Advancing research through NHMRC grants and scholarships

Congratulations to our researchers on receiving distinguished National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) grants and scholarships. 

The NHMRC is a globally recognised Australian Government body that supports medical research and drives the translation of research into better health outcomes.

Ideas Grants 

More than $6 million in Ideas Grants were awarded to support innovative research projects led by Burnet researchers: 

• Dr Anna Hearps, deputy program director of Disease Elimination, and head of the Infection, Inflammation and Innate Immunity group. Dr Hearps received two Ideas Grants to eliminate HIV using elite killer immune cells derived from an HIV-uninfected donor and gain new insights into HIV-induced cardiovascular disease. 

• Dr Hayley Bullen, deputy working group head of the Malaria Virulence and Drug Discovery group. Dr Bullen’s grant will investigate and predict the impact of antimalarial resistance in West African parasites and how specific mutations affect drug treatments.  

• Dr Rowan Martin-Hughes, senior research officer. Dr Martin-Hughes’ grant will assess the health and economic benefits of public housing interventions for people who use drugs in Australia. 

• Associate Professor Stephen Bell, principal research fellow and theme lead of Social Science and Global Health. Associate Professor Bell’s grant will co-design adolescent-responsive contraceptive care solutions to reduce unintended pregnancy and unsafe abortions in Indonesia. 

e-Asia JRP 

Professor James Beeson, Burnet deputy director of Research Strategy, and head of the Malaria Immunity and Vaccines group, was awarded the NHMRC e-ASIA 2024 Joint Research Program (JRP). 

The grant, worth more than $749,000 will help accelerate vaccine development for Plasmodium vivax (P. Vivax) malaria, a type of malaria caused by the parasite Plasmodium vivax. 

It will also support the development of early career researchers and build capacity between the research organisations in Australia, the Indonesian National Research and Innovation Agency, and Ehime University in Japan.

"The development of an effective vaccine would contribute to achieving the World Health Organization’s (WHO) malaria elimination goals to eliminate malaria in at least 35 countries and reduce malaria case incidence by 90% by 2030."

Postgraduate Scholarship scheme 

The NHMRC Postgraduate Scholarship scheme funds research-based postgraduate degrees, including Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) and Research Master’s degrees. 

Congratulations to Alexander Thomas, PhD candidate and economic modeller, who will use data from the international collaboration of HIV cohort studies to explore whether countries with broad access to treatment can meet WHO targets to reduce hepatitis C incidence and mortality among people living with HIV by 2030. 

And congratulations to Fenella McAndrew, mathematical modeller. Her PhD project will use mathematical modelling and data from COVID-19 to develop effective strategies for responding to outbreaks of future pathogens, including in the early stages of an outbreak when information is limited.

Congratulations to the worthy recipients on advancing equitable health for all.