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11 May 2023

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1. HRC launches new Connecting for Impact Fund


The Health Research Council of New Zealand (HRC) is pleased to announce the launch of a new research investment mechanism – the ‘Connecting for Impact Fund’. This fund replaces our previous Partnership Programme and contributes to a strategic, proactive and equitable approach to our targeted investment portfolio.

The new fund is designed to invest in areas of critical and significant need, guided by the HRC’s strategic imperatives and the goals of the New Zealand Health Research Strategy and Prioritisation Framework. Investments will be priority-driven, informed by analyses of gaps in investment as well as those signalled by government and external parties.

This fund will facilitate a collaborative approach to research, with the HRC playing an active role to foster connections across the system. Where possible, it will bring together multiple ‘impact partners’ to create funding opportunities of higher value and greater benefit.
 

2023 Climate Change and Health and Wellbeing Initiative
 

The first research priority for 2023 will focus on climate change and its impacts on health and wellbeing. This priority was identified through an analysis of research and workforce gaps in the HRC’s investment portfolio. Currently, the HRC is seeking input from experts, key stakeholders, and communities of interest to understand the urgent research questions in climate change and health and wellbeing. This input will help the HRC identify potential partners and shape the direction and scope of a research funding opportunity.

The pathway for external organisations to identify research priorities, consistent with the goals of the new fund, will be introduced later this year.

For more information about this new fund, see the HRC website

2. 2024 Projects and Career Development Awards opening soon


The HRC's 2024 Career Development Awards and Project Grants (Māori, Pacific and General categories) will open for applications on HRC Gateway early next month. See below for the exact dates and times, or check out the HRC Gateway funding calendar

Māori Health Career Development Awards
Open date: 1pm, 6 June 2023
Registration due date: 1pm, 25 July 2023
Application due date: 1pm, 25 July 2023

Pacific Health Career Development Awards
Open date: 1pm, 6 June 2023
Registration due date: 1pm, 25 July 2023
Application due date: 1pm, 25 July 2023

General Career Development Awards
Open date: 1pm, 6 June 2023
Registration due date: 1pm, 4 July 2023
Application due date: 1pm, 4 July 2023

2024 Project Grants
The following opportunities will be available in this round:
Rangahau Hauora Māori Project Grants, Pacific Project Grants, and General Project Grants
Open date: 1pm, 7 June 2023
Registration due date: 1pm, 5 July 2023
Expression of Interest (EOI) application due date: 1pm, 12 July 2023
EOI outcome notification: 3 October 2023
Invited full application open date: 1pm, 3 October 2023
Invited full application due date: 1pm, 15 November 2023

3. Health researchers honoured with Prime Minister's Science Prizes


Last week Professor Valery Feigin and his team from Auckland University of Technology received theProfessor Feigin and team members coveted Prime Minister’s Te Puiaki Pūtaiao Matua a Te Pirimia Science Prize 2022. The prize, which includes $500,000, is awarded to an individual or team for a transformative scientific discovery or achievement, which has had a significant economic, health, social and/or environmental impact on New Zealand and/or internationally.

Over a period of more than 40 years, Valery and his team, who were joint recipients of the HRC's 2022 Liley Medal, have helped uncover the epidemiology of stroke and associated conditions and developed highly usable digital tools for patients and clinicians to reduce stroke risk worldwide. These digital tools include the free mobile app Stroke Riskometer, which calculates a person’s stroke risk and guides them how to reduce it; and PreventS-MD, medical information software for clinicians to use on their desktops during consultations.

The HRC is proud to have supported the team's research, which will make an important long-term contribution to health and social outcomes.

Associate Professor Dianne Sika-Paotonu from the University of Otago, who is the chair of the HRC'sA/P Dianne Sika-Paotonu Pacific Health Research Committee, was also honoured with the 2022 Prime Minister’s Science Communication Prize.

Dianne was a leading voice during the COVID-19 pandemic. She helped explain the technical aspects of immunology, vaccines, the SARS-CoV-2 virus and infectious diseases, giving more than 220 broadcast media interviews, and contributing to over 1500 online and print media stories. She was also on Stuff’s expert advisory panel for The Whole Truth: COVID-19 vaccination project to promote evidenced-based information, and The Whole Truth: Te Māramatanga series on public health topics that are prone to misinformation.

In addition to this, Dianne has achieved breakthrough work on rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart disease, which disproportionately affect Pacific and Māori communities in Aotearoa. Her work in the Pacific region has involved engaging with the public and assembling multidisciplinary teams from different cultures, resulting in improved health outcomes in the region. The HRC is pleased to have supported Dianne throughout her career, including with the 2019 HRC Sir Thomas Davis Te Patu Kite Rangi Ariki Health Research Fellowship.

4. Recent health news

Extreme rainfall events and the link with enteric disease outbreaks - Otago Daily Times (Professor Simon Hales, HRC-funded Project)

Is there equity of patient health outcomes across models of general practice in Aotearoa New Zealand? A national cross-sectional study - International Journal for Equity in Health (Professor Nicolette Sheridan, Ministry of Health and HRC-funded partnership)

Ultra-processed foods linked to poorer brain health - NZ Herald/New York Times

AI has potential to revolutionise health care – but we must first confront the risk of algorithmic bias - The Conversation 

About Update

 

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Update is a fortnightly e-newsletter about the health research sector, compiled and distributed by the Health Research Council of New Zealand. Short, topical items about health research funding, policy, activities, consultations, and publications are welcome. Please contact Suzy Botica, the HRC's senior communications advisor, for more details.