NHMRC Investigator Grants 2026

Pictured - Professor Martha Hickey, Associate Professor Fiona Brownfoot and  Professor Tu'uhevaha Kaitu'u-Lino

We are delighted to congratulate Professor Martha Hickey, Associate Professor Fiona Brownfoot and  Professor Tu'uhevaha Kaitu'u-Lino on securing NHMRC Investigator Grants commencing in 2027.  These prestigious awards support research addressing important health issues including menopause, stillbirth and preeclampsia, including advancing diagnostics and therapeutics, as well as technologies to improve pregnancy monitoring.

CIA Prof Martha Hickey - Leadership 3 (L3)
Optimising physical and mental health at menopause

Hot flushes +/- night sweats affect around 70% of women at menopause and last for 7 years on average. This program will address key knowledge gaps in menopause, to improve physical and mental health   1. Understanding how early menopause causes chronic disease and whether MHT is preventive  2. Increasing access to effective treatments for cancer patients with menopausal symptoms with a clinical toolkit 3. Support choices about treatment with a Patient Decision Aid

CIA Assoc Prof Fiona Brownfoot - Emerging Leadership 2 (EL2)
Developing platform technologies to improve pregnancy monitoring

Pregnancy and birth are high-risk, with one in 140 babies stillborn with little improvement in decades. This project will develop three technologies to make care safer: a wearable device for pregnancy that tracks heart rates and contractions using AI; a tool to help clinicians interpret fetal heart rate during labour; and a tiny sensor that continuously measures fetal pH to detect distress. These tools aim to support earlier, more accurate decisions and improve outcomes for mothers and babies.

CIA Prof Tu'uhevaha Kaitu'u-Lino - Leadership 2 (L2)
Advancing diagnostics and therapeutics for stillbirth and preeclampsia

Stillbirth and preeclampsia are devastating pregnancy complications that can claim the lives of both mothers and babies. I aim to discover new blood tests and drugs to predict and treat these pregnancy complications. I aim to translate the world's first stillbirth prevention blood test – a test that could save many babies. I will also discover novel drugs to treat preeclampsia, ready for testing in large clinical trials.

The Faculty of MDHS received 41 successful outcomes out of the 211 applications submitted. This represents a 19.4% success rate; slightly down from 2026's 20.9%.  The University was awarded 43 out of 227 applications, totalling $66.4M, representing an 18.9% success rate.

Our department was awarded 3 grants from 12 submitted, representing a 25% success rate, equal highest with Department of Medicine in MMS. The achievements of our Department have made an important contribution to this outstanding result for the University.