GO8417: MRFF – EMCR Initiative – 2026 Early to Mid-Career Researchers Grant Opportunity

The Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF) Early to Mid-Career Researchers (EMCR) Initiative aims to build and grow research capacity and capability in Australia by supporting EMCRs to continue their health and medical research careers.

The objective of this grant opportunity is to provide grants of financial assistance to support medical research and medical innovation projects that: - Stream 1 (Incubator): conduct early stage, small scale research, led by early career researchers, that seeks to assess the potential and feasibility of novel strategies to address a critical or intractable health issue in one or more Priority Populations. - Stream 2 (Accelerator): establish a large-scale interdisciplinary research program, led by mid-career researchers, that drives implementation of substantial improvements to health care and/or health system effectiveness for one or more Priority Populations. - Stream 3 (Targeted Call for Research): utilise co-funding to accelerate the translation of research led by early or mid-career researchers into policy and practice. (Note: a priority population focus is not required).

Applicants to this grant opportunity must propose research that addresses one of the three Streams of research.

An application may only be submitted to one of the above three Streams.

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

Further information on the Medical Research Future Fund is available from the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing's website.

A list of Eligible Organisations can be found on the NHMRC List of MRFF Eligible Organisations webpage.

The applying lead organisation must be an MRFF Eligible Organisation approved by NHMRC.

Joint applications are permitted where there is an eligible lead organisation.

Applications must address one Stream only and be submitted through Sapphire by an approved organisation's Research Administration Officer (RAO).

Research teams must contain at least 2 and no more than 15 Chief Investigators (CIs), and a person may be named as a CI on no more than one application in each Stream.

Stream 1 requires a Chief Investigator A (CIA) who is an early-career researcher and at least 80% of all CIs to be early-career researchers; Stream 2 requires a mid-career CIA and at least 80% of CIs to be mid-career researchers; Stream 3 requires an early- or mid-career CIA and at least 50% of CIs to be early- or mid-career researchers.

Early-career researchers must be within 5 years of their earliest PhD award date and mid-career researchers must be between 5 and 10 years of their earliest PhD award date, with eligibility adjusted for eligible career disruptions.

The CIA must generally be an Australian citizen or permanent resident at application submission; otherwise, they must hold the required work visa when accepting the grant.

The CIA must reside in Australia for the grant duration, other than reasonable approved overseas travel.

Stream 1 and Stream 2 projects must focus on one or more specified Priority Populations.

Stream 3 projects must be genuinely close to translation or commercialisation and must meet compulsory cash co-funding requirements.