Category: Media

Research Australia welcomes the Albanese Ministry and looks forward to working with the Government to strengthen Australian health and medical research and innovation to meet future health challenges. 

As the national peak body for Australian health and medical research, Research Australia welcomes the appointment of the Hon. Mark Butler MP as Minister for Health and Aged Care and his team, including Anika Wells MP as Minister for Aged Care and Ged Kearney MP as Assistant Minister for Health and Aged Care. 

“Minister Butler has a wealth of experience in leading health reform in Australia in his previous roles as Parliamentary Secretary for Health, Minister for Mental Health and Ageing and Minister Assisting the Prime Minister on Mental Health Reform,” Acting Research Australia CEO Lucy Clynes said. 

“The health and medical research sector looks forward to working with Minister Butler to progress the National Health and Medical Research Strategy. We must develop a more cohesive health and medical research ecosystem better positioned to respond to national health challenges and improve translation of research into best practice care and new economic opportunities in health innovation. 

“This must include a national health and medical research workforce plan to ensure Australia has the skills it needs to deliver healthcare of the future and to address challenges faced by many health and medical researchers, in particular early and mid-career researchers,” Ms Clynes said. 

“We stand ready to assist the Albanese Government to create a truly innovative, research active health and aged care system, ensuring Australians receive the best care when they need it.” 

Research Australia extends its congratulations to the Hon. Ed Husic MP on his appointment as Minister for Industry and Science and looks forward to working with Minister Husic to enable our best and brightest medical minds to effectively translate scientific breakthroughs to improve health and economic outcomes for all Australians. 

“Labor’s commitment of $1.5 billion as part of the National Reconstruction Fund to create medicines and medical technologies in Australia will support the advancement of health innovation and our country’s health and wealth,” Ms Clynes said. 

“Together, we can systematically build Australia’s capacity in commercialisation and medical manufacturing to meet local demand, grow industries and jobs and build export markets for products and services.” 

“Establishing stronger global links between Australian health innovators and global funding networks and supply chains, both regional and beyond, must also be our ambition,” Ms Clynes said. 

The Education portfolio is critical to Australia’s health and medical research sector, and Research Australia congratulates the Hon. Jason Clare MP on his appointment as Minister for Education. 

“We look forward to Minister Clare’s response to the recent review of Research Block Grants and to the Government’s response to the latest National Critical Research Infrastructure Roadmap”, Ms Clynes said 

Research Australia has led the call for a National Health and Medical Research Strategy to facilitate a nationally strategic approach to strengthen health and medical research and see Australia reach its full research potential. See the Statement on this here. 

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Research Australia is the national peak body for health and medical research, representing the entire health and medical research pipeline. 

Research Australia, the national peak body for health and medical research, congratulates Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and the new Government on their election win. 

“We look forward to working with the incoming Government to advance a comprehensive approach to Australia’s health and medical research and innovation to improve health and economic outcomes for Australians,” Research Australia Acting CEO Lucy Clynes said. 

Research Australia has led the call for a National Health and Medical Research Strategy to facilitate a nationally strategic approach to strengthen health and medical research and see Australia reach its full research potential. See the Statement on this here. 

“A National Health and Medical Research Strategy is the pathway to improving translation of research into best practice care. It’s through research that we minimise waste, reduce costs and improve the efficiency and productivity of our health system and its workforce. Short and long-term reforms are needed to harness the skills and talent that can help us realise the ambition of a world’s best health system. 

“We are pleased to continue the conversation with Mark Butler MP and the Albanese Government about how best to develop a truly national approach to supporting a sustainable health and medical research ecosystem with a focus on excellence in fundamental and translational research and areas of global competitive advantage” Ms Clynes said. 

There are significant opportunities for real economic stimulus and jobs growth across Australia’s health and medical research pipeline. We are pleased to see this has already been acknowledged through Labor’s commitment to a $1.5 billion Medical Manufacturing Fund as part of the $15 billion National Reconstruction Fund. 

“Establishing stronger global links between Australian health innovators and global funding networks and supply chains, both regional and beyond, must also be a priority”. 

“Establishing stronger global links between Australian health innovators and global funding networks and supply chains, both regional and beyond, must also be a priority”. 

Research Australia has also called for an urgent injection of funding into the National Health and Medical Research Council to keep pace with inflation. This remains a priority for Research Australia with the incoming Government. 

ENDS 

Research Australia is the national peak body for health and medical research, representing the entire health and medical research pipeline. 

14 April 2022

Research Australia, the national peak body for health and medical research, presents a Pre-Election Statement on behalf of Australia’s health and medical research sector. The collective statement is made by a broad cross section of Australia’s health innovators across the entire research pipeline.

The collective Statement outlines the following four key reforms the health and medical research sector recommends to ensure Australia’s future innovation and health of our nation:

1. A National Health and Medical Research Strategy that ensures research priorities better meet health system and population needs and maximises economic opportunities.
2. A National HMR Workforce Plan that attracts and supports a highly skilled, sustainable research workforce with circular mobility between academia and industry.
3. Consumers as co-designers of research to enable researchers and consumers to meaningfully engage in research co design by ensuring they have the skills to improve research translation and Australians’ health.
4. Australia as a global health innovator to systematically build Australia’s capacity in medical commercialisation and medical manufacturing to meet local demand, grow industries and jobs, and build export markets for products and services.

“Australia must have a clearly articulated national approach to supporting a sustainable research ecosystem with a focus on excellence in fundamental and translational research and areas of global competitive advantage,” Research Australia CEO Nadia Levin said.

“There are significant opportunities for real economic stimulus and jobs growth across Australia’s health and medical research pipeline. Short and long-term reforms are needed to harness the skills and talent that can help us realise the ambition of a world’s best health system,” Ms Levin said.

Research Australia has led the call for a national strategy on behalf of the sector, which was announced by Health Minister Greg Hunt MP at the Research Australia Awards in December.

Ms Levin has been appointed to the recently formed Strategic Advisory Committee as a representative of the sector to develop the nation’s strategy for health and medical research.

To view the Pre-Election Statement please click here.

 

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Research Australia is the national peak body for health and medical research, representing the entire health and medical research pipeline.

 

8 April 2022

SEIZING opportunities for Australian health and medical research under a future National Health and Medical Research Strategy was the focus at Research Australia’s Pre-Election Summit this week in Melbourne.

Research Australia, the national alliance for health and medical research, has led the call for a national strategy on behalf of the sector, which was announced by Health Minister Greg Hunt MP at the Research Australia Awards in December. Research Australia CEO, Nadia Levin has been appointed to the recently formed Strategic Advisory Committee as a representative of the sector to develop the nation’s strategy for health and medical research.

“This week’s Summit saw a meeting of the minds between both political and sector leaders to set the policy objectives needed to strengthen our health and medical research. This national strategy will meet future health challenges and maximise the economic opportunities our world-leading research offers our nation,” Ms Levin said.

Hosted in partnership with WEHI and CSL, the Summit saw medical researchers and innovators from around Australia join parliamentarians to advance Australia’s medical research and innovation capacity to improve health and economic outcomes for Australia.

“We received strong commitment across the political divide to back our world-class researchers to advance our sovereign capability to innovate and translate research and realise our sector’s full potential in improving health and saving lives,” Ms Levin said.

“The need to develop a more secure and sustainable health and medical research workforce through strategic pathways and skills development was identified as was the chance to invest in our amazing research, both basic and applied, deliberately and sustainably,” Ms Levin said.

Federal Member for Higgins and Co-Chair Parliamentary Friends of Health and Medical Research Dr Katie Allen MP said health and medical research is greatly valued not only by government but also by the Australian people.

“It is important to look at the impact health and medical research makes in changing and saving lives,” Dr Allen said. “We are resourceful and resilient. We need to be better at celebrating that impact and talking about what our strengths and successes are but also to recognising what we can do to build on those capabilities.”

Dr Allen also said we need to acknowledge the world class investment in research in Australia and that the Government’s priority is bridging the gap between commercialisation and research, our sovereign capabilities and competitive advantages.

Federal Shadow Assistant Health Minister Ged Kearney MP said that Labor recognised workforce issues need to be addressed by government and that Labor will target a stream of the National Reconstruction Fund to health and medical research and medical innovation.

“When public policy is married with research, public good follows,” Ms Kearney said. “Labor will prioritise greater job security in health and medical research.”

Federal Shadow Assistant Minister for Manufacturing Senator Louise Pratt identified Australia’s poorly diversified economy as a key challenge for our country, pointing to the ALP’s National Reconstruction Fund as prioritising domestic medical manufacturing.

“We currently import more drugs than we export. The National Reconstruction Fund will prioritise domestic manufacturing, which will provide us with access to the medical products that we need,” Ms Pratt said.

The Greens Spokesperson for Science, Research, and Innovation Senator Dorinda Cox highlighted the need to translate research concepts into rapid application to ensure improved health outcomes.

Ms Cox also spoke of the Greens’ policy to invest 4 per cent of GDP in science, research and innovation by 2030 and boost home-grown manufacturing.

“We don’t have the ability to produce modern medical manufacturing because we don’t have the infrastructure,” Ms Cox said.

The Hon Warren Snowdon MP, Federal Member for Lingiari and Co-Chair Parliamentary Friends of Rural and Remote Health pointed to the role that research can play in addressing social determinants of health in Indigenous communities.

In addressing the question of better translating research into best practice outcomes, Mr Snowdon recommended including local government at the national table to ensure research is designed to meet local health needs.

The need to bring state and federal jurisdictions together working strongly together under a National Strategy to strategically find the best way to invest in research was also a key theme.

To view Research Australia’s Pre-Election Statement on behalf of the health and medical research sector, please see here.

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Research Australia is the national peak body for health and medical research, representing the entire health and medical research pipeline. For more on Research Australia, go to: www.researchaustralia.org

 Media contact: Peta Garrett – 0400 011 394

29 March 2022

Research Australia, the national alliance for Australian health and medical research, has welcomed strategic investment in medical research and innovation announced in tonight’s Federal Budget while expressing concern at the lack of further investment in key funding streams, including the NHMRC’s Medical Research Endowment Account (MREA).

Research Australia welcomed much-needed support for primary care research, the establishment of Genomics Australia and two new Rural Health Departments at Edith Cowan and Curtin Universities and a Rural Clinical School at Charles Sturt University.

“A framework to identify gaps and align future initiatives to support the biotechnology sector is also very good news and investment in mRNA further supports Australia as a global leader in RNA research,” Research Australia CEO Nadia Levin said.

“We need further significant investment like this if we are serious about innovation and creating future industries.

“We also applaud the continued investment in the MRFF Frontier Health and Medical Research initiative, which was designed by Research Australia in partnership with the Department of Health,” Ms Levin said.

However, while these key announcements supporting health and medical research and innovation are great news, Ms Levin said there is a worrying continuation of the real terms decline in funding for the NHMRC’s MREA.

“This is of genuine concern to the health and medical research community, and it jeopardises our long-term research capability and increases the precariousness of research careers. The pandemic has shown us just how much we need these critical skills and they are not developed overnight. Research is a long term, sustained investment and these funding bodies are crucial to guiding our future,” Ms Levin said.

“It has real impacts for all Australians who rightly expect health and medical research to protect their health and it’s a missed opportunity to build new industries and skills creation in health as a sector.”

“The rising cost of living has been addressed in the Budget with cash payments, tax relief and cuts to the fuel excise however, increasing inflation also affects health and medical research, making the cost of undertaking research higher; and an insecure workforce means we are at risk of losing the skills of those we most need from a health and economic perspective” Ms. Levin said.

Addressing these issues are at the centre of Research Australia’s advocacy for a National Health and Medical Research Strategy, as announced by Minister Hunt at the Research Australia Awards in December.

ENDS 

Research Australia is the national peak body for health and medical research, representing the entire health and medical research pipeline.

Media contact: Peta Garrett – 0400 011 394

21 December 2021

Research Australia was delighted to have Bupa Australia’s Health Foundation as a category Sponsor of the Data Innovation Award at the 18th Annual Health and Medical Research Awards.

Dr Chris Dalton, National Medical Director of Bupa Australia, awarded Dr Tracy Dudding-Byth the Data Innovation Award at the ceremony.

“We continue to sponsor this award as Bupa Health Foundation believes by recognising the inspirational contributions of researchers it encourages us to do more to drive improvements in healthcare that benefit us all with the power to transform lives.

“We believe data is a positive force in health, creating significant opportunities for raising the bar on how health services are delivered; whether it’s having the right information at the bedside when it is needed, or being able to predict where the health pressures will come from, to improving health planning or using data to create new knowledge and knowhow for treatments, interventions, devices and medicines,” Dr Dalton said.

Dr Tracy Dudding-Byth from the Hunter New England Local Health District was nominated for the Data Innovation Award by Professor John Attia from the University of Newcastle for her incredible work on the FaceMatch project.

“I am thrilled to acknowledge Dr Dudding-Byth’s work using data to develop a first-of-its-kind international platform incorporating facial recognition technology to help diagnose possible rare genetic conditions in children.

“FaceMatch and Dr Dudding-Byth’s work is just one example of how health and medical researchers know how to manage and analyse data, which is an essential component of all modern health research and crucial to delivering health benefits to all Australians.

“The health and medical research sector has made significant progress in extracting useful and unbiased information from medical records which can be used in data analyses, and I would like to particularly pay tribute to Professor Jeffrey Braithwaite, the Founding Director of the Australian Institute of Health Innovation at Macquarie University, who has been a leader in many aspects of this work,” Dr Dalton said.

Research Australia CEO and Managing Director Nadia Levin said, “As a Foundation Member of Research Australia, Bupa Australia has been a loyal supporter of our sector through its continued work with Research Australia, particularly through their sponsorship of our signature awards event.”

For more information on Bupa Australia’s Health Foundation go to: https://www.bupa.com.au/about-us/bupa-health-foundation

14 December 2021

The country’s leading scientific minds and advocates have been recognised in Research Australia’s 18^th Health and Medical Research Awards, celebrating the phenomenal researchers, doctors, and community champions who are working to transform the sector and change lives.

Researchers working to revolutionise the treatment of spinal cord injuries and slash the rate of infection in our hospitals were among those honoured, as well as the dedicated advocates and philanthropists who help make their work possible.

Research Australia CEO Nadia Levin said the standard of the finalists was a testament to the diversity and drive of Australia’s research sector and its role as a global leader in health and medical innovation.

“Australian researchers are continuously making new discoveries that transform our understanding, prevention and treatment of disease,” Ms Levin said.

“These incredible scientists have demonstrated astounding commitment to our collective human progress, while making tangible improvements to our individual health, wellbeing and health services.

“Throughout the pandemic, Australia’s health and medical research sector has ploughed on with remarkable dedication and world-leading discoveries. The pandemic has underscored the critical importance of health and medical research – the fact that we are all here today, vaccinated for a virus which was unknown two years ago, is a triumph for research collaboration and innovation.

“Research Australia is proud to advocate for the sector, marking our twentieth year of doing so. We’re honoured to celebrate the winners of this year’s Health and Medical Research Awards – an inspirational mix of researchers, advocates and philanthropists whose work is both life-changing and sector-defining.”

Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt delivered the keynote address at the event. NSW Parliamentary Secretary for Health James Griffin MP (representing Minister Brad Hazzard) presented the Health Services Research Award, the Hon Gabrielle Upton MP co-presented the Data Innovation Award and Dr Fiona Martin MP co-presented the Griffith Discovery Award. Dr Mike Freelander MP presented the Great Australian Philanthropy Award and Zali Steggall OAM MP presented the Advocacy Award.

Professor Brendan Murphy received Research Australia’s flagship award, the prestigious Peter Wills Medal, in honour of his leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic.

As the Government Chief Medical Officer, Professor Murphy provided expert advice to Australian governments that helped spare tens of thousands of Australian lives in the first wave of the pandemic and strengthened Australia’s international reputation in the areas of medical and health research. Professor Murphy continues to serve Australians today as Secretary of the Department of Health.

Dr John Parker, founding CEO of Saluda Medical, won the Frontiers Award for his leadership towards developing an innovative treatment for chronic back pain, with potentially beneficial applications for patients with Parkinson’s disease and children with cerebral palsy.

Dr Mo Chen (Griffith University) was awarded the Griffith University Discovery Award for his 3D-printed cellular nerve bridge system that creates ‘artificial’ human nerves using the patient’s own cells, potentially revolutionising treatment and recovery for more than 21,000 Australians living with a spinal cord injury.

On behalf of their family, Andrew and Jean Miller graciously accepted the Great Australian Philanthropy Award for the extraordinary generosity they have shown through the Miller Foundation since it was established in 1974. More than $100 million has been bestowed through the foundation across a spectrum of medical research, including work focused on maternal and child health, cancer, infectious diseases such as malaria, heart disease and diabetes, indigenous health, and research programs addressing socially disadvantaged vulnerable young people and children.

The Advocacy Award was presented to the Chimera Legacy Foundation, established by Damien Thompson and his parents Bob and Debbie, recognising their tremendous efforts towards raising awareness and funds for medical research and improving the experience of patients in hospital.

The Data Innovation Award – sponsored by the Bupa Health Foundation – was awarded to Dr Tracy Dudding-Byth (Hunter New England LHD) for her work using facial recognition technology to help investigate and diagnose syndromic intellectual disability.

Professor Brett Mitchell (Newcastle University) received the Health Services Award – sponsored by the NSW Government – for his leading work in infection control, including research helping to drive greater use of antiseptics to prevent infection in hospital settings.

The GSK Award for Research Excellence was jointly awarded to Professor Jamie Cooper and Professor Rinaldo Bellomo (Monash University). Professor Mark Febbraio (Monash University) was also recognised as winner of the 2020 award.

Ms Levin said that each of the award categories was competitive, and every nominee displayed remarkable achievements in their respective fields.

“On behalf of Research Australia, I would like to thank all our nominees, nominators and members for helping make this night a memorable celebration of the astounding ability and dedication within this sector,” she said. “I would also like to thank the organisations who have supported the awards, including the NSW Government, Bupa Health Foundation, Griffith University, Australian National University and GSK.”  Supporting research is as important as the research itself.

 

 

 

 

 

 

For further information or interview requests, please contact Pia Akerman – 0412 346 746.

A full list of winners follows.

2020-21 Research Australia Award Winners

Peter Wills Medal: Named in honour of Research Australia’s Deputy Chairman, Peter Wills AC, a great leader whose work led to the inception of Research Australia. The Peter Wills Medal is the flagship award and recognises someone who has made an outstanding, long-term contribution to building Australia’s international reputation in areas of health and medical research and fostering collaboration for better health.

Winner – Professor Brendan Murphy, Secretary of the Department of Health.

Frontiers Research Award: Sponsored by Australian National University, this Award recognises the success of innovative health and medical research that extends existing knowledge, boundaries and/or understandings within health and medical research.

Winner – Dr John Parker, Founding CEO of Saluda Medical

Griffith University Discovery Award: This Award recognises an early career researcher (anytime from qualification but no more than 5 years past PhD) whose paper/patent/discovery has already demonstrated its importance or impact.

Winner – Dr Mo Chen (Griffith University)

Great Australian Philanthropy Award: This Award profiles personal philanthropy that is outstanding in its generosity, effectiveness, vision, high impact and transformative quality. The Award recognises and encourages personal philanthropic donations over a period of time by an individual(s) or family to Australian health and medical research.

Winner – Andrew and Jean Miller (Miller Foundation)

Advocacy Award: This Award recognises and congratulates exceptional contributions made by research champions who help raise community awareness and understanding about the importance of health and medical research.

Winner – The Chimera Legacy Foundation, founded by Damien, Debbie and Bob Thompson

Data Innovation Award: This Award recognises an individual or team whose innovation is considered to represent one of the most impactful new data innovations in the HMR sector within the past five years. Sponsored by Bupa Health Foundation.

Winner – Dr Tracy Dudding-Byth (Hunter New England LHD)

Health Services Research Award: This Award is for an individual or team who has provided leadership and made an outstanding contribution to health services research; driven research that has led to a significant improvement in healthcare; and/or has championed the development of the health services research field. Sponsored by the Victorian Government.

Winner – Professor Brett Mitchell (Newcastle University)

GSK Award for Research Excellence: One of the most prestigious awards available to Australian researchers, this prize has been awarded since 1980 to recognise outstanding achievements in medical research with potential importance to human health. This year’s Award is accompanied by a grant of $80,000 to further the winner’s research.

Winners –  Professor Jamie Cooper and Professor Rinaldo Bellomo (Monash University)