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.
Gene Technology Advisory Committee
News and Media
Our latest and archived media releases and news articles.
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Media ReleaseNew Zealand researchers have developed a promising vaccine ‘adjuvant’ which could help the body mount a more effective immune response to vaccines, with potentially fewer side-effects.
The team has identified a molecule (the adjuvant) that binds strongly with a specific receptor found in normal, healthy cells. A combination of in vitro and in vivo studies (in mice) have shown that when added to a vaccine, alongside an antigen, this adjuvant can unlock a powerful cellular immune response to combat harmful bacteria and viruses.
Results to date suggest the adjuvant could play a role in the development of vaccines for chronic infections such as HIV, Group A Streptococcus, tuberculosis and S. pneumoniae infection (meningitis). It could also improve existing vaccines, by generating a better, longer-lasting immune response and reducing the need for booster shots.
The research, published in the Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, was funded by the Health Research Council of New Zealand (HRC) and the Royal Society of New Zealand’s Marsden Fund. Associate Professor Bridget Stocker from Victoria University of Wellington led the team, which included Associate Professor Mattie Timmer (VUW) and Professor Sho Yamasaki from Osaka, Japan, among others.
In 2013, Dr Stocker was awarded a $500,000 Sir Charles Hercus Research Fellowship by the HRC to explore ways to switch off dysfunctional immune cells to develop novel cancer therapies – the adjuvant finding is part of that wider research.
Dr Stocker says this adjuvant differs from others currently in use, in that it stimulates a specific type of T-cell response, instead of an antibody-only mediated response, which makes it useful in eliminating a number of particular pathogens.
That means, in theory, it could be used for preventative vaccination such as standard childhood vaccinations, as well as prophylactic vaccination for fighting cancer.
Research into the cancer side is still ongoing, but Dr Stocker notes “that is the bigger context of the work”. She plans to investigate the potential use of the adjuvant in combination with different antigens, such as those that come from outside the body – like bacteria – or those that develop within the body because cells are going “haywire”, she says.
A further plus with this adjuvant is that it uses a defined molecule to target a specific receptor, leading to a consistent and defined immune response.
“There’s been a shift in recent years in looking at whether more precise vaccines can be developed so there are fewer adverse side-effects, or less inflammation at the local site, says Dr Stocker.
“So rather than packing everything into a vaccine, including those parts of a pathogen that don’t facilitate the type of immune response that you want, you’re just adding what you need – very specific ingredients that do the job.”
The next step for Stocker’s team is to test the adjuvant in more specific disease settings by partnering with other collaborators.
“We have a patent on this compound, but we can only take it up to a certain point until you need a partner to help you take it to the next level. Any one group can only progress something so far,” she says.
She adds that without HRC funding, this research wouldn’t be possible. “Up until I got the Hercus Fellowship, I only had a job for six months, so I’m pretty certain that I wouldn’t have an independent scientific career, and a chance to make a difference, without this grant.”
HRC chief executive Professor Kath McPherson says one of the exciting things about this sort of work is its focus on improving our own bodies’ responses to vaccines.
“The field of immunology is developing incredibly fast with both better treatments for infectious diseases and cancer, and work like this – focusing on prevention. New Zealand scientists are at the forefront of some of this work and the HRC is proud to support them, and their work,” she says.
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News ArticleIt's time to have your say on how the national health research priorities for New Zealand are set.
The Health Research Council (HRC), Ministry of Health, and Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment have been working together to implement the New Zealand Health Research Strategy 2017-2027 (NZHRS). The vision is that by 2027, New Zealand will have a world-leading health research and innovation system that, through excellent research, improves the health and wellbeing of all New Zealanders.
The HRC is leading Strategic Priority 1, Action 1 of the NZHRS, which states that an inclusive priority-setting process will take place.
We are proposing a process to consult broadly and bring together some of the best people, both nationally and internationally, so that we can gain a shared understanding of what health research questions need to be answered here in New Zealand. If you would like to review and comment on the process, you can do so here until Monday 19th March.
Your input on the priorities themselves will be sought later in 2018.
Background documents
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News ArticleNominations are now open for the HRC’s prestigious Liley and Beaven Medals for 2018.
The Liley Medal recognises an individual or team whose recent research has produced a significant breakthrough within the health and medical fields. It will be awarded for the publication or application of a piece of work between the period of January – December 2017.
The Beaven Medal is offered annually for excellence in translational health research. It recognises the translation of research into clinical practice, engagement with community and providers of clinical healthcare, and a commitment to making a difference to the lives of patients.
Nominations for both medals close at 1pm, Wednesday 6 June 2018. For more information, see our Medals page.
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News ArticleBrain injury is a family injury and the fact that rehabilitation has largely focused on individuals is an injustice, claims clinical psychologist Elisa Lavelle Wijohn who recently completed a PhD into traumatic brain injury and its impact on families.
Her study – the Brain Injury Whānau Action Project (BIWAP) – was funded by a career development award from the Health Research Council of New Zealand and looked at how to make lives better for families of adults with serious brain injury.
“Brain injury is a particular category of illness – the person who’s affected might not be aware of the changes that have happened to them because the illness is in the brain, and because of what it does to someone’s identity and sense of self,” says Lavelle Wijohn. “Quite often, you’ll find families of brain injury patients suffer more than people with other illnesses.”
Part of her motivation for doing the research came from her own observations that families had hugely differing levels of skill and success in managing the help available from rehabilitation services and the Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC). She also felt that the systems in place were a particularly poor fit for Māori families, given the emphasis within Māori culture on the wellbeing of whānau.
Lavelle Wijohn teamed up with the Auckland Brain Injury Association and conducted her study using the principles of Māori-centred Community Based Participatory Research (CBPR).
Along with her co-researchers (members of families affected by brain injury), she brought together families (including people with brain injury, children and elders) and health professionals for a wānanga – a weekend of marae-based learning designed to educate and strengthen all the families in attendance. They talked about advocacy, neuropsychological assessments, relationships, fatigue, and feelings of isolation.
The first wānanga was attended by 80 people; a second one (organised at a later stage and co-sponsored by ACC) was attended by 160 people.
The benefits of the wānanga can be seen in these video clips, but Lavelle Wijohn says it also resulted in relationship-building with like-minded groups. Importantly, thanks to having an ACC representative in attendance at the second wānanga, she believes the views and needs expressed by families have since had an influence in policy design, too.
She says ACC’s recently-released Traumatic Brain Injury Strategy and Action Plan (2017 – 2021) has a focus on whānau, human rights and the rights of patients and children. “They’re thinking about how families could be more supported, and I’d like to think we were a part of that,” she says.
She believes this project was an effective way of conducting research that has direct relevance to the community of concern.
“The follow-on has been beyond all my hopes,” she says, adding that wānanga participants experienced a feeling of universality throughout the weekend which helped them feel that they weren’t alone.
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