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.
Contact Us
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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Professor Kathryn McPhersonMedia ReleaseThe chairman of the Health Research Council of New Zealand, Dr Lester Levy, has announced that the chief executive, Professor Kathryn McPherson, will step down from the role in mid-2019.
Over the past four years, while health research has been firmly on the government’s agenda, Professor McPherson has headed a number of measures for maximising the value and benefit of health research for all New Zealanders.
Dr Levy says Kath McPherson has solidly championed the objectives and principles of the New Zealand Health Research Strategy, ensuring the crown agency is well-positioned to continue bringing the Strategy to life.
He says the Health Research Council (HRC) is leading the way in aligning the nation’s health research efforts and improving health outcomes for Māori and Pacific peoples, as well as developing a strong and capable health research workforce.
“As a strong advocate for ensuring value in research, Kath has also overseen changes to HRC’s assessment processes which aim to deliver greater impact from our investments and a clearer pathway to translating research findings into policy and practice.”
Professor McPherson says helping position the HRC as a leader and weaver in connecting health research with the end-users of research has been a highlight of her time at the HRC.
“It’s been an absolute privilege to work with the team and Council, as well as researchers, ministry colleagues and so many other interested people wanting to ensure that the Health Research Strategy delivers for New Zealand and New Zealanders,” she says.
“Researchers in our universities, hospitals and communities are incredibly dedicated and it’s been great to see their commitment recognised by way of increased funding over the last few years.”
Professor McPherson will continue leading the HRC while a search for her successor takes place over the next few months.
Dr Levy says the HRC has been exceeding its goals in key focus areas, such as achieving health equity, and is looking for someone to build on this momentum.
“Heading the HRC is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to steer the direction and potential of health research in New Zealand.
“It’s in the interests of the New Zealand public and all stakeholders that we find the most suitable candidate to pick up where Kath leaves off, ensuring publicly-funded research has high impact and real benefits for New Zealanders.”
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Media ReleaseA new report by the Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry (ANZCTR) provides a comprehensive profile of clinical trials in New Zealand registered between 2006-2015.
The report ranks New Zealand within the top tier internationally of trials per capita, with about 2,500 clinical trials conducted during the decade.
These trials ranged from single-site New Zealand-only trials through to multinational mega-trials. A total of 1.6 million participants were enrolled, taking into account the New Zealand and overseas arms of the trials. More than 50% of trials in NZ were multinational, and Industry was involved in 55% of registered clinical trials. The most frequently studied health issues were cancer, cardiovascular disease and respiratory diseases.
The Health Research Council of New Zealand (HRC) supports registration of all New Zealand health research and has been the key contact for the ANZCTR since its establishment in 2005. The HRC alone has contributed more than $94 million to clinical trials in New Zealand within the timeframe captured in the report.
“Clinical trials are a pillar of an effective and efficient health system, and this report provides unprecedented detail on the landscape of clinical trials in New Zealand,” says Professor Kath McPherson, chief executive of the Health Research Council of New Zealand.
“The data show that clinical trial activity in New Zealand is high by international standards and has risen significantly over the decade, providing vital evidence for health sector decision-makers, opportunities for health professionals to engage in research, and enabling New Zealanders to access the best available healthcare options.”
She adds that the high rate of international collaboration, as reflected in this report, brings benefits to New Zealand by providing access to larger participant numbers and more conclusive answers to important questions. It also means patients can access treatments that aren’t yet in usage in New Zealand. “This report demonstrates that the value of the ANZCTR exceeds its core purpose to enable fulfilment of ethical requirements. The Registry also provides data to identify national trends, strengths and opportunities to inform the future health research agenda,” says Prof McPherson.
“We welcome the high-quality data collection that’s enabled this report and encourage New Zealand researchers to continue to register their trials and update their data throughout the lifecycle of the trial.”
The report draws upon data collected through the ANZCTR and ClinicalTrials.gov, which combined are estimated to capture 82% of registered trials with New Zealand sites.
Key findings of the report:
· During the decade 2006-2015, clinical trial activity in New Zealand has been substantial, with 2,485 clinical trials conducted with one or more New Zealand sites. More than 1.6 million participants were enrolled, taking into account the New Zealand and overseas arms of the trials.
· On a per capita basis this level of activity compares favourably with other countries internationally, with New Zealand being in the top tier of national clinical trial activity; above Australia, Norway, Ireland, Canada, and the UK, for example, and below Denmark.
· A large proportion of New Zealand clinical trials are multinational (51% compared to 33% for Australian trials), demonstrating a high degree of international connectedness and collaboration. Australia is the top collaborator with New Zealand, but other countries that New Zealand trialists have a high level of collaboration with include the United States, Canada, Germany and the United Kingdom.
· A greater proportion of New Zealand trials have industry involvement compared to Australian trials (55% versus 45% respectively). A range of non-commercial funders in New Zealand also support clinical trials.
· Clinical trials in New Zealand assess multiple types of interventions, including drug treatments (52%), surgery (4%), medical devices (13%), behavioural therapies (6%) and prevention strategies (9%). The range of activities includes large multicentre phase 3 trials that are likely to impact clinical practice directly, as well as early-phase trials testing novel therapies or interventions that may become the new best treatments of tomorrow.
· There has been proportionally more activity in the areas of greatest national disease burden, with the most common disease areas studied in New Zealand clinical trials being cancer, cardiovascular disease and respiratory diseases, representing 15%, 13% and 11% of all trials, respectively. However, some areas of high disease burden such as musculoskeletal disorders, mental disorders, and injuries remain under-represented.
· The decade has seen several interesting national trends in registration of clinical trial activity:
- Moderate growth in the total number of trials registered each year, mainly reflecting increases in smaller-scale trials and non-drug interventions.
- Increase in the number of New Zealand trials registered prospectively (i.e. before enrolment of the first participant) with this sitting at around 75% at the end of the decade.
- A marked increase in phase 1 trials as a proportion of clinical drug trials registered over the decade, from 6% in 2006 to 30% in 2015.
- The absolute number of New Zealand registered trials sponsored by the commercial sector has increased over time.
- Reduction in trial size over the decade – from a median of 230 participants per trial down to 80. This may reflect appropriate changes in design for more targeted therapies or, conversely, inappropriate reductions in sample size resulting in trials that are underpowered to detect significant, but moderate, treatment benefits. This is an area which warrants further in-depth assessment.
· Along with this good news, the report highlights that New Zealand has huge potential to grow capability and capacity for clinician-led trials in the non-commercial sector, for example comparative effectiveness research, non-drug interventions (such as behavioural therapy), and interventions for more effective prevention and diagnosis. We also need to increase our understanding of which clinical trials have resulted in translation of evidence for the benefit of patients and/or the broader community.
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Media ReleaseThe Health Research Council of New Zealand (HRC) and Ministry of Social Development (MSD) are pleased to announce that funding has been offered to the following recipients through the 2018 MSD-HRC research initiative.
This is a new partnership with the Ministry of Social Development to fund high-quality research that will identify innovative approaches for case management services to help achieve improved employment outcomes for people with health conditions or disabilities.
2018 MSD-HRC Research Partnership recipients:
Dr Joanna Fadyl, Auckland University of Technology
Support for gaining employment for people with a long-term condition
18 months, $316,433
Lay summary:
A robust systematic review that is contextualised for the Aotearoa / New Zealand service delivery context is crucial in order to utilise the best evidence available to develop innovative case-managed support to gain employment for people experiencing health conditions or disability.
This systematic review will combine robust review methodology with input from stakeholder reference groups, targeted to questions of clear relevance to the Ministry of Social Development. The review questions focus on which employment support interventions have robust evidence of effectiveness but also seek key contextual information from studies that may inform implementation and direct further research of critical value. The stakeholder reference groups will ensure high relevancy of the search as well as informed interpretation of findings that are grounded in local context. This design is supported by a research team with a proven track record in both research and implementation in this field for prompt application of findings.
Ms Helen Lockett, Te Pou o te Whakaaro Nui, in partnership with Work Counts and Synergia
Development of cross-agency collaboration to improve employment outcomes
24 months, $474,949
Lay summary:
People who experience mental health or addiction problems are much less likely to be in employment than people who do not. Māori and Pasifika peoples who experience mental health or addiction problems are further disadvantaged when trying to find or keep employment. Yet these issues are not a reflection of peoples’ employment aspirations.
Effective collaboration between welfare, employment and health agencies is crucial to address these inequities. Collaboration promotes access to financial support when people are not working, and the right type and intensity of employment assistance to enable the person to regain employment.
Using a case study design, this research will identify models of successful collaboration between Work and Income case management services and contracted employment support providers. It will identify approaches to collaboration that successfully support people with addiction or mental health problems, particularly Māori and Pasifika peoples, to return to, and stay in, employment. The research will identify the approaches used by successful models of collaborative case management in order to help organisations transfer these approaches to other contexts and populations.
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Matire WardMedia ReleaseA Victoria University of Wellington researcher hopes to improve the success of a fertility treatment that’s rarely used in New Zealand but may potentially provide a safer alternative to current artificial reproductive technologies (ART).
Matire Ward of Te Matarahurahu hapū and Te Kotahitanga Marae in Kaikohe has just been granted a Māori Health Research PhD Scholarship, valued at $113,791, in the Health Research Council of New Zealand’s 2019 Career Development Awards. She will be working under the supervision of Dr Janet Pitman, who focuses on factors that make a good egg.
Ward aims to improve the process of in vitro maturation (IVM), in which eggs are retrieved while still at an immature stage and brought to maturity in the laboratory (in vitro). The process differs from conventional in vitro fertilisation (IVF) which utilises medications to bring a patient’s eggs to maturity before they are removed from the ovary.
Ward claims that IVM is safer than conventional IVF as the treatment doesn’t rely on ovarian stimulation which may result in ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (where ovaries become swollen and painful). However, the use of IVM in fertility clinics remains controversial due to the reduced quality of embryos derived from in vitro matured eggs. For this reason, the practice is still rare in New Zealand, with the first baby only conceived in 2013.
"The main issue is that current IVM methods produce lower-quality embryos. We're taking an immature egg from its natural environment and putting it in this foreign environment in the lab," says Ward.
The secret to improving the treatment’s success could be in mimicking, within a Petri dish, the natural physical environment of ovarian follicles in which eggs would normally mature, she says.
As a follicle matures, an area within it fills with fluid, says Ward. The nutrients, including glucose, carbohydrates, hormones, and growth factors present in this fluid are transferred to the egg by its surrounding support cells. This transfer is critical for optimal egg development and maturation.
When cells are cultured in a dish in the lab, these nutrients are provided at concentrations very different to what is found in follicular fluid.
Using cow’s eggs for her investigations, Ward will prepare and test nutrients at concentrations similar to that of follicular fluid. She will then investigate the key molecular and metabolic pathways that are altered when immature eggs are exposed to these nutrients, in order to develop an improved IVM system that produces high-quality embryos.
Ward says refining this therapy may give another treatment option to couples concerned about, or at risk of, hyperstimulation syndrome.
She also aims to have conversations with Māori about the use of ART and how her research might mitigate commonly-held concerns about fertility treatments. “While Māori opinion on these types of therapies is conservative, it’s of upmost importance to all Māori people that their whakapapa is continued in a way that regards tikanga,” she adds.
Ward is the first in her family to undertake tertiary education, but says she is quite used to being surrounded by science. "My mum is a science technician and throughout my childhood, I would often accompany her to the laboratory.”
She says this scholarship will be a foot in the door to get into postdoctoral research involving assisted reproductive technologies in women. “I hope to continue researching in fertility clinics worldwide to expand my research capabilities and then come home to establish myself as a leading reproductive health researcher joining the few Māori women in this research field.”
Matire Ward is one of 19 researchers to receive a 2019 HRC Māori Health Research Career Development Award.
Mr Stacey Pene, the HRC’s senior manager of Māori Health Research Investment, says these Awards are key to building capacity and capability within the Māori research workforce.
“Māori researchers are tackling complex scientific questions and public health issues that will improve Māori health and wellbeing, and benefit New Zealand as a whole. We’re incredibly proud to support researchers who are making a significant contribution to knowledge and a genuine difference to their communities,” he says.
See below for the full list of recipients, and click here for lay summaries.
2019 HRC Māori Health Research Career Development Awards
Māori Health Research Postdoctoral Fellowship
Dr Megan Leask, University of Otago (General Fellowship)
Reducing the burden of Metabolic disease in Māori
24 months, $284,599
Māori Health Research PhD Scholarship
Mrs Sonia Hawkins, The University of Auckland
Racial and ethnic bias among registered nurses
36 months, $128,899
Mrs Marie Jardine, The University of Auckland
Deglutition (Swallowing) in advanced age
24 months, $75,196
Ms Ngahuia Mita, University of Otago
Tairāwhiti waka, Tairāwhiti tangata – Examining Tairāwhiti voyaging philosophies
36 months, $141,364
Ms Emerald Muriwai, The University of Auckland
Nga kaiwhakaako, whakapakari tinana me te hauora hinengaro
36 months, $107,000
Ms Marnie Reinfelds, The University of Auckland
Ka Ora – Exploring the Healing Potential of Birth
36 months, $128,899
Miss Matire Ward, Victoria University of Wellington
The impact of micro-environment composition on oocyte developmental competency
36 months, $113,791
Māori Health Research Masters Scholarship
Mrs Nicola Canter-Burgoyne, Massey University
Māori experience of using CPAP treatment for OSA
24 months, $26,600
Miss Abigail Johnson, University of Otago
Physiological changes to cerebellar Purkinje neurons in Parkinsonian rats
12 months, $30,253
Ms TeWhaawhai Taki, The University of Auckland
Te Tino Rangatiratanga o te Mate Ikura Roro
24 months, $25,190
Māori Health Research Development Grant
Dr Isaac Warbrick, The University of Auckland
Te Maramataka – Improving oranga through environmental matauranga
6 months, $10,000
Māori Health Research Summer Studentship
Miss Manurereau Te Maunga-A-Rongo Allen, University of Otago
Tane Māori access to and perceptions of primary care
10 weeks, $5000
Mr Zaine Akuhata-Huntington, University of Otago
Māori rangatahi suicide – informant perspectives on determinants and solutions
10 weeks, $5000
Te Aomarama Anderson, Te Puawai Tapu Trust
Rights-based approaches to Māori health: A Kaupapa Māori review
10 weeks, $5000
Ms Ellie Baxter, University of Otago
Qualitative analysis of Māori patients' primary health care experiences
10 weeks, $5000
Miss Kathryn Hippolite, University of Otago
Exploring Māori health provider workers’ perspectives of medication challenges
10 weeks, $5000
Miss Rebekah Laurence, Te Puawai Tapu Trust
Māori women and abortion: A Kaupapa Maori review
10 weeks, $5000
Miss Esther Pinfold, University of Otago
Pharmacokinetics of Benzathine Penicillin G in children and young people in NZ
10 weeks, $5000
Ms Maia Tapsell, University of Otago
An environmental scan of Indigenous oral health providers
10 weeks, $5000
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