new zealand health research council

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The Health Research Council of New Zealand (HRC) is responsible for managing the New Zealand Government’s investment in health research.

About the Health Research Council

The Health Research Council's (HRC's) mission is ‘benefiting New Zealand through health research’, with a vision of improved health and quality of life for all.

The HRC invests in a broad range of health research on issues of importance to New Zealand. It also supports the development of research careers so that New Zealand can have a well-trained workforce in the future.

The HRC also contributes to maintaining an ethical and safe health research environment. Its committees:

• provide advice on gene technology
• accredit health and disability ethics committees and institutional ethics committees
• monitor the safety of large clinical trials and
• review applications to use new medicines in trials.

The HRC was established under the Health Research Council Act 1990 and is responsible to the Minister of Health. Its major funding agreement is through the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment.

Budget funding

In Budget 2016, the Government announced it would invest an extra $97 million over 4 years in health research. This brings the total funding available through this mechanism for the HRC to $87.2 million in 2016/17, rising to $120.2 million per annum in 2019/20.

HRC also receives some funding from us through the Vision Mātauranga Capability Fund and the Catalyst Fund.

Visit the HRC website for more information about funded research (external link) .

Crown copyright © 2024

https://www.mbie.govt.nz/science-and-technology/science-and-innovation/funding-information-and-opportunities/funding-agencies/health-research-council Please note: This content will change over time and can go out of date.

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Health Research Council of New Zealand

The Health Research Council (HRC) was established under the Health Research Council Act of 1990.

The HRC mission is to improve human health by promoting and funding health research. It funds New Zealand health research, including biomedical, public health, health services, Maori health, Pacific health and clinical research.

Purchasing is organised into nine portfolios - Biological systems and technologies; Communicable diseases; Determinants of health; Health and independence of population groups; Health sector management and services; Injury and rehabilitation; Mental health and neuroscience; Non-communicable diseases and Rangahau Hauora Maori (Maori health research). HRC also funds many valuable career development awards.

The HRC accredits regional and institutional ethics committees which approve research proposals, and advises the government on the scientific merit of clinical and gene therapy trials.

The HRC organises annual conferences on health research issues. It publishes a newsletter, Ethics Notes and HRC Panui (about Maori health research), a statutory Annual report and an annual Health Research Highlights.

Health Research Council funding for new mRNA vaccine and rehabilitation research

HRC Explorer Grants have been awarded to Dr Merel Hoskens and Dr William Kelton to support their ongoing innovative work.

28 May 2024

The Health Research Council of New Zealand (HRC) is funding two research projects at the University of Waikato, one aimed at enhancing antibody responses to new vaccine technology, and another which will combine movement analogies with Māori storytelling. 

University of Waikato researchers Dr William Kelton and Dr Merel Hoskens have each been awarded HRC Explorer Grants in recognition of their innovative work.  

As the principal governmental investor in health research, HRC’s Explorer Grants are designed to foster transformative and exploratory research ideas that have a good chance of making revolutionary healthcare changes in New Zealand. 

Self-signalling mRNA vaccines for sustained antibody immunity 

mRNA (messenger RNA) vaccines, which deliver molecules that directs cells to make pathogen proteins, have forever changed the way we fight diseases like the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus. 

SARS-CoV-2 is the virus responsible for Covid-19 and current vaccines to fight the disease become less effective over time due to declining antibody levels.   

Dr Kelton’s goal is to make vaccines that boost antibody responses by better activating the immune cells responsible for driving antibody production.  

“We’re focusing on a specific type of immune cell that improves antibody responses,” says Dr Kelton. “By doing this, we hope to make SARS-CoV-2 vaccines more effective, so people don’t need as many booster shots but are still well protected from the virus.” 

Self-signalling vaccines are an entirely new approach for improving vaccine efficiency and are only made possible by recent advancements in mRNA technology which enables antigens to be produced from within immune cells rather than being supplied externally.  

The research aims to understand the mechanisms driving immune responses to mRNA vaccines, particularly why protective antibody levels decline over time. 

“Such insights are crucial for developing next-generation vaccines, including against diseases like influenza, where rapid deployment is vital due to seasonal changes in antigen composition. 

“New Zealand is actively investing in mRNA vaccine technology to prepare for future pandemics." 

The research includes support for summer scholars in partnership with local iwi and the findings are expected to be published nationally and internationally. 

Better rehabilitation: Integration of movement analogies in Māori storytelling. 

Movement disorders are one of the leading disorders in the world, impacting daily life and major costs on healthcare systems.  

People with movement disorders need to relearn movement skills that are crucial for independent living, but often they are too conscious of what they are doing, which can make movements worse. 

Dr Hoskens and her colleagues, Professor Rich Masters and Dr Gloria Clarke (Te Arawa, Rangitaane ki Wairarapa) are investigating how people in rehabilitation can relearn movement skills unconsciously so that they are not too conscious of what they are doing.   

This study could significantly advance rehabilitation knowledge, potentially leading to faster recovery and improved quality of life, particularly for Māori communities, who face barriers to accessing rehabilitation services due to social, cultural, economic, and geographical factors. 

“Intensive rehabilitation focusing on movement functions is crucial for improving the quality of life for people with movement disorders, but the effectiveness of traditional rehabilitation approaches to motor relearning is hindered due to disruptions in cognitive processes,” says Dr Hoskens.    

“We believe that using analogies, which connect familiar stories or ideas to movements could be helpful, especially for people of Māori descent. This is because analogies are an important component of Māori storytelling, which teaches important lessons about life.” 

This study combines movement analogies with Māori cultural elements such as pūrākau (stories), waiata (songs), and whakataukī (proverbs) to see if this approach to relearning disordered movements is more effective than traditional methods.  

It hypothesises that people with movement disorders will learn more efficiently using implicit non-conscious motor control approaches grounded in cultural contexts.  

By integrating cultural elements into rehabilitation, the research aims to facilitate faster recovery, ultimately enhancing quality of life. 

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6 Functions of Council

The functions of the Council shall be—

to advise the Minister on national health research policy:

to administer funds granted to the Council for the purpose of implementing national health research policy:

to negotiate, once every 3 years, the bulk-funding allocations that may be made to the Council by the Government for the funding of health research:

to foster the recruitment, education, training, and retention of those engaged in health research in New Zealand:

to initiate and support health research:

to encourage initiatives into health research by soliciting research proposals and applications, particularly in areas considered by the Council to have a high priority:

to consult, for the purpose of establishing priorities in relation to health research, with—

the Minister of Health; and

the Ministry of Health; and

other persons who fund or produce research, whether in the public sector or the private sector; and

persons who have a knowledge of health issues from the consumer perspective:

to promote and disseminate the results of health research in ways that will be most effective in encouraging their contribution to health science, health policy, and health care delivery:

to advertise actively for applications for grants to support proposals or personal awards in relation to health research:

to appoint the members of the Biomedical Research Committee, the Public Health Research Committee, the Maori Health Committee, and the Ethics Committee:

to ensure the development and application of appropriate assessment standards by committees or subcommittees that assess health research proposals:

to administer any additional funds that may be made available to the Council from either public or private sources for the support of health research:

any other functions conferred on it by the Minister in accordance with section 112 of the Crown Entities Act 2004.

Compare: 1950 No 20 s 9; 1965 No 29 s 8

Section 6(1)(g)(ii) : substituted , on 1 July 1993 , by section 32 of the Health Reforms (Transitional Provisions) Act 1993 (1993 No 23).

Section 6(1)(g)(iii) : repealed , on 1 July 1993 , by section 32 of the Health Reforms (Transitional Provisions) Act 1993 (1993 No 23).

Section 6(1)(m) : added , on 25 January 2005 , by section 200 of the Crown Entities Act 2004 (2004 No 115).

Section 6(2) : repealed , on 25 January 2005 , by section 200 of the Crown Entities Act 2004 (2004 No 115).

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