HRC Grants fund the wellbeing of New Zealand

Over $58 million is being invested into the health of  New Zealanders through the government’s funding body, the Health Research Council.

This week the Health Research Council (HRC) announced the recipients of funding from the latest funding round. This year the HRC is funding 33 individual projects worth a total of $33.9 million and five major programmes worth more than $24.8 million. Recipients include researchers from universities, independent research institutes and District Health Boards.

The HRC is the Crown agency responsible for administering the New Zealand Government’s investment in health research.

The five major research programmes receiving HRC funding (each receiving almost $5 million over five years) are:

  • Rational design of kinase inhibitors to target cancer (Prof William Denny, The University of Auckland)
  • Mapping determinants of arrhythmia in structural heart disease (Prof Peter Hunter, The University of Auckland)
  • Immunotherapy of allergic diseases (Prof Graham Le Gros, Malaghan Institute of Medical Research, Wellington)
  • Exploiting the therapeutic potential of viruses (Prof Andrew Mercer, University of Otago)
  • Effective interventions and policies to improve population nutrition and health (Associate Prof Cliona Ni Mhurchu, The University of Auckland)

A full list of funded projects can found on the HRC website.

Examples of ongoing media coverage include:

New Zealand Herald: $58m to improve healthcare
Otago Daily Times: $15.5 million boost for University of Otago research
NewstalkZB: New hope for lazy eye patients
Otago Daily Times: Health Research Council announces grants
Yahoo NZ News: Funding for health research

Media releases have also been issued by University of Canterbury, Malaghan Institute, Maurice Wilkins Centre, University of Otago and University of Auckland.