Western Australia’s health and medical research community had a valuable opportunity to engage with national leadership last week, as the Association of Australian Medical Research Institutes (AAMRI) WA hosted National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) CEO Professor Steve Wesselingh in Perth.
Supported by the WA Life Sciences Innovation Hub (WALSIH), the visit included a networking breakfast for sector leaders and a seminar focused on early and mid-career researchers.
The networking breakfast, held at the Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research, provided a relaxed forum for discussion. Remarks from AAMRI WA Chair, Prof Sandra Bellekom and Prof Wesselingh underscored the importance of ensuring WA remains represented in national conversations about research policy, funding and priorities.
Later, the research community gathered for a seminar where Professor Wesselingh presented on the recently released National Health and Medical Research Strategy and provided his insights on EMCR research career stability and competitiveness in a national context.
Notably for WA, the WA Grant Excellence Service (WAGES) provides grant development support for EMCRs to improve grant competitiveness in national funding schemes. WAGES is funded by the Future Health Research and Innovation (FHRI) Fund and delivered by MTPConnect in partnership with Synergy Health Solutions. It is free for WA researchers. Join the mailing list here.
Together, the two events demonstrated the value of bringing local and national stakeholders and perspectives together to create a strong workforce and future for health and medical research in Australia.
Check out the full conversation here.
