NHMRC is investing $430 million into Australia’s outstanding health and medical research to support our nation’s highest performing investigators through our Investigator Grants scheme.
Two hundred and thirty-four outstanding research projects will share in this landmark investment to tackle some of Australia’s greatest health challenges – from the most aggressive forms of breast cancer to recovery after critical illness.
Researchers right across Australia will deliver new knowledge and innovations that will improve lives, enhance healthcare and contribute to a stronger, more resilient economy for all Australians.
One researcher receiving funding is targeting endometriosis, a common, debilitating condition, affecting more than 800,000 Australians.
Endometriosis severely impacts the lives of people with the condition because of devastating pelvic pain. However, current treatment options are lacking.
Adelaide University researcher, Dr Jane Chalmers, will conduct research focusing on pain education and self-management to improve outcomes and support more sustainable, long-term care.
The research will develop and test a conservative management approach to endometriosis, including elements such as pain science education and self-management. The research will be co-designed with people living with endometriosis and GPs, to make sure it is optimised for those living with endometriosis and the doctors who are often the first point of contact for someone with ongoing pelvic pain.
NHMRC’s Investigator Grant scheme is our largest funding scheme and plays a critical role in supporting the Australian health and medical research sector. Investigator Grants provide the highest performing researchers at all career stages with consolidated funding for their salary, giving Chief Investigators the flexibility to pursue important new research directions as they arise, rather than being restricted to narrowly defined project scopes.
Grants are awarded for a 5-year term, providing the sustained, flexible support that enables researchers to pursue ambitious, long-term scientific goals.
This is the third year that Investigator Grant funding has applied gender equity targets to address systemic disadvantage, and the third time in the history of the scheme that women researchers will receive more funding overall.
Full details of the researchers and projects funded are available to download on NHMRC’s outcomes of funding rounds page.
Quotes attributable to NHMRC CEO, Professor Steve Wesselingh:
“The calibre of researchers funded through this year’s Investigator Grants round is extraordinary. These are scientists who are not just asking important questions – they’re developing answers that will genuinely transform how we understand, prevent, diagnose and treat disease.
“What makes the Investigator Grant scheme so powerful is the freedom it gives researchers. Rather than being locked to a narrow project scope, our funded investigators can follow the science – pivoting when new discoveries emerge, building collaborations, and pursuing ambitious research that produces real breakthroughs.
“One of the things I’m most proud of with this round is the breadth of career stages represented. We’re investing in established leaders who are at the peak of their field, and in the next generation of emerging researchers who will shape Australian health and medical research for decades to come.”
Quotes attributable to Dr Chalmers, Adelaide University:
“Management strategies for endometriosis still focus on surgical and medical treatments, but these options often don’t reduce pain.
“Learning more about the science of pain and how to appropriately self-manage has shown to reduce pain in other conditions like low back pain.
“This project will look to design and test an intervention to help people with endometriosis understand more about the science of pelvic pain and how it can be managed conservatively.
“By working together with people with endometriosis as well as GPs, we can ensure that the management approach we develop is fit for purpose.”
