National Blood Sector Research and Development Program
We've run 5 successful rounds of funding under our research funding program.
Under the program, we awarded funding to projects looking to fill evidence gaps in:
- patient blood management
- use of immunoglobulin.
Clinical, research and government experts give high-quality input in each round. These experts help us to:
- review applications
- work out the mix of projects to fund.
Types of projects funded
There are 3 types of projects funded through the program:
- Project grants for a whole single research project proposal – approved funding is usually between $30,000 and $150,000.
- Seed grants for early stages of new research or to gather data to support future grant applications – approved funding is usually less than $50,000.
- Scholarship grants to support medical researchers attain a Master's degree, PhD or postdoctoral research fellowship – approved funding is usually $25,000 to $30,000.
Round 1 results
The pilot round made $1.275 million available under the funding program:
- opened on 26 February 2016
- closed on 8 April 2016.
For comprehensive information, view:
| Grant Type | Project Title | Administering Institute | Amount (inc. GST) | Principal Chief Investigator | Project Status |
| Patient Blood management Project Grant | Effects of antenatal haemoglobin and obstetric transfusion on adverse maternal outcomes | University of Sydney | $160,930.00 | Prof Jane Ford | Complete |
| Patient Blood management Project Grant | Fibrinogen Replacement in Severe Traumatic Haemorrhage | University of Queensland | $190,274.70 | Dr James Winearls | Complete |
| Patient Blood management Project Grant | Iron need in pregnancy and after birth | University of Adelaide | $153,035.63 | Prof Bernd Froessler | Complete |
| Patient Blood Management Seed Grants | Clinical characteristics of geriatric patients transfused within 24 hours of emergency department presentation | University of Sunshine Coast | $54,802.00 | Dr Geoff Simon | Complete |
| Patient Blood Management Seed Grants | Improving blood sampling practice for critically ill children undergoing cardiac surgery | Griffith University | $54,078.20 | A/Prof Deborah Long | Complete |
| Immunoglobulin Project Grants | Towards a better understanding of doctors’ treatment patterns and immunoglobulin use in Australian children with Kawasaki disease: an opportunity for improvement? | Murdoch Children's Research Institute | $271,309.50 | Prof David Burgner | Complete |
| Immunoglobulin Project Grants | Oral antibiotics or intravenous immunoglobulin to reduce infections in patients with blood cancers | Monash University | $434,453.80 | Prof Erica Wood | Complete |
| Immunoglobulin Seed Grants | Improving the use of intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIg) in children with neurological disorders | The University of Sydney | $50,837.60 | Prof Russell Dale | Complete |
| Patient Blood management Early Career Research Grant (Scholarship) | A series of studies on a new clotting test in pregnant women to optimise the management of bleeding | The University of Queensland | $33,000.00 | Dr Julie Lee | Complete |
Round 2 results
Round 2 made $1.275 million available under the funding program:
- opened on 1 December 2016
- closed on 10 February 2017.
For comprehensive information, view:
| Grant Type | Project Title | Administering Institute | Amount (inc. GST) | Principal Chief Investigator | Project Status |
| Patient Blood management Project Grant | Implementing evidence-based bleeding management in cardiac surgery | University of the Sunshine Coast | $78,199.00 | Ms Bronwyn Pearse | Complete |
| Patient Blood management Project Grant | The effect of intravenous iron and blood transfusion on patients’ outcomes in women with low haemoglobin after birth | Western Sydney Local Health District | $90,264.38 | Dr Seng Chai Chua | Complete |
| Immunoglobulin Project Grants | Improving national immunoglobulin stewardship and clinical outcomes for patients with myeloma | Monash University | $492,323.70 | A/Prof Erica Wood | Complete |
| Immunoglobulin Project Grants | Does intravenous immunoglobulin improve outcomes in chronic rejection of renal transplants? | Monash University | $495,000.00 | Dr William Mulley | Complete |
| Immunoglobulin Seed Grants | Improved strategies in management of immune thrombocytopenia | Australian National University | $115,953.20 | A/Prof Elizabeth Gardiner | Complete |
| Patient Blood management Early Career Research Grant (Scholarship) | Intraoperative cell salvage a safer and cost-effective alternative to allogeneic blood transfusion | University of Queensland | $33,000 | Dr Michelle Roets | Complete |
| Patient Blood Management Early Career Research Grant (Scholarship) | Understanding risks and clinical outcomes of anaemia in the elderly to inform transfusion policy | Monash University | $33,000 | Dr Alison Mo | Complete |
Round 3 results
Round 3 made $1.275 million available under the funding program:
- opened on 9 April 2018
- closed on 1 June 2018.
You can find this round and the grants awarded on GrantConnect(Opens in a new tab/window).
For comprehensive information, view:
| Grant Type | Project Title | Administering Institute | Amount (inc. GST) | Principal Chief Investigator | Project Status |
| Patient Blood Management Project Grants | Deferred cord clamping to reduce need for neonatal blood transfusion | University of Sydney | $161,151.10 | Prof Helen Liley | Complete |
| Patient Blood Management Project Grants | Fibrinogen replacement in severe traumatic haemorrhage (FEISTY II) | University of Queensland | $491,345.80 | Dr James Winearls | In-Progress |
| Patient Blood Management Project Grants |
| University of Queensland | $131,246.51 | Prof John Fraser | Complete |
| Immunoglobulin Project Grants | Immunoglobulin use in chronic lymphocytic leukaemia and non-Hodgkin lymphoma – the ICAN study | Monash University | $494,220.10 | Dr Zoe McQuilten | Complete |
| Patient Blood Management Seed Grants | Concealing treatment in pregnancy anaemia randomised trials: can it be used? | University of New South Wales | $50,737.50 | Dr Amanda Henry | Complete
|
| Patient Blood Management Seed Grants | Transfusion strategies for low platelets | Australian National University | $73,799.00 | Dr Philip Crispin | Complete |
Round 4 results
Round 4 made $1.275 million available under the funding program:
- opened on 12 February 2019
- closed on 5 April 2019.
You can find this round and the grants awarded on GrantConnect(Opens in a new tab/window).
For comprehensive information, view:
| Grant Type | Project Title | Administering Institute | Amount (inc. GST) | Principal Chief Investigator | Project Status |
| Patient Blood Management Project Grants | Prevention and management of bleeding in maternity patients to optimise patient outcomes | University of Sydney | $227,771.50 | Dr Jillian Patterson | Complete |
| Patient Blood Management Project Grants | A study of patient and healthcare provider experiences of blood transfusion in myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) | Monash University | $100,654.40 | A/Prof Zoe McQuilten | In-Progress |
| Patient Blood Management Project Grants | RotEm-guided blood product in patients with cirrhosis undergoing invasive procedures (RECIPE) | Monash University | $129,086.10 | Dr Ammar Majeed | In-Progress |
| Patient Blood Management Project Grants | The impact of perioperative patient blood management guidelines on blood use and outcomes in cardiac surgery | Monash University | $137,064.40 | Prof Anthony Harris | Complete |
| Patient Blood Management Seed Grants | Assessment of blood quality in cardiac surgery | Griffith University | $54,621.60 | Dr Michael Simmonds | Complete |
| Patient Blood Management Seed Grants | Evaluation of transfusion triggers in elderly patients admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and the prevalence of anaemia on discharge from ICU and hospital | Flinders University | $27,500.00 | A/Prof David Roxby | Complete |
| Patient Blood Management Seed Grants | Is the use of washed red blood beneficial in transfused pre-term newborns? | University of Adelaide | $43,428.00 | A/Prof Michael Stark | Complete |
| Patient Blood Management Seed Grants | Intravenous iron for treatment of suboptimal iron Stores in non-anaemic patients presenting for major surgery (ISNAPS) | University of Western Australia | $34,800.70 | Clinical Prof Michael Leahy | Terminated |
| Patient Blood Management Seed Grants | A mixed method pilot feasibility study of self-managing red cell transfusion requirements in chronic anaemia | Australian National University | $56,367.30 | Dr Philip Crispin | Complete |
| Patient Blood Scholarship Grants | Computerised support for decision-making during massive transfusion to improve efficiency and outcomes | Macquarie University | $33,000.00 | Dr Brenton Sanderson | Complete |
| Ig Scholarship Grants | Neuromuscular ultrasound as a biomarker in chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP) | University of Melbourne | $22,178.20 | Dr Nicholas Crump | Complete |
Round 5 results
Round 5 made $1.275 million available under the funding program:
- opened on 8 July 2020
- closed on 28 September 2020.
You can find this round and the grants awarded on GrantConnect(Opens in a new tab/window).
For comprehensive information, view:
| Grant Type | Project Title | Administering Institute | Amount (inc. GST) | Principal Chief Investigator | Project Status |
| Patient Blood Management Project Grants | Towards personalised blood product therapy after cardiopulmonary bypass in neonates and infants | Murdoch Children’s Research Institute | $485,974.00 | Prof Paul Monagle | Complete |
| Patient Blood Management Project Grants | Anaemia and transfusion prevalence in Indigenous and non-Indigenous intensive care, pregnant and cardiac patients | Flinders University | $104,956.43 | A/Prof David Roxby | Complete |
| Patient Blood Management Project Grants | International point prevalence study of intensive care unit transfusion practices – the InPUT study | Monash University | $170,616.56 | A/Prof Zoe McQuilten | Complete |
| Patient Blood Management Seed Grants | Prehospital plasma for trauma | Monash University | $54,969.00 | Prof Biswadev Mitra | Complete |
| Immunoglobulin Project Grants | OPTIC trial: Intravenous immunoglobulin and intravenous methylprednisolone as optimal induction treatment in CIDP (chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy) | ANZAC Health and Medical Research Foundation | $453,238.59 | A/Prof Stephen Reddel | Terminated |
| Immunoglobulin Project Grants | Evaluating vaccine responses in specific antibody-deficient patients receiving immunoglobulin treatment | Melbourne Health | $163,460.00 | Dr Celina Jin | In-progress |
| Immunoglobulin Seed Grants | A new blood test to guide immunoglobulin replacement therapy in patients with immunodeficiency diseases | The University of Adelaide | $55,000.00 | Dr Jovanka King | In-progress |
More information
Email: research@blood.gov.au
Last updated: 27 Mar 2024