Archived Grant Opportunity View - GO4571

The Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF) – Stem Cell Therapies Mission aims to support world-leading stem cell that develops and delivers innovative, safe and effective stem cell medicines to improve health outcomes, in partnership with patients and carers, that are accessible to all Australians who need them. 

The objective of this grant opportunity is to provide grants of financial assistance to support Australian medical research and medical innovation projects that:

• support proof-of-concept studies to establish the feasibility of novel stem cell-based therapies
• conduct Phase 1 clinical trials for promising stem cell treatments
• apply stem cell-based screens for the development of treatments for inherited disease, complex disease, infectious disease and cancer
• foster research on the ethical, social, regulatory, health economics and legal issues associated with the development, availability, regulation and application of stem cell therapies and treatments
• use stem cell-derived tissue models to rapidly screen TGA (and FDA) approved drugs as potential treatments for COVID-19.

This grant opportunity is being administered by NHMRC on behalf of the Australian Government Department of Health.

Further information on the Medical Research Future Fund is available from the Department of Health website.

Applications will only be accepted from NHMRC approved Administering Institutions. A list of NHMRC approved Administering Institutions is available from the GrantConnect GO Documents and from the NHMRC’s Administering Institutions list on the NHMRC website.

Applications must satisfy all the requirements set out in the Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF) – Stem Cell Therapies Mission – 2020 Stem Cell Therapies Grant Opportunity Guidelines 

Applications to Stream 5 (Targeted Call for Research) will only be accepted from the following institutions:

• Australian Centre for Disease Preparedness via its Administering Institution Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO)
• Curtin University 
• Griffith University
• University of New South Wales
• Translational Research Institute via its Administering Institution The University of Queensland
• The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research.

June 2026

$19,000,000.00

From $0.00 to $5,000,000.00

Applicants are advised to read the Grant Guidelines thoroughly and liaise with the Administering Institution that will submit the application to identify any specific requirements that the Institution might have.

Applications must be submitted electronically using NHMRC’s online granting system (Sapphire).

Minimum Data closes at 5:00 pm (ACT Local Time) on 17 February 2021.

Questions should be submitted no later than 1:00 pm (ACT Local Time) on 24 February 2021.