The national council is backing the work of three Flinders University academics with over $7m in funds.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander researchers Professor Jaquelyne Hughes, Associate Professor Karla Canuto and Associate Professor Kalinda Griffiths have been awarded a total of $7.4 million in NHMRC Investigator Grants.
The Flinders University academics were awarded the grants for projects to improve the health and wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island people.
Professor Hughes, a Torres Strait Islander woman (Wagadagam), is the clinical research professor for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Advancement and is based in Darwin. She received $2.9 million for her project “And We Are: Determined as Indigenous Leaders to advance First Nation kidney health”. Professor Hughes’ research will promote and implement health improvements by Indigenous leaders for Torres Strait Islander and Aboriginal people living with kidney diseases, and their communities and families.
“Rates of kidney failure requiring dialysis or transplantation among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians have risen progressively over the past 40 years, remaining consistently higher than rates for non-Indigenous Australians,” said Professor Hughes.
“The And We Are project recognises our role as leaders in choosing to be solution-enablers. It will ensure that we can sustain and extend health improvements that were initially developed as pilot programs or conceptual models.
“Throughout this project we will uphold Indigenous self-determination, Indigenous sovereignty, human rights and respect.”
Associate Professor Karla Canuto has been awarded $2.8 million for the project Community-led Health Promotion in the Torres Strait.
Professor Canuto, a Torres Strait Islander and descendent of the Naghir Tribe of the Kulkalgal Clan, is recognised as a national leader in Indigenous health promotion. Her research project is aimed at reducing chronic disease risk factors in extremely remote and under-resourced communities through community-led evidence-based health restoration initiatives.
“Throughout isolated communities in the Torres Strait (Zenadh), the rates of chronic diseases such as type 2 diabetes and chronic renal failure are skyrocketing, and health restoration is an urgent priority for Maluilgal (the tribal people of the Maluilgau region – Badu, Mabuiag and Moa Islands),” said Professor Canuto.
“The sustainable community-led initiatives we implement will help restore wellbeing.”
Associate Professor Kalinda Griffiths’ project, Strengthening Transparent Reporting and Improving Visibility and Equity for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health, has been awarded$1.6 million.
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Professor Griffiths, a Yawuru woman, is an epidemiologist focusing on data availability, health measurement and Indigenous data governance. This work will address health inequities by improving the quality of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health data, its useability and governance, and developing workforce and Indigenous health measurement.
“The Aboriginal-led program will address the challenges that continue to exist in identifying and addressing gaps in the quality and usability of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health data in Australia,” said Professor Griffiths, director of Poche SA & NT in Darwin.
“This will ultimately enhance the health and wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.”
Professor Raymond Chan, Flinders University’s deputy vice-chancellor (research), said the funding for these projects reflected the university’s “leadership in health and medicine and our commitment to driving positive change in the health of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples”.
“We’re thrilled our researchers are recognised for their work improving health outcomes for their communities and congratulate them on their funding success,” said Professor Chan.
There were 229 NHMRC investigator grants awarded this year from 1715 applications, across 33 institutions, to the tune of $422.5 million.
The largest investigator grant in any category, at $3 million, went to Professor Barry Dickson
from the University of Queensland, for his project Connectomics approaches to understanding anxiety and depression.
Other investigator grants awarded in the area of First Nations health include:
- $1.6 million to Dr Belinda Newton, UNSW, for Understanding systems abuse and Aboriginal resistance in child protection contexts;
- $424k to Dr Teagan Weatherall, La Trobe University, for Reframing narratives: Alcohol use among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples;
- $2,8 million to Professor Roxanne Bainbridge, The University of Queensland, for “We don’t get paid to keep people healthy”: Optimising Indigenous Patient-Centred Care through Coordinated and Comprehensive Health Management and Decision-making;
- $1.6 million to Associate Professor Michael Doyle, University of Sydney, for Drug and alcohol treatment in criminal justice system for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people;
- $649k to Dr Alana Gall, Southern Cross University, for Tunapri Ngini, Tunapri Rrala (Old Knowledge, Strong Knowledge) – a research program to Protect and Respect First Peoples’ Cultural Medicine knowledges.
Details of all successful NHMRC 2025 grants are available here.