27 projects led by University of Melbourne researchers from the Faculty of Science and the Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences have been awarded National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) 2025 Synergy and Ideas grants worth a combined $52 million.
Professors Katherine Kedzierska, Rebecca Bentley and Belinda Parker, from the Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences, and Professor Geoffrey McFadden, from the Faculty of Science, secured $5 million in funding each from the NHMRC Synergy Grant scheme.
The scheme was established to support multidisciplinary teams of investigators working together to answer major questions in all areas of human health and medical research that cannot be answered by a single investigator. Only 11 grants were awarded through the scheme in 2025 and the University of Melbourne secured 36 per cent of the available funding.
Projects awarded funding will focus on defining and overcoming disease drivers in pregnancy to ensure pregnancies are safe and protected, addressing the public health challenge of mould in homes, unravelling metastasis-specific immune niches to transform cancer treatment and discovering a gene drive to control malaria.
23 other projects led by University of Melbourne researchers were awarded $32 million through the NHMRC Ideas Grant scheme, established to support innovative projects spanning discovery to implementation that aim to answer a specific research question.
These projects will drive improved understanding and treatments across a range of conditions, including understanding the mechanisms underlying antimicrobial resistance, improving cancer diagnosis and treatment, and preventing stillbirths using an AI-enabled decision support tool.
University of Melbourne Professor Alastair Sloan, Acting Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research), said this outstanding result underscores the University's position at the forefront of medical and scientific research and congratulated the successful research teams.
"The diversity of projects awarded funding underscores the important role the University of Melbourne and our partner organisations play in helping to address critical health challenges faced by the community," Professor Sloan said.
"Our researchers' success in securing these prestigious grants reflects the innovative and collaborative nature of their work, which has the potential to significantly impact global health outcomes."
