Melbourne Medical School researchers secure 2026 NHMRC Ideas Grant funding

Five researchers from the Melbourne Medical School have been awarded funding through the latest round of National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Ideas Grants.

Picture of a University of Melbourne sign

The NHMRC Ideas Grant scheme supports exceptional researchers in undertaking new and important projects across a diverse range of health and medical challenges. Open to researchers at all stages of their careers, the scheme encourages successful recipients to address significant health challenges in Australia through discovery and innovation.

Congratulations to the following Melbourne Medical School recipients:

  • Professor Lisa Hui from the Department of Obstetrics, Gynaecology and Newborn Health: Mapping the fetal extracellular vesicle and immune cell landscapes of congenital cytomegalovirus infection for biomarker and therapeutic target discovery.
  • Associate Professor Fiona Brownfoot from the Department of Obstetrics, Gynaecology and Newborn Health: Preventing stillbirths globally: artificial intelligence decision support for fetal asphyxia detection in labour.
  • Dr Michael Roche from the Department of Infectious Diseases: Leveraging mRNA and lipid nanoparticle technology to develop a cure for HIV.
  • Associate Professor Sarah Dunstan from the Department of Infectious Diseases: Decoding TB susceptibility and its genomic link to ageing and chronic disease.
  • Associate Professor Richard Tothill from the Department of Clinical Pathology: Development of a multi-omic liquid biopsy test for cancer of unknown primary

Find out more about the NHMRC Ideas Grant scheme on the NHMRC website.