NSW Health invites promising Early-Mid Career (EMC) researchers to apply for EMC Researcher Grants focused on Advanced Therapeutics Impact.
Key information
- Status: Closed
- Grant amount: Up to $500,000
- Application opened: 1 September 2023
- Application closed: 5 December 2023, 3:00 pm
Program objective
EMC Researcher Grants aim to fund promising EMC Researchers in NSW whose innovative research will improve wellbeing and health outcomes for patients, while also encouraging collaboration, leadership and capacity building in the NSW research environment.
These grants also aim to support EMC researchers to gain research grants and fellowships from other bodies, which will allow for further translation of their research.
This program is funded and administered by NSW Health.
Eligibility
Who can apply
To be eligible to apply, you must be researchers who
- are less than 15 years post doctorate and have not reached full professor level. Associate Professors are eligible to apply if less than 15 years post doctorate
- may be clinicians, including medical, nursing, and allied health professionals. Clinicians may use up to 50 per cent of the grant to backfill their clinical role, with appropriate justification
- will be based in NSW and have the right to work in NSW for the duration of the grant (3 years)
- will be employed by an eligible host organisation for the duration of the grant, which must be in NSW, conduct health and medical research and be a university, medical research institute, not-for-profit organisation, local health district or other public health organisation
- are proposing to conduct research in the field of advanced therapeutics, as defined in the Grant Guidelines and below.
Who can’t apply
- You are not eligible to apply if you do not meet the eligibility criteria listed above.
Types of projects funded under this grant
The program will fund research in advanced therapeutics.
Eligible areas of research include:
- Nanomedicine, including basic, translational and clinical research
- Medicinal chemistry, including discovery and design of molecular and/or macromolecular therapeutics
- Personalised and precision medicine, including pharmacogenetics and genomics
- Immunotherapy, including non-specific immunotherapy (interferons and interleukins), monoclonal antibodies, t-cell therapy and other immune effector cell therapy, oncolytic virus therapy and cancer vaccines
- Therapeutic targeting, including identification and study of key biological macromolecules that influence disease processes, or change in response to pathological conditions
- Cellular mechanisms, including transduction, senescence, cellular/organoid communication and molecular diagnostics
- Combination therapy, co-administration of multiple drugs through a single system.
Only research projects that have potential to improve wellbeing and health outcomes for patients will be considered eligible.
NSW Health is seeking to fund EMC researchers who are ready to take their career in health and medical research to a new level.
Applicants must demonstrate that they have the capacity to build and lead a multidisciplinary and collaborative team that
- brings together researchers, clinicians and others with complementary expertise, skills, and perspectives across disciplines necessary to address the major research question
- includes at least one basic scientist and one practising clinician
- engages both the ‘next users’ and ‘end users’ of their research, which may include researchers from other parts of the research translation continuum, as well as stakeholders from industry, clinicians, patients, consumers and health decision makers who can support research impact
- establishes sustainable partnerships and collaborations that are likely to extend beyond the life of the project.
More information about how the multidisciplinary team and broader collaboration will be assessed is contained in the selection criteria.
Past recipients
A list of research projects previously funded by the Office for Health and Medical Research is available in this Project Directory: https://www.medicalresearch.nsw.gov.au/project-directory/
What can’t you apply for
Funds awarded cannot be spent on
- capital works
- general maintenance costs
- organisational infrastructure or overheads
- telephone/communication systems
- basic office equipment, such as desks and chairs, rent and the cost of utilities.
Funds awarded cannot be used to support research conducted outside of NSW.
Most recent recipients
What your application needs to include
You can download the full guidelines:
Download a sample application form to see the sections that need to be addressed:
Prepare your application with this checklist
You must provide a
- completed application form
- list of references supporting the science
- track record summary for the Chief Investigator
- project images
- evidence of career disruption, if applicable
- Aboriginal Health Impact Statement, using the NSW Health template, if applicable
- any other supporting documentation requested in the grant guidelines.
Address the eligibility criteria
Applicants must be
- an EMC Researcher proposing advanced therapeutics research
- located in NSW and employed by an eligible host organisation for the duration of the grant (3 years)
- an Australian citizen, permanent residency status or hold an appropriate visa for the duration of the grant (3 years).
Address the assessment criteria
All applications for funding that meet the eligibility criteria will be assessed against the following selection criteria.
Applications should be written in plain English to enable assessment by Review Panel members with expertise across the scope of advanced therapeutics.
Chief Investigator (35%)
Applicants will be assessed on
- academic and relevant clinical qualifications
- research, clinical and/or industry experience
- capacity to build and lead multidisciplinary teams and stakeholder collaboration
- skills and experience directly related to the topic area(s) and methodology of the research project
- track record in research and research impact, relative to opportunity
- potential for the Chief Investigator to leverage this grant to gain research funding and fellowships from other funding bodies.
Research project (35%)
A clear and detailed description and justification for the project is required, including aims, methodology, and expected outputs and outcomes.
The research project will be assessed against the following criteria
- evidence of a gap in knowledge, provided by prior systematic reviews and/or gap analyses, and a clearly articulated need for the research
- how the proposed project will advance existing knowledge and why this is important
- the extent to which the proposed research is innovative and novel
- clarity of the research aim(s) and research question(s)
- strength, rigour and appropriateness of the research methodology in achieving the aims of the project
- consideration of priority population groups if relevant
- feasibility of successfully delivering the research project within the proposed timeframe
- potential to achieve impact against one or more of the strategic outcomes of the Future Health Strategic Framework
- program logic, with the potential outputs and outcomes of the research and how the research will improve clinical practice and/or patient outcomes in the short or long term
- proposal describes a credible pathway for influencing clinical, health service and/or population health practice in NSW.
- the plan for research translation and impact, including consideration of data management and access, commercialisation and intellectual property where appropriate
- relationship to existing research undertaken by the host organisation and the research team.
Budget
The budget should be detailed and well-justified and will be assessed as part of the project on
- appropriateness and purpose of each line item
- other contributions and support for the project including from host organisation
- existing funding for the research, if any, and how this relates to the additional funding requested without duplication.
Multidisciplinary team and stakeholder collaboration(15%)
All applications will be assessed on the strength and appropriateness of the multidisciplinary team and broader stakeholder collaboration against the following criteria
- the team includes a basic science researcher and a practising clinician
- the team integrates researchers with complementary expertise, skills, and perspectives across disciplines necessary to address the major research question
- diverse composition of the research team (e.g. gender, career stage and/or researchers from different cultures) that will:
- provide expertise
- build capacity in advanced therapeutics in NSW
- provide vital skills and perspectives, without which the research question cannot be addressed.
- evidence of appropriate and sustainable engagement with key stakeholders including those who will likely use the research findings and/ or support implementation or translation, e.g. clinicians, patients, consumers and health decision makers, industry stakeholders, regulatory advisors.
Skill development, leadership and capacity building (15%)
All applicants will be assessed on skill development, leadership and capacity building both in terms of what has been achieved to date in their career, and what will be achieved using grant funds if the application is successful, noting the emphasis in this grant round on building and leading a multidisciplinary team and broader stakeholder collaboration.
Skill development, leadership and capacity building will be assessed relative to opportunity, with different expectations of EMCs who have completed their PhD within the last few years from those who are more advanced in their career.
Examples of activities that may be included are
- leading or participation in clinical quality assurance activities attending training, for example in research skills or research leadership
- taking on leadership roles
- mentoring or supervising junior researchers
- leading or involvement in collaborations within NSW, Australia and internationally, for example with other research groups or policy agencies
- leading or active roles in relevant networks, advisory committees or governance groups
- collaboration with clinicians and others involved in translation of research findings
- building a program of research.
Applicants are asked to provide a vision for leadership and capacity development in research, taking into consideration the examples of skills development and capacity building given above, including:
- development of leadership skills during the researcher’s career to date, and the contributions and impacts of this leadership in NSW
- how these will be further developed during the period of funding, and what the outcomes of this will be
- how the grant and the applicant will help to build and maintain capacity in advanced therapeutics research in NSW.
After the application is submitted
- Eligibility check: Following the closing date for applications, NSW Health will determine if each application has satisfied the eligibility criteria.
- Review by independent expert panel: An independent panel of expert reviewers will assess each eligible application against the selection criteria.
- Funding recommendation: The independent panel will agree on the final ranking of all eligible applications and will make a recommendation for funding to NSW Health.
- Decision and notification: NSW Health will determine grant recipients and amounts. All applicants will be informed as to whether they have been awarded funding.
- Grant Agreements: NSW Health will contact host/ administering organisations for successful projects to execute a funding agreement. A standard, non-negotiable funding agreement will be used.
Support and contact
Phone: 02 9391 9228