NHMRC news & events

• NHMRC welcomes new NICS Fellowship leaders in health care1 October 2008

  Six new leaders in Australian health care celebrated the completion of their NICS Fellowships at a ceremony held Tuesday 30 September in Melbourne, benefiting areas as diverse as cancer pain, heart failure, falls and blood clot prevention.
  » See the media release

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  Call for submissions: NHMRC Partnership Centres for Research Excellence26 september 2008

  NHMRC is calling for submissions to advise on the final design of the funding process for NHMRC Partnership Centres for Research Excellence, a new scheme under the NHMRC Partnerships initiative.

  » See the consultation paper and submission pro-forma
  

• Researchers earn grants for palliative care24 september 2008

  The Rudd Government today announced almost $740,000 in National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) funding. Sixteen researchers have received grants to conduct research into palliative-care practices.
  » See the media release
  » See the full list of recipients and their institutions

• Grants to help buy research equipment24 september 2008

  NHMRC has announced $9 million in funding to help institutions buy larger items of equipment to support competitively funded health and medical research.
  » See the full announcement

• NHMRC and Cancer Australia – partners in cancer research19 september 2008

  NHMRC and Cancer Australia support cancer research in Australia through a variety of schemes. The newest of these is the collaborative venture – the Priority-driven Collaborative Cancer Research Scheme (PdCCRS).
  » See the full announcement

• First licences granted for the derivation of human embryonic stem cells from cloned embryos 16 september 2008

  Australia's first licences allowing the creation of cloned embryos for the derivation of human embryonic stem cell lines were issued today by the Embryo Research Licensing Committee of the National Health and Medical Research Council.
  » See the full announcement

• Communiqué from September's NHMRC Council meeting11 September 2008

  The National Health and Medical Research Council met on 4 September. The agenda covered nutrition, Indigenous health, health and climate change, cancer clusters, preventive health, and the health and medical research workforce.
  » See Communiqué

• NHMRC joins leading health care organisations to transfer knowledge into practice2 September 2008

  The National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) is inviting early-to-mid career health professionals with a commitment to improve health care in Australia to apply for a 2009 NICS Fellowship. 
  » See media release

• New Diabetic Retinopathy Guidelines released28 August 2008

  The Guidelines for the Management of Diabetic Retinopathy have just been released. The guidelines were developed to assist health practitioners to make decisions about the appropriate health care of patients with diabetes, a growing issue in our community.

• Alcohol guidelines update26 August 2008

  Following the initial consideration by the NHMRC Council, NHMRC is finalising the NHMRC Australian alcohol guidelines for low risk drinking, including the latest research. The Council is expected to consider them again in late 2008.
  » More information on the alcohol guidelines consultation

• Australia participates in the International Cancer Genome Consortium (ICGC)22 August 2008

  The Hon Nicola Roxon MP, Minister for Health and Ageing, today announced Australia’s key role in the international fight against cancer. The Government, through NHMRC, has committed $27.5 million over five years to participate in a consortium of countries studying the disease.

  The International Cancer Genome Consortium (ICGC) will coordinate international research efforts to understand DNA changes involved in the major forms of cancer, leading to better diagnosis, treatment and prevention. 

  Research institutions interested in being involved should submit an expression of interest by 29 August 2008.

• Linking research to real life21 August 2008

  NHMRC CEO Warwick Anderson has announced the new NHMRC Partnerships scheme, intended to build direct relationships between health providers and researchers. The scheme is ongoing, with the initial funding of over $100m available in the first two years. 
  » See media release
  » See NHMRC Partnerships information

• 10 of the best research projects 200820 August 2008

  Stem cells, diabetes, cancer, dental health and obesity in children are just a few of the research projects funded by the NHMRC showcased in this new booklet, 10 of the best research projects 2008. Read about these and other groundbreaking projects and meet the researchers who are carrying them out.
  » See publication

• NHMRC Fellow wins Victoria Prize19 August 2008

  Congratulations to Professor Peter Colman on being awarded the prestigious 2008 Victoria Prize at a gala ceremony held in Melbourne on Wednesday 13 August. Professor Colman is head of the Structural Biology Division at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research and an NHMRC Senior Principal Research Fellow. He received the Victoria Prize for his seminal contribution to the discovery of the new class of anti-influenza drugs behind Relenza and Tamiflu.
  » More information on the Victoria Prize

• Water quality and health19 August 2008

  Public seminar: Tuesday 2 September, 11am to noon, CSIRO Discovery Centre, Canberra. Special guest speaker: Dr Jamie Bartram of the World Health Organization (WHO).
  » More information

• New guidelines improve animal wellbeing18 August 2008

  World first Guidelines to Promote the Wellbeing of Animals Used for Scientific Purposes: The Assessment and Alleviation of Pain and Distress in Research Animals have been released by the NHMRC. They focus on all aspects of the care of animals used in research.
  » See media release

• DNA testing online: marketing hype or medical breakthrough?14 August 2008

  DNA shampoo? Diet and exercise regimes tailored to your own genetic makeup? DNA tests available on the internet to calculate your genetic risk for breast cancer, diabetes or Alzheimer’s disease?

  This is no longer the stuff of science fiction—rapid advances in genetic science and technology are greatly expanding the range of DNA tests available, and dramatically reducing the costs.

  NHMRC and the Australian Law Reform Commission (ALRC) joined forces to explore these issues at a free Public Meeting hosted by ABCTV’s Bernie Hobbs in Sydney on 7 August 2008:
  » Read more

• CEO thanks researchers14 August 2008

  Each year NHMRC establishes Grant Review Panels (GRP), which are responsible for reviewing and ranking NHMRC grant applications.

  For the past three weeks in Melbourne, NHMRC has conducted a GRP for project grants starting in 2009.

  During the three weeks almost 500 assessors reviewed 2790 of applications. Assessors are senior researchers who have received funding from NHMRC.

  Applying for NHMRC grants is highly competitive and the peer review is a critical part of the process. It is an enormous task to undertake, but necessary to ensure the transparency, probity and fairness of our funding.

  I'd like to take this opportunity to thank each researcher who volunteered their valuable time to review the applications.

  Without their help NHMRC wouldn’t have the reputation it does for its rigorous review process.

  » See more information on NHMRC's peer review process

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