Medical Research Future Fund Grants - submission via NHMRC Sapphire

The objective of this grant opportunity is to provide grants of financial assistance to support Australian medical research and medical innovation projects that:

• Stream 1: develop novel approaches for earlier detection, more effective early intervention, and/or improved equity of access to early intervention for children with developmental delay
• Stream 2: conduct a national clinical trial that tests multiple new nerve repair and protection therapeutics for multiple sclerosis
• Stream 3: assess the feasibility, usability and acceptability of new assistive technologies for adults with chronic degenerative neurological disease.

The intended outcome of the research funded by this grant opportunity is to improve the health and wellbeing of Australians by:

• Stream 1: enabling earlier and more effective interventions for children with developmental delay
• Stream 2: establishing the best treatment regimens for nerve repair and protection for Australian patients with multiple sclerosis
• Stream 3: supporting implementation of new assistive technologies to help adults with chronic degenerative neurological disease and maintain independence and quality of life.

The objective of this grant opportunity is to provide grants of financial assistance to support Australian medical research and medical innovation projects that involve pre-clinical brain cancer research that is large-scale, innovative, collaborative and inter-disciplinary, and which have high translational potential.

The intended outcome of the research is to improve the health and wellbeing of Australians diagnosed with brain cancer by:

• demonstrating novel and innovative approaches to addressing a challenge in brain cancer that have high translational potential, and
• supporting strengthened collaborations across national and international brain cancer research networks and building critical mass in the Australian brain cancer research workforce.

Applicants to this grant opportunity must propose to conduct research that delivers against the above objective and those of the Australian Brain Cancer Mission. Applicants are strongly encouraged to propose novel, ambitious, and innovative research approaches that address pre-clinical challenges in brain cancer. This includes demonstration of a willingness to push boundaries and involving a degree of risk to yield important new knowledge or change thinking.

Applications must address the objectives and desired outcomes described in section 1.3 of the grant guidelines.

Applications to this grant opportunity must propose research that addresses one of the six Streams of research.  An application may be submitted to one of the six Streams only.

The objective of this grant opportunity is addressed in the following six Streams:

Rare Cancers, Rare Diseases and Unmet Need

• Stream 1 – Conduct a clinical trial of new drug and/or non-drug treatments and therapies for rare cancers, rare diseases and/or unmet needs.
• Stream 2 – Conduct a clinical trial assessing the safety, effectiveness and acceptability, of neurostimulation for improving outcomes in patients with spinal cord injury.
• Stream 3 – Conduct a clinical trial assessing the safety, effectiveness and acceptability, of pharmacological and/or non- pharmacological interventions for improving outcomes in individuals with chronic pain.

Effective Health Interventions

• Stream 4 - Conduct a clinical trial of new drug and/or non-drug treatments and therapies in individuals who have been identified through molecular testing.
• Stream 5 – Conduct an implementation science trial to determine best ways to implement preventative health interventions, screening or diagnostic test, therapeutic agent, technology or model of care that is not in routine use in Australia.
• Stream 6 – Conduct a clinical trial assessing the comparative effectiveness and acceptability of health interventions in improving outcomes in individuals with complex chronic conditions, including comorbidities.

The Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF) – Preventive and Public Health Research Initiative – 2021 Chronic Respiratory Conditions Grant Opportunity will support research that:

• Stream 1: develop treatable trait-based precision medicine approaches for chronic respiratory disease
• Stream 2: clinically validate feasible technology enabled approaches to medication and therapeutic adherence and self-management of chronic respiratory diseases.

The anticipated outcomes of the research is to improve the health and well-being of Australians by:

• Stream 1: supporting implementation of new individualised approaches for improving chronic respiratory disease assessment, treatment and outcomes
• Stream 2: driving the uptake of technology-enabled self-management interventions for chronic respiratory diseases.

Applicants to this grant opportunity must propose to conduct research that delivers against the above objectives and those of the Preventive and Public Health Initiative. Applicants are encouraged to describe how the outcomes of the research will be translated into health benefits for Australians.

The objectives of this grant opportunity are to:

• Stream 1: projects that develop and/or test the implementation of interventions for improving:
  • health self-efficacy for consumers with long term diseases and conditions, and/or
  • health self-efficacy for priority populations (including culturally and linguistically diverse, Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander and low socioeconomic status).
• Stream 2: projects that use citizen science methodologies where citizens and scientists use web-based platforms and digital tools to co-create health knowledge that has practical implications for improving health outcomes and/or improving consumer experiences of health care, whilst increasing consumer understanding of, and consumer involvement in, research.

The intended outcomes of the research are to:

• Stream 1 – developing evidence-based interventions that allow consumers to develop stronger health self-efficacy in priority areas (e.g. those with long term diseases and conditions, vulnerable populations) to improve the quality of life and health of consumers
• Stream 2 – co-creating new health knowledge with consumers that has practical implications for improving health care, and, as a result of their participation, increases consumer knowledge about research.

Applicants to this grant opportunity must propose research that addresses one of the two Streams of research. An application may only be submitted to one of the above two Streams only. Applicants must specify the Stream to which they are applying in their application.

The objective of this grant opportunity is to provide grants of financial assistance to support Australian medical research and medical innovation projects that:

• Stream 1 (Incubator): Conduct early stage small-scale research led by early career researchers that seeks to assess the potential feasibility of novel strategies to address a critical or intractable health issue
• Stream 2 (Accelerator): Establish a large-scale interdisciplinary research program led by mid-career researchers that drives implementation of substantial improvements to health care and/or health system effectiveness
• Stream 3 (Targeted Call for Research): Utilise co-funding between MRFF, a sponsoring academic organisation and partner organisation(s) to accelerate translation of research led by early to mid-career researchers.

The objective of this grant opportunity is to provide grants of financial assistance to support Australian medical research and medical innovation projects that:

• Stream 1: develop new scalable approaches to improve maternal and or early childhood nutrition and exercise
• Stream 2: develop new scalable approaches to reduce alcohol and other drug use by adolescents and young adults
• Stream 3: develop new co-designed and scalable lifestyle interventions to reduce the risk of cancer in priority populations.

The intended outcome of the research funded by this grant opportunity is to improve the health and wellbeing of Australians by:

• Stream 1: reducing mortality and morbidity in mothers and babies
• Stream 2: reducing the harm caused by alcohol and drug use by adolescents and young adults
• Stream 3: reducing cancer incidence by improving modifiable lifestyle-related risk factors in priority populations.

The Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF) Primary Health Care Research Initiative aims to enable or support an increase in Australia’s evidence base in primary health care through research to improve service delivery and patient outcomes and translate this knowledge into action.

The objective of this grant opportunity is to provide grants of financial assistance to support Australian medical research and medical innovation projects that develop novel digital health tools and technologies to improve access to primary health care services in disadvantaged and/or vulnerable populations (for example, migrant communities, people living with disabilities, lower socioeconomic communities, and rural and regional Australia).

The intended outcome of the research funded by this grant opportunity is to improve the health and wellbeing of Australians by improving equity of access to high quality primary health care through digital health innovation.

The objective of this grant opportunity is to provide grants of financial assistance to support medical research and medical innovation project that:

• Stream 1: develop, implement and/or validate scalable approaches for personalised exercise programs to maximise disease risk factor reduction and adherence in adults aged over 45 years who are not currently meeting physical activity guidelines.
• Stream 2: develop, implement and/or validate approaches for effective community-led physical activity programs co-designed with a priority population.
• Stream 3: develop, implement and/or validate approaches that use physical treatments and therapies to improve the quality of life of children and adolescents with childhood dementia, an umbrella term used to describe progressive neurological deterioration and mental impairment in children.

The intended outcome of the research is to improve the health and wellbeing of Australians by:

• Stream 1: supporting the development and implementation of effective exercise programs that reduce the risk of disease in Australian adults aged over 45 years.
• Stream 2: supporting the development and implementation of evidence-based community-led programs that increase physical activity amongst priority populations.
• Stream 3: supporting the development and implementation of evidence-based programs that ameliorate symptoms of progressive neurological deterioration and mental impairment in children and adolescents.

Applicants to this grant opportunity must propose research that addresses one of the three Streams of research. An application may only be submitted to one of the above three Streams only. Applicants must specify the Stream to which they are applying in their application.

The MRFF Cardiovascular Health Mission’s intent is to accelerate Australian-led research to advance cardiovascular health through the creation of a world-class sustainable eco-system underpinned by excellence, collaboration, innovation, consumer engagement and commercialisation, and embedded in the health care system.

The objective of this grant opportunity is to provide grants of financial assistance to support Australian medical research and medical innovation projects that:

• Stream 1 (Targeted Call for Research): improve the understanding of cardiovascular disease risk, including biological mechanisms.
• Stream 2 (Targeted Call for Research): conduct preclinical development and validation of novel molecular targets and novel device approaches for cardiovascular disease and/or stroke.
• Stream 3 (Accelerator): conduct a large-scale project focused on discovery and testing of new, broadly applicable (multiple disease groups) interventions for cardiovascular disease and/or stroke (e.g. anti-inflammatory targets).

Applicants to this grant opportunity must propose research that addresses one of the three Streams of research. An application may be submitted to one of the above three Streams only. Applicants must specify the Stream to which they are applying in their application.

The Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF) – Dementia, Ageing and Aged Care Mission aims to support older people to maintain their health and quality of life as they age, live independently for longer and access quality care when they need it.

The objective of this grant opportunity is to provide grants of financial assistance to support medical research and medical innovation projects that:

• Stream 1: develop interventions that deliver holistic and multidisciplinary care after diagnosis to improve quality of life for people living with dementia and their carers.
• Stream 2: conduct implementation research focused on addressing inequalities in uptake of prevention activities to support healthy ageing and quality of life for:
  • Topic A: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people
  • Topic B: Rural, regional and remote populations
  • Topic C: Culturally and linguistically diverse populations.
• Stream 3: enhance utility of neuropsychological tests for dementia.

The intended outcome of the research funded by this grant opportunity is to improve the health and wellbeing of Australians:

• Stream 1: living with dementia and their carers by developing and supporting adoption of new patient centred care approaches focused on transitions between care types and settings.
• Stream 2: by implementing interventions that extend healthy, active years of life amongst vulnerable populations.
• Stream 3: by enabling earlier and more effective diagnosis of dementia.

Applications to this grant opportunity must propose research that addresses one of the three Streams of research. An application may only be submitted to one of the above three Streams only.

The goal of the Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF) Stem Cell Therapies Mission is to support world-leading translational stem cell research that develops and delivers innovative, safe and effective stem cell medicines to improve health outcomes, in partnership with patients and carers.

The Mission’s intent is to use stem cells and their derivatives to develop innovative, safe and effective treatments that are accessible to all Australians who need them.

The objective of this grant opportunity is to provide grants of financial assistance to support medical research and medical innovation projects that:

• Stream 1: support short-term, small-scale development projects to establish the feasibility of novel cellular therapies.
• Stream 2: support short-term, small-scale projects that:
  • develop and validate human stem-cell based models of disease, including genetic disease, infectious diseases and cancer
  • develop high-content or high-throughput screening approaches, or
  • generate patient-derived stem cell lines for screening treatments.

The intended outcome of the research funded by this grant opportunity is to improve the health and wellbeing of Australians by:

• Stream 1: generating novel approaches to stem cell-based therapies that have the potential to transform clinical care.
• Stream 2: generating new treatments using human tissues made from stem-cells for pre-clinical development.

Applicants to this grant opportunity must propose to conduct research that delivers against the above objectives and those of the Stem Cell Therapies Mission as described in the Roadmap and Implementation Plan.

Applications to this Grant Opportunity must propose a single clinical trial in Australia in collaboration with international counterparts.

The Clinical Trials Activity Initiative – International Clinical Trial Collaborations (the Initiative) aims to:

• give patients across Australia more access to clinical trials
• show which treatments and medicines work best for patients
• provide researchers with more opportunities to work with international colleagues to bring international trials to Australian patients
• promote new approaches that support efficient and effective research

Please check specific MRFF scheme webpages for Guidelines, Proposal Templates and Peer Review information.

Applicants will need to register and log into GrantConnect to download the applicable documentation.

Chronic Neurological Conditions; Click on GO Documents in GrantConnect

Brain Cancer Research; Click on GO Documents in GrantConnect

Clinical Trials Activity; Click on GO Documents in GrantConnect

Chronic Respiratory Conditions; Click on GO Documents in GrantConnect

Consumer-Led Research; Click on GO Documents in GrantConnect

Early to Mi-Career Researchers; Click on GO Documents in GrantConnect

Maternal Health and Healthy Lifestyles; Click on GO Documents in GrantConnect

Primary Health Care Digital Innovations; Click on GO Documents in GrantConnect

Effective Treatments and Therapies; Click on GO Documents in GrantConnect

Cardiovascular Health; Click on GO Documents in GrantConnect

Dementia, Ageing and Aged Care; Click on GO Documents in GrantConnect

Stem Cell Therapies; Click on GO Documents in GrantConnect

International Clinical Trial Collaborations; Click on GO Documents in GrantConnect

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