leadership (EL) category of the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Investigator Grant scheme. The EL Category is restricted to researchers who are less than, or equal to, 10 years post-PhD or equivalent and comprises two salary levels (EL1 and EL2) with corresponding RSPs.

Read more about this Grant Opportunity

Applications close 2pm (AWST), Wednesday 27 November, 2019.

Read the MRFF Investigator Grants Forecast Opportunity Guidelines
September 9, 2019

$21 million in funding for dementia research

WAHTN commends the Australian Government for setting aside an additional $21 million for dementia research. This is a significant area of research and the funds will help focus research on risk reduction, prevention and tracking of dementia – which is Australia’s second leading cause of death.

The need for investment in research to develop new treatments and to improve dementia care is evident. The $21 million is in addition to the $185 million Dementia, Ageing and Aged Care 10 year mission which is funded through the Australian Government’s Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF).

We congratulate the recipients of the 13 funded projects (listed below) who are all part of our Australian Health Research Alliance (AHRA) partner organisations.

Funded Projects from Round 5 – Dementia Risk Reduction and Prevention:

Chief Investigator	Project Title	Organisation
Assoc Prof Lisbeth Evered	The PROJECT Trial: PeRiOperaTive Enhancement of Cognitive Trajectory	University of Melbourne
Prof Kaarin Anstey	Translating the evidence on dementia risk reduction to generate assessments, advice and training for health professionals, policy makers, patients and public	University of New South Wales
Prof Andrew Pipingas	Mediterranean diet and exercise to reduce cognitive decline and dementia risks in independent living older Australians: the MedWalk randomised controlled trial	Swinburne University of Technology
Dr Ashleigh Smith	Living your best day – Optimising activity and diet compositions for dementia prevention	University of South Australia
Prof Sharon Naismith	REducing Sleep Apnoea for the PrEvention of Dementia (REShAPED): a multi-site feasibility RCT	University of Sydney
Prof Katherine Samaras	Preventing cognitive decline with metformin: a randomised controlled trial	The Garvan Institute of Medical Research
Dr Paul Gardiner	Taking a whole of day approach to optimising activity to prevent dementia in people with type 2 diabetes	The University of Queensland
Dr Yen Ying Lim	BetterBrains: Person-Centred, Multi-Domain, Primary Prevention Strategies to Delay Memory Decline	University of Melbourne
Dr Johnson George	Holistic Approach in Primary care for Preventing Memory Impairment aNd Dementia (HAPPI MIND)	Monash University
Assoc Prof Amy Brodtmann	Cardiovascular exercise to prevent cognitive decline in high risk patient populations: a post-ischaemic stroke exercise intervention study	University of Melbourne
Assoc Prof Edward Strivens	Reducing dementia risk in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Communities	James Cook University

Funded Projects from Round 6 – Improving Dementia Data and Methods:

Chief Investigator	Project Title	Organisation
Prof Annette Dobson	Improving Australia’s Dementia Statistics	The University of Queensland
Prof Velandai Srikanth	Leveraging electronic medical records and routine administrative data towards a population approach for monitoring dementia frequency, risk factors and management	Monash University

July 29, 2019

Congenital Heart Disease Grant Opportunity
The Congenital Heart Disease (CHD) grant opportunity forms part of the Accelerated Research Initiative, funded through the Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF).

The CHD grant opportunity supports research to provide new diagnoses and treatment options for those suffering from congenital heart disease.

For this grant opportunity $20 million is available over 5 years from 2019-2020 through to 2023-24.

Other points to note:
- There’s no minimum grant amount
- The maximum grant amount is $10 million
- The grant amount will be up for 100% of eligible project costs
- Project must be completed by 30 June 2024
The CHD grant application closing date is: 3pm, Thursday 12 September 2019

Read the key documents and apply here
July 22, 2019
Platform Leader role opportunity at SAHMRI

A full-time, 2 year contract opportunity as the Platform Leader (Capacity Development) at the SAHMRI Aboriginal Health Equity Theme is now open for applications.

The position works closely with Professor Alex Brown, along with SAHMRIs staff, students and partner organisations. The Platforms Leader will drive two newly funded capacity development programs including the national Australian Health Research Alliance (AHRA) Indigenous Research(er) Capacity Building Network Initiative and another Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF) funded Health Translation South Australia project.

This is a great opportunity for a leader of the future in this space to gain valuable experience while also significantly contributing to a cohort of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Researchers.

Applications close Friday 7 June, 2019

Please note this opportunity is offered through one of our AHRA partners is based in South Australia.

Further information about the role and apply

May 27, 2019
International Clinical Trial Collaborations (ICTC) Grant Opportunity
The NHMRC International Clinical Trial Collaborations (ICTC) grant opportunity is now open for the second round of Peer Reviews.

The grants will provide support for Australian research teams to conduct clinical trial research in collaboration with international counterparts. Applications for this grant opportunity must propose a single clinical trial which will achieve the following outcomes:
- Promote Australian involvement in international collaborative investigator-initiated clinical trials research through the establishment and co-ordination of clinical trial site(s) in Australia; and
- Provide high-quality evidence of the effectiveness of novel health treatments, drugs or devices in ‘usual care’ settings, which will support a decision on whether to deliver the intervention in an Australian setting
Novel health treatments include new and innovative applications of existing interventions.

Minimum data due: Wednesday 31 July, 2019

Applications close: Thursday 15 August, 2019

More information on ICTC 19.2

Register with GrantConnect to receive notifications on current Australian Government grant opportunities.
May 6, 2019
Federal Budget win for WAHTN

The Federal Government has announced it will continue to support medical and health research by investing a significant amount of funds into the national Alliance of Advanced Health Research Translation Centres, which includes WAHTN. The Australian Health Research Alliance has been awarded $218 million in funding for Rapid Applied Research Translation over the next ten years.

This funding and long-term investment represents a major endorsement of the Translational Research Centres and our leading role in accelerating the translation of research into policy and practice for greater health impact. The funding will support collaboration and our efforts toward enhancing integration across healthcare, research and education.

Executive Director of WAHTN, Professor Gary Geelhoed has said “We’re extremely happy that the federal budget included continued funding of the national Advanced Health Research Translation Centres. It shows an ongoing commitment by the federal government to these Centres and recognises their increasing importance to healthcare in Australia. It will allow WAHTN to continue our leading role in promoting, supporting and translating medical research into better healthcare for all West Australians”

Working together through partnership, commitment and engagement we can continue our journey delivering better healthcare through research.

Find out more info

April 11, 2019
$220 million for research to tackle heart disease and stroke

The Australian Government is launching a comprehensive research effort to tackle the nation’s two biggest killers – heart disease and stroke – with an unprecedented $220 million for a 10-year Mission for Cardiovascular Health.

The funding, awarded under the Government’s landmark Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF), will support Australian researchers to make game-changing discoveries, develop a global biotech industry and enable the implementation of changes in healthcare.

Please click here for more information

February 26, 2019