Welcome
We manage the Government's investment in health research. Our vision is to improve the health and quality of life of all New Zealanders.
Funding Opportunities
The HRC allocates funding through an annual funding round for researcher initiated projects, Requests for Proposals, and a range of career development awards.
About Us
We invest in a broad range of research on issues important to New Zealand, and support the development of health research careers. Our mission is 'benefiting New Zealand through health research'.
News and Publications
We produce a wide range of publications and documents, which provide information about funding opportunities, research outcomes and HRC-related news.
Ethics and Regulatory
We help ensure all research involving human participants is based on good science, meets ethical standards and complies with best practice.
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If you have any questions about the HRC or would like to know more about how our funding process works, please drop us a line.
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News and Media
Our latest and archived media releases and news articles.
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News Article17 July 2019
The Waitangi Tribunal recently released the results from stage one of its inquiry into Māori grievances relating to health services and outcomes of national significance. Stage one's hearings ran from October to December 2018 and focused on aspects of primary health care, which includes services provided in the community by general practitioners, nurses, pharmacists, counsellors, dentists and others.
The report addresses claims concerning the way the primary health care system in New Zealand has been legislated, administered, funded and monitored by the Crown since the passing of the New Zealand Public Health and Disability Act 2000, and explores whether the persistent inequitable health outcomes of Māori are indicators of a breach of the Treaty of Waitangi.
Some of the key findings include:
- The policy framework that administers the primary health care sector fails to consistently state a commitment to achieving equity of health outcomes for Māori.
- Māori primary health organisations have been underfunded from the outset, and ongoing resourcing is a significant issue.
- The funding arrangements for the primary health care system disadvantage primary health organisations and providers that predominately serve high-needs populations, particularly Māori primary health organisations and providers.
- Despite the significant, persisting inequities that Māori experience, Māori health outcomes are not systematically separately measured and reported on.
- The primary health care framework does not recognise and properly provide for tino rangatiratanga and mana motuhake of hauora Māori.
The report makes a number of recommendations to address its findings and, while the focus is on health care and inequity rather than health research per se, it has important implications for the health research sector when it comes to how research is carried out and addressing health research gaps and priorities for Māori. We highly recommend that you read the full report here.
Stage two of the inquiry will cover three priority areas encompassing mental health (including suicide and self-harm), Māori with disabilities, and issues of alcohol, tobacco, and substance abuse. You can find further information about this on the Waitangi Tribunal website.
With the support of our research committees, over the last two years the Health Research Council has undertaken significant work revising our consideration of Māori responsiveness in the assessment of research proposals. This is to help ensure that heath research in New Zealand is realising all opportunities to address Māori health inequities. We will be releasing further details of these changes shortly, along with guidelines to support health researchers to consider how their proposed research may contribute to Māori health advancement. These changes will be communicated to the health research community through multiple channels, including via our e-newsletter Update, our website, and discussions with research offices and research institutions.
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News Article2 July 2019
We are continuing to roll out changes to the prospective assessment of research impact that will apply at the Expression of Interest and full application stages for our 2020 HRC Programme and Project funding rounds.
The changes we made to the research impact criterion in our 2019 funding rounds for Programmes and Projects in the Health and Wellbeing in New Zealand and the Improving Outcomes for Acute and Chronic Conditions research investment streams (RIS), will now extend across all RIS. Specific details on what these changes will look like for the Rangahau Hauora Māori research investment stream were circulated in our May announcement.
The research impact criterion centres around two sections: (1) a description of how the applicants’ research might be used and the anticipated benefits for New Zealand; and (2) an action plan to maximise the use and benefits of research.
Applicants are encouraged to respond to these sections relative to their specific research context. We advise you to reference your line-of-sight to eventual impact, but focus the discussion on what is realistically achievable within your sphere of influence. Keep it relevant and keep it credible.
It is critical for the HRC to show benefit to New Zealand from our investment. It is a key expectation from the Government and strengthens our case for increased investment in health research. By asking applicants from all disciplines to think about potential impact from the planning stages of their research, they may be better placed to create and respond to opportunities to maximise the potential for impact during the research process. This is one way we aim to increase the collective benefits and impacts from the portfolio of research that we fund.
A new HRC research impact slideshow video provides more details about these refinements, including the HRC's definition of research impact and the 'pathway to impact' model that guides our work at both the assessment of prospective impact stage and the evaluation of impact stage. The science sector in New Zealand and health research funders globally are also exploring and addressing these complex issues.
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Dr Jemaima Tiatia-Seath (Photo: Dean Carruthers)Media Release26 June 2016
New Zealand could become a potential relocation destination for many Pacific peoples displaced from their homelands by rising sea levels and other climate-change related natural disasters.
Dr Jemaima Tiatia-Seath, co-head of the School of Māori Studies and Pacific Studies at the University of Auckland, has received a Pacific Project grant from the Health Research Council of New Zealand (HRC) to explore how New Zealand could ready its health system to best support the mental health needs of Pacific ‘climate change migrants’. Her study will involve research sites in New Zealand, Niue and the Cook Islands.
“Very few people in the Pacific region will be unaffected by climate change, particularly as half the population live within 1.5 kilometers of the ocean. Rapid rises in sea level, more severe cyclones and floods, and changes to seasonal weather are all occurring in the Pacific and are attributed to climate change,” says Dr Tiatia-Seath.
“Migration is an indirect impact of climate change. One estimate is that 75 million people from the Asia-Pacific region will be forced to migrate by 2050 because of it. Much of the health research done to date has largely focused on the physical health problems associated with climate change – the mental health impacts have only recently been recognised.”
Dr Tiatia-Seath says Pacific peoples forced to relocate will likely be at higher risk of negative mental health challenges due to the cultural loss and stress of climate-induced migration.
“An understanding of this issue in New Zealand’s mental health sector is vital. Mental health services will need to cater to Pacific climate change migrants in culturally-inclusive ways and recognise the new challenges that migration and forced relocation will bring to the already visible barriers to mental health access for Pacific peoples.”
HRC manager of Pacific research investment, Tolotea Lanumata, says this study is very timely as the New Zealand Government has made looking at the impacts of climate change a priority.
“Climate change is predicted to have a substantial negative effect on global mental health. This study gives New Zealand the chance to get on the front-foot and prepare our health system for the mental health challenges that climate change will likely have on Pacific communities,” says Ms Lanumata.
The HRC has awarded funding for four Pacific project grants worth a combined total of $2.37 million. These grants form part of the HRC’s $81 million investment in new research projects and programmes announced today by Minister Megan Woods.
Pacific Project grants support research that contributes to better health outcomes for Pacific peoples, families and communities. For a full list of the recipients, see below. To view lay summaries of these projects, go to www.hrc.govt.nz/funding-opportunities/recipients and filter for ‘Researcher initiated proposals’, ‘Projects’, ‘2019’.
2019 Pacific Project grants – full list
Dr Allamanda Faatoese, University of Otago
Environmental effects on cardiometabolic biomarkers in Pacific peoples
36 months, $594,804Professor Steven Ratuva, University of Canterbury
Enrichment of community health through targeted social protection strategies
36 months, $588,534Dr Gerhard Sundborn, The University of Auckland
Understanding scabies prevalence to improve the health of Pasifika/Māori kids
36 months, $594,346Dr Jemaima Tiatia-Seath, The University of Auckland
Climate change and mental wellbeing: The impacts on Pacific peoples
36 months, $589,691 -
Associate Professor Anne-Louise Health, Otago UniversityMedia Release26 June 2019
They dominate the baby food section in supermarkets, but could baby food pouches be setting our babies up for future problems with obesity and dental cavities?
Squeezable baby food pouches with plastic spouts are described as a mess-free and easy food alternative for babies ‘on-the-go’, and they now have an extraordinary market share in New Zealand – a 2018 audit of one of New Zealand’s largest supermarket chains indicates that these pouches make up 70 per cent of baby foods available. However, despite their apparent widespread use, there has been virtually no published research done either in New Zealand or internationally on the possible impacts of these pouches on babies’ diets or health.
Associate Professor Anne-Louise Heath from the University of Otago has received a Project grant from the Health Research Council of New Zealand (HRC) to explore what babies are eating in New Zealand once they move from an exclusively milk diet to solid food.
This ‘First Foods NZ’ study will observe 625 babies aged between eight and nine months from Auckland and Dunedin, measuring their nutrient intake, particularly iron levels, and assess the impact of baby food pouches on babies’ growth and dental health.
“The food in baby food pouches is similar to that found in baby food jars and cans, but their delivery method has the potential to markedly change infant nutrition,” says Associate Professor Heath.
“Anecdotal reports suggest babies are often consuming the food straight from the pouch, unsupervised. These super smooth foods are very easy for babies to eat. A 120g pouch is the equivalent of about 22 teaspoons of food. It can take a lot of time to spoon-feed a baby that amount, whereas to squeeze out that amount from a pouch is much easier. We want to find out if pouches result in babies overeating because they’re so easy to eat, and if they are displacing more nutrient-rich foods such as breastmilk from the diet.”
The research team will also track the babies to see if the sweet and acidic foods commonly found in baby food pouches – even some vegetable-based varieties – are causing problems for babies’ erupting teeth.
“Manufacturers in New Zealand are generally super cautious about not adding sugar to baby foods, but natural fruit sugar is still sugar. When these baby foods are consumed by sucking on a pouch, the teeth are bathed in fruit sugars, and probably much more so than if they were to eat whole fruit or to be spoon-fed. This could increase the risk of tooth decay.”
A recent small randomised controlled trial1 suggests that even by seven months of age, 12 percent of New Zealand babies may already be consuming more than the World Health Organisation recommendation of less than five percent of energy intake from free sugars, including fruit purees.
“If you’re only giving your baby a pouch every now and again it will probably make no difference to your baby’s health, whereas if it’s a regular thing it may have risks – or it may have benefits, such as upping your baby’s fruit and vegetable intake. We have to keep an open mind with our research as we don’t know which way it will go.”
As part of the First Foods NZ study, Associate Professor Heath and co-principal investigator Professor Rachael Taylor will also assess the nutrition, health and safety impacts of another method of feeding that’s growing in popularity in New Zealand: baby-led weaning. This technique involves giving babies finger foods to feed themselves from about six months on, instead of parents spoon-feeding them pureed food and slowly progressing to more textured food as the Ministry of Health currently recommends.
Proponents of baby-led weaning see it as a healthier, more convenient, and less stressful way of feeding babies, however some health professionals have raised concerns about the potential increased risk of iron deficiency, slower weight gain, and choking.
HRC acting chief executive Dr Vernon Choy says all parents want to know what the safest and best way is to feed their babies.
“There is so little research on baby food pouches or baby-led weaning that the Ministry of Health is currently unable to advise parents on their use. This puts health professionals in a difficult position because they are forced to form an educated opinion based on little-to-no evidence. They then have to decide if they’re going to share that opinion or leave parents to perhaps seek out other sources like social media for advice,” says Dr Choy.
“This research will provide some much-needed evidence to help the Ministry of Health update their advice to Plunket and other Well-Child providers on whether, and how, parents should use these relatively new methods of baby feeding.”
The HRC has awarded $60.3 million in funding for 53 research projects, including Pacific health and Rangahau Maori projects. These grants form part of the HRC’s $81 million investment in new research projects and programmes announced today by Minister Megan Woods.
See below for the full list of 2019 HRC Project and Pacific Project grant recipients. To read lay summaries of these Projects, go to www.hrc.govt.nz/funding-opportunities/recipients and filter for ‘Researcher Initiated Proposals’, ‘Projects’ and ‘2019’.
1 Williams Erickson L, Taylor R, Haszard J, Fleming E, Daniels L, Morison B, Leong C, Fangupo L, Wheeler B, Taylor B, Te Morenga L, McLean R, Heath A. Impact of a modified version of Baby Led Weaning on infant food and nutrient intakes: the BLISS randomized controlled trial. Nutrients 2018;10:740.
2019 Project grants – full list
Dr Philip Adamson, University of Otago
Duration of Dual Antiplatelet Therapy in Acute Coronary Syndrome (DUAL-ACS)
48 months, $1,549,999Professor Richard Beasley, Medical Research Institute of New Zealand
Two RCTs of salbutamol therapy in exacerbations of asthma in adults
36 months, $578,713Dr Peter Bergin, Auckland District Health Board
International case-control study of Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy
48 months, $1,190,647Professor David Bilkey, University of Otago
A novel biomarker for preclinical drug development in schizophrenia
24 months, $489,282Professor Steven Dakin, The University of Auckland
Measuring visual field loss in glaucoma using involuntary eye movements
36 months, $1,184,344Professor Nicola Dalbeth, The University of Auckland
Transitions to Gout Research (TIGER) study
36 months, $1,196,151Dr Martin de Bock, University of Otago
Automated insulin delivery for Type 1 diabetes utilising open source technology
36 months, $1,317,623Professor Sarah Derrett, University of Otago
Prospective Outcomes of Injury Study: 10 years on (POIS-10)
36 months, $1,188,041Professor Robert Doughty, The University of Auckland
Biomarker-guided secondary prevention post-acute coronary syndromes: An RCT
36 months, $1,596,636Professor Jeroen Douwes, Massey University
Biodiversity and microbiota: a novel pathway to allergy and asthma prevention
48 months, $1,199,961Professor Michelle Glass, University of Otago
Characterisation of synthetic cannabinoid signalling bias and toxicity
36 months, $1,172,581Associate Professor Simon Hales, University of Otago
Climate change, extreme rainfall events and enteric disease outbreaks
36 months, $1,190,579Professor Bob Hancox, University of Otago
A Randomised Controlled Trial of beta-blockers in COPD
60 months, $1,439,384Associate Professor Michael Hay, The University of Auckland
Doubling down on DNA-PK: Radiosensitisers for head & neck cancer
36 months, $1,199,999Associate Professor Anne-Louise Heath, University of Otago
Novel methods of infant feeding in New Zealand – cause for concern or optimism?
36 months, $1,185,359Professor Janet Hoek, University of Otago
Developing optimal strategies to support smoking cessation among RYO users
36 months, $1,195,934Associate Professor Julia Horsfield, University of Otago
A novel genetic mechanism in Acute Myeloid Leukaemia
36 months, $1,177,919Associate Professor Stephanie Hughes, University of Otago
Dissecting the role of glial lysosome function in neurodegeneration
36 months, $1,199,417Dr Karl Iremonger, University of Otago
A neural circuit to suppress stress in motherhood
36 months, $1,167,222Dr Anne-Marie Jackson, University of Otago
Tangaroa Ara Rau: Māori water safety programme for whānau
36 months, $1,192,263Dr Stephen Jamieson, The University of Auckland
Precision treatment of head and neck cancer with evofosfamide
36 months, $1,199,967Mrs Bernadette Jones, University of Otago
Te Ao Mārama: Disability perspectives of tāngata whaikaha Māori
36 months, $1,186,338Professor Andrew Jull, The University of Auckland
Exercise or hypochlorous acid for venous leg ulcer healing: Factorial4VLU trial
36 months, $1,402,941Professor Kurt Krause, University of Otago
New drugs for the post-antibiotic era by targeting glutamate racemase
36 months, $1,199,914Professor Beverley Lawton, Victoria University of Wellington Whānau Manaaki:
Methamphetamines- a strength-based community approach
36 months, $ 1,187,031Dr Alex Macmillan, University of Otago
Health and equity impacts of Te Ara Mua Future Streets
30 months, $1,185,793Associate Professor Sandra Mandic, University of Otago
Built Environment and Active Transport to School: BEATS natural experiment
36 months, $1,197,487Dr Shay McGuinness, Medical Research Institute of New Zealand
BLING III - Phase III RCT of continuous β-lactam infusion in the critically ill
60 months, $1,195,807Professor Mark McKeage, The University of Auckland
Do concomitant medicines impede safe and effective lung cancer treatment in NZ?
36 months, $1,194,776Professor Dr Neil McNaughton, University of Otago
Do hippocampus, insula and amygdala contribute to an anxiety syndrome biomarker?
36 months, $ 1,090,630Dr Kimberley Mellor, The University of Auckland
Glycotoxicity in the diabetic heart – novel treatment targets
36 months, $1,148,222Professor Tony Merriman, University of Otago
Addressing clinical questions in gout using genetic data
36 months, $1,198,120Associate Professor Brian Monk, University of Otago
Readying next-generation antifungals for drug development
36 months, $1,199,967Dr Garry Nixon, University of Otago
A rural-urban classification for NZ health research and policy
30 months, $ 943,443Professor Gail Pacheco, Auckland University of Technology
Ethnic differences in the uptake of healthcare services: A microanalysis
36 months, $ 1,088,386Professor Dr Suetonia Palmer, University of Otago
Serum phosphate to improve outcomes for dialysis patients: The PHOSPHATE trial
60 months, $ 1,266,603Professor Dr Suetonia Palmer, University of Otago
Teaching to improve health outcomes for peritoneal dialysis: The TEACH-PD trial
60 months, $ 1,439,326Associate Professor Rachael Parke, Medical Research Institute of New Zealand
Targeted therapeutic mild hypercapnia after resuscitated cardiac arrest
48 months, $1,199,994Professor Emily Parker, Victoria University of Wellington
Tackling antimicrobial resistance
36 months, $1,180,238Dr Anna Pilbrow, University of Otago
A precision medicine approach to improving heart disease outcomes
36 months, $1,193,680Professor John Reynolds, University of Otago
Manipulating rewards to treat maladaptive brain disorders: focus on tinnitus
36 months, $1,192,994Professor Nicola Starkey, University of Waikato
Patterns of recovery from concussion in children and adolescents
36 months, $1,197,414Professor Rachael Taylor, University of Otago
Does a brief sleep intervention in infancy have long-term health benefits?
36 months, $1,190,308Dr Martin Than, Canterbury District Health Board
ICare-FASTER Improving care by FAster risk-STratification in the EmeRgency dept.
36 months, $1,152,385Dr James Ussher, University of Otago
The role of microbial viability in regulating MAIT cell activation
36 months, $1,191,634Professor Mark Vickers, The University of Auckland
Circulating miRNAs in maternal blood as biomarkers for preterm birth
36 months, $ 1,142,110Associate Professor Logan Walker, University of Otago
Impact of germline copy number variation on endometrial cancer risk
36 months, $1,145,197Dr Emma Wyeth, University of Otago
POIS-10 Māori: Outcomes and experiences in the decade following injury
36 months, $1,191,067Dr Paul Young, Medical Research Institute of New Zealand
Targeted Early Activity and Mobilisation in the ICU (the TEAM study)
48 months, $ 1,011,2472019 Pacific Project grants – full list
Dr Allamanda Faatoese, University of Otago
Environmental effects on cardiometabolic biomarkers in Pacific peoples
36 months, $ 594,804Professor Steven Ratuva, University of Canterbury
Enrichment of community health through targeted social protection strategies
36 months, $588,534Dr Gerhard Sundborn, The University of Auckland
Understanding scabies prevalence to improve the health of Pasifika/Māori kids
36 months, $594,346Dr Jemaima Tiatia-Seath, The University of Auckland
Climate change and mental wellbeing: The impacts on Pacific peoples
36 months, $589,691
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