• The Queensland Government has awarded $2.731 million in grants to 18 clinicians as part of the Queensland Health Clinical Research Fellowships
• Grants were awarded to clinician researchers in the medical, nursing and allied health fields, ranging in size from $20,000 to $250,000
• The Fellowships support Queensland Health clinician researchers to conduct critical research to improve health outcomes for patients

Queensland’s brightest medical minds will share in more than $2.731 million in grants for research projects aimed at preventing illness, improving patient care and saving lives.

The Queensland Government today announced the successful applicants of Round 4 of the Queensland Health Clinical Research Fellowships (CRFs).

The Fellowships support clinician researchers to conduct research relevant to their clinical work, with the goal improving health outcomes and finding new ways to deliver better care.

Senior Intensive Care Specialist and Director of Research in the Adult Intensive Care Service at the Prince Charles Hospital, Associate Professor Kiran Shekar, is one of 18 clinicians to benefit from the current round of funding.

Associate Professor Shekar has been awarded $250,000 for a pilot trial of high flow oxygen and nitric oxide inhalation delivered to patients with severe breathing problems.

Successful trials will allow patients autonomy and dignity while they recover, with a lesser need to be placed on invasive breathing machines and coma while also substantially reducing health care costs.

Eminent Staff Specialist in Emergency Medicine and Professor at the Queensland University of Technology, Professor Louise Cullen, has been awarded almost $250,000 to establish a new model of care for tackling heart attacks with First Nations Australians.

The Powerful Pictures Study will address short and longer terms risks from coronary artery disease and utilise the strengths of First Nations patients and communities to manage these risks.

Since 2019, the program has awarded more than $10.5 million to 42 clinicians researchers in three rounds, fulfilling a key commitment in Queensland Health’s Advancing Health Research 2026 Strategy.

The strategy is a bold and ambitious roadmap for Queensland Health to become a global leader in research and innovation, transforming health outcomes for all Queenslanders.

Round 5 of the Queensland Health Clinical Research Fellowships and new targeted fellowships in Rural & Remote, Genomics, First Nations and Women’s Research are planned to open soon.

Further information about the Queensland Health Clinical Research Fellowships program is available here.

Quotes attributable to the Minister for Health, Mental Health and Ambulance Services Shannon Fentiman:

“We’re so lucky in Queensland to have a wealth of talented and skilled clinician researchers, tackling complex health issues head-on and innovating to deliver better care for all Queenslanders.

“It’s why the Palaszczuk Government established the Clinical Research Fellowships program to support our clinicians in conducting cutting-edge research in their fields of expertise.

“Eighteen clinicians, in fields ranging from medical, nursing, and allied health, have received grants ranging from $20,000 to $250,000.

“Their research projects will focus on improving frontline healthcare delivery and achieving better patient outcomes, not just for Queensland, but around the world.

“I wish all Fellowship recipients success in their research projects. I am confident that their findings will transform healthcare in Queensland in the years to come.”

Quotes attributable to Senior Intensive Care Specialist and Director of Research in the Adult Intensive Care Service at the Prince Charles Hospital, Associate Professor Kiran Shekar:

“I am thrilled to be awarded $250,000 to research and test the use of nitric oxide gas inhalation, in addition to oxygen gas, being delivered in self-breathing patients with severe breathing problems.

“My research will determine if this reduces lung damage, improves blood oxygen levels, and thereby reduces the need for an artificial, invasive breathing machine support and induced coma.

“This approach will maintain autonomy and dignity of patients while they talk, eat, exercise, and recover, which will subsequently reduce health care costs.

“As we realised during the pandemic, we still have a lot to learn about treating patients with breathing problems both within and outside intensive care units.

“The Fellowship will go a long way in fostering a positive research culture and further strengthen the enabling research environment within Queensland Health.”

Quotes attributable to Eminent Staff Specialist in Emergency Medicine and Professor at the Queensland University of Technology, Professor Louise Cullen:

“Although it is well known that our First Nations community members have significantly more cardiovascular disease at all ages than non-Indigenous people, there remains a significant difference in heart attack and premature death rates.

“Our research aims to identify underlying coronary heart disease that may lead to a heart attack in First Nations people who come to an emergency department with symptoms of chest pain.

“The research required to prove that any changes in practice are beneficial requires significant effort, time and resources; this Fellowship will help with this.

“This important funding from Queensland Health, with research driven by clinicians and supported with academic partners, goes a long way to supporting clinicians wanting to improve our health care system.”

Full list of successful grant recipients –