NHMRC Clinical Trials and Cohort Studies

The round is currently open to applications

Key dates for NHMRC 2025 Clinical Trials and Cohort Studies Grants

Proposals open in Sapphire: 10 September 2025
NOI due to UQ R&I: 1 October 2025
Minimum data requirements in Sapphire: 8 October 2025
Applications due to UQ R&I: 10 October 2025
Applications close with NHMRC: 5 November 2025

Overview

The objective of the Clinical Trials and Cohort Studies scheme is to support high-quality clinical trials and cohort studies that address important gaps in knowledge, leading to relevant and implementable findings for the benefit of human health. This grant opportunity is open to research proposals for clinical trials and/or cohort studies of any size. Teams of up to 10 Chief Investigators may seek funding for up to five years. Laboratory-based research or mechanistic studies that are not clinical trials or cohort studies should be directed to other grant opportunities, such as the NHMRC’s Ideas Grant Scheme.

Funding Partners

The Cure4 Cystic Fibrosis Foundation has partnered with NHMRC’s Clinical Trials and Cohort Studies grant scheme for this round and will consider applications for research funding in the area of Cystic Fibrosis.

Applicants wishing to be considered for this funding may complete the Partner Funding section of the application in Sapphire.

How to apply

Internal notice of intent process

All researchers intending to submit an application are required to submit a mandatory UQ Notice of Intent. NOIs will be collated centrally and distributed to Faculties and Institutes in order to provide maximum support to the UQ research community.

Submit Notice of Intent

Step 1. Read the guidelines and create an application

Familiarise yourself with the key NHMRC and UQ documentation – see below.
Applications are submitted via Sapphire.
- If you already have a Sapphire account, log into Sapphire and review / update your profile.
- If you do not have a Sapphire account, please register. Note that requests for Sapphire accounts / activations are not instantaneous, so we recommend you register as soon as possible.
Create an application in Sapphire and use the Research Team section to invite your co-investigators to join the proposal.

Step 2. Complete the application

Log into Sapphire and complete the application sections, according to the Guidelines.
Upload all relevant attachments.

Step 3. Submit application for internal review

Ahead of internal review, ensure all Sapphire components are complete.
Certify your application to RAO in Sapphire. To do this, select 'Certification' from the left-hand menu within the application and follow the steps to submit the application to the Research Office. Application errors will be signalled and can be corrected at this stage.
To initiate internal review, email your completed Funding Application Certification Form and Grant Proposal (in .docx format) to UQ R&I at nhmrc@research.uq.edu.au.
UQ R&I will review your application in accordance with your NOI and provide feedback.
Review cycles will continue until the application is compliant with NHMRC requirements.

Step 4. Final submission

Certify your application to RAO in Sapphire.
With your approval, UQ R&I will submit your application to the NHMRC.

The UQ Clinical Trials Centre

Collaborate with the UQ Clinical Trials Centre on NHMRC Clinical Trials and Cohort Studies Scheme

The UQ Clinical Trials Centre collaborates with UQ Lead Investigators to provide end-to-end support in the design, conduct, analysis, publication, and translation of randomised controlled trials. UQ CTC welcomes collaboration requests for the upcoming NHMRC CTCS scheme.

The team brings expertise in trial management, biostatistics, data systems, quality assurance, and Consumer and Community Involvement (CCI), which helps strengthen applications to maximise the potential for funding success.

For more information, please visit the UQ CTC Collaboration Website or contact the team directly at uqctc@uq.edu.au.

Readership and researcher support

Before applying, we recommend you:

Contact your faculty or institute research manager for advice on peer readership programs.
Join the UQ R&I Mailer to stay up to date with round developments.
Access the UQ R&I Grants Library, a helpful resource of past successful proposals.

A range of resources and workshops from the UQ library are also available to assist researchers applying for this scheme:

Key documents

NHMRC

The NHMRC documentation are published on GrantConnect, the Australian Government grants information system.