Victorian Medical Research Acceleration Fund
Launched by the Victorian Government in 2017, the Victorian Medical Research Acceleration Fund provides annual funding support to accelerate health and medical research and fast-track innovative projects from research to real-world impact.
A total of 122 projects have received funding through the program, contributing over $22 million to the Victorian health and medical research sector.
Victorian Medical Research Acceleration Fund Round 8
Round 8 of the Victorian Medical Research Acceleration Fund will deliver one-off grants with an expected budget of around $1.5 million (GST exclusive) and two tiers of funding:
- Tier 1: Funding of up to $100,000 to support early-stage innovative research proposals for projects that demonstrate potential for translation at a later stage
- Tier 2: Funding of up to $500,000 to fast-track translation of research to products or practices into clinical or health practice.
Round 8 grants will help address under-representation of women in health and medical research. Projects led by women or research teams comprised of at least 50% women will receive an added assessment weighting.
Applications will open at 10am Thursday 18 December 2025 and close at 11:59pm Wednesday 28 January 2026 (AEDT). Applications can be submitted via the online portal.
Before submitting an application, please review the program guidelines, template grant agreement and frequently asked questions (FAQs).
- Program Guidelines - Victorian Medical Research Acceleration Fund - Round 8 Program Guidelines - Victorian Medical Research Acceleration Fund - Round 8 (PDF 370.85 KB)
- Program Guidelines - Victorian Medical Research Acceleration Fund - Round 8 (accessible version) Program Guidelines - Victorian Medical Research Acceleration Fund - Round 8 accessible version (DOCX 116.71 KB)
- Template Grant Agreement - Victorian Medical Research Acceleration Fund - Round 8 Template Grant Agreement - Victorian Medical Research Acceleration Fund - Round 8 (PDF 536.25 KB)
- Template Grant Agreement - Victorian Medical Research Acceleration Fund - Round 8 (accessible version) Template Grant Agreement - Victorian Medical Research Acceleration Fund - Round 8 accessible (DOCX 113.38 KB)
- Frequently Asked Questions - Victorian Medical Research Acceleration Fund - Round 8 Frequently Asked Questions - Victorian Medical Research Acceleration Fund - Round 8 accessible (PDF 167.49 KB)
- Frequently Asked Questions - Victorian Medical Research Acceleration Fund - Round 8 (accessible version) Frequently Asked Questions - Victorian Medical Research Acceleration Fund - Round 8 accessible (DOCX 65.49 KB)
Outcomes of previous rounds
Institute | Project title |
|---|---|
Swinburne University of Technology | Developing virtual sailing as a new intervention for people with major depressive disorder. |
Western Health | ASAPP: Azithromycin for Short cervix and Amniotic fluid sludge (AFS) for the Prevention of Preterm birth - A pilot randomised controlled trial testing the efficacy of this antibiotic in treating AFS. |
La Trobe University | Using Intelligent Analytics and Spatial Genomics to Improve Immunotherapy Treatment Outcomes in Breast Cancer Patients. |
Bionics Institute | Abdominal vagus nerve stimulation as a therapy for rheumatoid arthritis. |
Melbourne Health | Preparations for the National Lung Screening Program; Developing a comprehensive local support and referral network for lung nodules and associated findings in Melbourne’s Northwest. |
Monash University | Advancing an Adaptive Platform for Perioperative Infection Trials. |
Monash University | Evaluating a new model of care to accelerate the provision of definitive care for patients with chest pain (ACCELERATE-CP). |
Murdoch Children’s Research Institute | A specialised integrated paediatric concussion clinic for children and youths: Evaluating the feasibility, effectiveness and commercial viability of the HeadCheck Concussion Clinic. |
Murdoch Children’s Research Institute | Long Read Sequencing to Shorten the Diagnostic Odyssey. |
Northern Health | Adoption and scale-up of Volunteer Peer Health Navigators to support patients and reduce access barriers in cancer. |
Institute | Project title |
|---|---|
Bionics Institute | An optical-electrical nerve cuff for localised and selective modulation of neural activity: a drug-free solution for chronic pain. |
Bionics Institute | Novel technology to fast tracking early intervention for infants with hearing loss. |
BreastScreen Victoria Inc. | Artificial Intelligence in BreastScreen Victoria Mammogram Reading: Saving more lives and reducing costs. |
Burnet Institute | Accelerating preclinical development of a novel bioactive to optimise the vaginal microbiome. |
Eastern Health | A pilot trial of Modify: A novel, smartphone-delivered brain-training intervention to reduce smoking in Victorians. |
Hudson Institute | Fast-tracking the clinical development of novel host-derived compounds for severe lung infections. |
Hudson Institute | Advancing Female Pelvic Reconstructive Surgery Outcomes using Nanotechnology. |
Monash University | Pathway to scale up Inhaled Oxytocin for the treatment of postpartum haemorrhage. |
Monash University | A digital solution to empower patients and caregivers to report clinical deterioration: keeping patients safe in hospital. |
Monash University | Establishing non-invasive screening for early detection of silicosis. |
Peninsula Health | Staying Active with Multimorbidity In Acute hospital (STAMInA Trial): a randomised controlled trial investigating the feasibility of allied health assistant delivered rehabilitation of people with multimorbidity in an acute hospital setting. |
Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre | Characterising the melanoma tumour microenvironment using novel omic technologies. |
The Royal Women's Hospital | Early Feasibility Study and Development of an Airway Pressure Monitoring Device for Neonates and Infants on Non-invasive Respiratory Support. |
The University of Melbourne | Evaluation of novel coagulation and endothelial biomarkers in individualised cardiovascular disease risk assessment. |
Victoria University | Exercise to counteract the negative effects of sleep loss on glycaemic control in women. |
Institute | Project title |
|---|---|
Austin Medical Research Foundation | Evaluating the efficacy of a Bone-Health Nutrition Training Program for food service staff in aged care: a food-based approach to fracture risk reduction. |
Melbourne Health | Linking to hepatitis care through linking existing data for Victorians living with viral hepatitis: The LINK-2-HepCare Project. |
Monash Health | Piloting the role of a Cultural Liaison Officer in following up notifiable communicable diseases at a Local Public Health Unit. |
Murdoch Children’s Research Institute | A mental health literacy program for teachers and schools: Evaluating the feasibility and effectiveness of Decode Mental Health & Wellbeing. |
Institute | Project Title |
|---|---|
Alfred Health | In vivo mapping of neuroprotective neuroinflammation using a novel PET radiotracer. |
Avipep Pty Ltd | A novel antibody-based therapy for multiple myeloma; an incurable cancer killing over 1000 Australians annually and 200,000 worldwide, within 5years of diagnosis. |
Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute | A novel surface engineering approach to prevent in-stent complications in Diabetic patients after stent surgery. |
Burnet Institute | A rapid point of care test (POCT) for liver health monitoring to enable community-based screening and timely clinical intervention for people with liver damage. |
Deakin University | EndoCannED – Medicinal Cannabis for the reduction in emergency department presentations in people with endometriosis: a randomised, controlled feasibility study‘. |
La Trobe University | A therapy that controls metastatic breast cancer by preventing repair of DNA damage. |
La Trobe University | NanoMslide: innovation assessment of intraoperative cancer diagnostic. |
Melbourne Health | The Poly-omic Drivers of Brain Metastases. |
Monash University | Employing artificial intelligence (AI) to accelerate the rate of drug development: Identifying inhibitors of fatty-acid binding protein FABP4. |
Monash University | Better biomarkers for dementia diagnosis: Increasing equity and efficiency in dementia care. |
Murdoch Children’s Research Institute | A Pilot Study of Medicinal Cannabis in Paediatric Patients undergoing Palliative Care for Non-oncological Conditions. |
Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre | Empowering treatment options with targeted PET imaging of breast cancer - interrogating HER2. Beyond the yellow bucket. |
Royal Melbourne Hospital | Establishment of tissue culture methods for SARS-CoV-2 propagation that ensure working stocks reflect the pathogenicity and genetic composition of circulating global clades. |
Royal Women's Hospital | Safer care for critically ill newborns: validation of a new medical device for placement and monitoring of neonatal central venous catheters by ultrasound. |
Royal Women's Hospital | Improving Obstetric Outcomes Following IVF Treatment. |
University of Melbourne | ID-Predict (Tuberculosis): Predicting recent Tuberculosis infection and future disease risk in Victorian TB contacts. |
University of Melbourne | EyeCP: Measuring Intracranial Pressure in the intensive care without brain surgery. |
University of Melbourne | Breaking bacterial antibiotic resistance to frontline therapeutics. |
Victoria University | Examining the effects of gender affirming hormone therapies on fitness and muscle health in transgender Australians: The GAME Study. |
Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research | Accelerating translational outcomes based on super-responders from the SOLACE2 trial of immunotherapy priming in ovarian cancer. |
Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research | CRISPR point-of-care diagnostics to dramatically improve management of STIs, mitigate outbreaks and combat antimicrobial resistance. |
Western Health | Genomically informed active surveillance in intermediate risk prostate cancer GenI-AIRSPACE. |
Page last updated: 18 December 2025