The April Royal Society of South Australia (RSSA) lecture will be given by Associate Professor Amy Roberts (College of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences) on "An Exploration of the Aboriginal Significance of Rockshelters and Caves in the South Australian Riverland Region" 6.30 pm, Thursday 9 April.

The RSSA hold monthly meetings are currently online via Zoom, and open to the public. All current members will receive an invitation via email containing a link to the meeting. If you are not a member and would like to view the seminar email Alice Clement with your request. 

This lecture will present recent research into the Aboriginal significance of rockshelters and caves in the South Australian Riverland region. Since the inception of Australian archaeology rockshelters on the River Murray have been the focus of investigation and were instrumental in demonstrating the time-depth of the Aboriginal past to non-Indigenous Australians. In this presentation previously unpublished rock art sites will be explored as well as the intricate Aboriginal narratives about these important places. 

For more information please check out their Twitter or their website.

Nominations are open for the 2020 SA Tall Poppies awards and will now close on 30 April 2020. The Flinders internal closing date is 27 April 2020. For application advice and assistance, contact Dr Marina Delpin, Manager, Research Training, Development and Communication, as soon as possible. Marina can link you in with past winners for coaching and mentoring.

The Tall Poppies Award promote science and intellectual achievement and give a voice to younger scientific researchers in public debate. Nominations are sought from early to mid career researchers who have completed their PhD within three – ten years at time of nomination. Selection criteria, eligibility criteria and nomination forms are now available.

The 2020 awards are open to residents of South Australia working in all fields of science, including biomedical, engineering, mathematics, technology and other applied or cross disciplinary sciences. Applicants from the social/behavioural sciences will be considered if their research demonstrates significant scientific, analytical rigour.

Nominees should hold a PhD and have completed their PhD within three to ten years of the nomination closing date. The selection committee will consider exceptions based on evidence of equivalent experience in industry, and will take into account personal or extenuating circumstances that might provide grounds for consideration outside the above criteria. Awardees receive media opportunities, public exposure, and personal development including training and networking.

The Flinders' COVID-19 and research staff page now includes, all in one location, information on funding body responses to the Covid-19 pandemic.

To access the latest responses from funding bodies, click on Research funding bodies' responses to COVID-19 on the Flinders' COVID-19 and research staff page.

A link to all the latest responses, in date order, is provided under that section. If you are aware of any other responses that are not listed in that section, please contact us at inspiring.research@flinders.edu.au.

This year Cancer Australia and its Funding Partners have research priorities which cover research into all types of cancer including paediatric cancers for the Priority driven Cancer Research Scheme (PdCCRS) 2020 funding round. 

As with previous years, PdCCRS are applied for through the NHMRC funding rounds. For 2020 PdCCRS can be applied for through Clinical Trials and Cohort Studies Grants or through Ideas Grants.

Changes have been made to the formatting of the Priority driven Cancer Research Scheme (PdCCRS) Questions forms; applicants are advised to thoroughly read the instructions before completing the form.

Funding will be available for research that addresses the priorities of Cancer Australia and the following Funding Partners:

• Australian Lions Childhood Cancer Research Foundation
• Cure Cancer
• Leukaemia Foundation
• My Room
• National Breast Cancer Foundation
• The Kids’ Cancer Project

Cancer Australia and its Funding Partners invite applications for PdCCRS grants to commence in 2020. Project grants will be offered in the following categories:

• Funding Category A: Project grants of up to three years duration, with funding available up to $600,000 (GST-exclusive), with a maximum in any one year of $200,000 (GST-exclusive) will be offered by Cancer Australia, Leukaemia Foundation, National Breast Cancer Foundation, and The Kids’ Cancer Project. All project grant applications ranging from 1 to 3 years within a budget ranging from $10,000 to $200,000 per annum will be considered by Cancer Australia and these funding partners.
• Funding Category B: Project grants of one year duration for up to $100,000 (GST-exclusive) will be offered by Cancer Australia, Australian Lions Childhood Cancer Research Foundation, Cure Cancer, and My Room to support project grants by post-doctoral researchers with up to 3 years post-doctoral experience or up to 3 years post MBBS qualification, undertaking a one year research project into malignant disease.
• Funding Category C: Project grants of up to 2 years duration for up to $200,000 (GST-exclusive), with a maximum in any one year of $100,000, will be offered by Cancer Australia, Australian Lions Childhood Cancer Research Foundation, Cure Cancer, Leukaemia Foundation, My Room, and The Kids’ Cancer Project to support project grants by post-doctoral researchers with between 3-7 years post-doctoral experience or between 3-7 years post MBBS qualification, undertaking a 1-2 year research project into malignant disease.
• Funding Category D: Project grants of one year duration for up to $100,000 (GST-exclusive) will be offered by Cure Cancer to support project grants by post-doctoral researchers with up to 7 years post-doctoral experience or up to 7 years post MBBS qualification, undertaking a one year research project in the field of bioinformatics for cancer research.

Funding Categories B, C and D cannot be used to provide a salary or other support for an Early Career Researcher as part of a larger NHMRC or PdCCRS project grant application.

Grant applications must address at least one of the research priority areas identified by Cancer Australia and/ or their Funding Partners.

Important dates and information

Call for applications to the 2020 PdCCRS grant opportunity opened 4 March 2020. Applications can be submitted through the NHMRC’s new grant management system, Sapphire for Clinical Trials and Cohort Studies Grants, and for Ideas Grants. Due to Covid-19, the dates for Ideas grants and Clinical Trials and Cohort Studies grants closing dates have changed. Please see the new information here and in the Timelines section of the Flinders NHMRC Schemes page.

Applications to the 2020 round of the PdCCRS close on 17 June 2020 at 17:00 AEST for applications submitted through the Ideas Scheme, and 2 December 2020 at 17:00 AEST for applications submitted through the Clinical Trials and Cohort Studies Scheme. The deadline for certification in Sapphire for Clinical Trials and Cohort Studies Grants and for Ideas Grants by an applicant is available in the Timelines section of the Flinders NHMRC Schemes page.

For application advice and assistance for both grants schemes, contact Gareth Rees, Senior Research Grants Officer (NHMRC and Health), RDS.

For more information, including access to the grant information documents, visit the Cancer Australia website.

To assist in supporting rapid approvals for COVID-19-related research, the Flinders University Institutional Biosafety Committee (IBC) will be holding an extraordinary meeting on 21 April, with an application closing date of 14 April. 

Those wishing to undertake research activities using any unfixed specimen sourced from patients with confirmed COVID-19 infection are reminded that approval is required from the IBC. A guidance document detailing the information required for inclusion in such applications will be made available on the Flinders University Biosafety Website shortly. 

Approval is also required for those wishing to undertake molecular studies involving gene technology applications. For assistance with these, please contact the IBC directly at ibcadmin@flinders.edu.au.

Led by the Australian Academy of Science, Australia’s learned academies, representing the nation’s best and most eminent researchers across all fields, are launching a national COVID-19 Expert Database. The database is championed by Australia’s Chief Scientist, Dr Alan Finkel AO.

The Academy is calling on experts from a broad range of fields who can contribute to the national and global effort to tackle and recover from COVID-19 to register on this database.

In this rapidly evolving situation, the database is designed to be a national resource used by decision-makers including governments, parliamentarians, the federal and state and territory medical officers, chief scientists across Australia, the research sector, the business sector, the Australian Health Protection Principal Committee, the National COVID-19 Coordination Committee, and the media.

Now, more than ever, decision-makers must be enabled to readily access the expertise they need to make the best possible decisions. This includes consulting with experts in science, technology, engineering, mathematics, health, humanities, arts, and social science.

As we each do our part to slow the spread of COVID-19, there is a need to enlist experts across all fields to combat COVID-19 and address its profound social, cultural and economic impacts. To guide our immediate response, the development of a vaccine, and to inform the national reconstruction effort, we will look to scientists and other experts to inform our decisions.

The national COVID-19 Expert Database is the mechanism by which decision-makers can connect with researchers and other experts who have registered their willingness to contribute to leading the nation to recovery.

The database recognises the critical underpinning role of science in responding to and resolving the pandemic, and illustrates the expertise and convening power the learned academies bring to the nation.

If you have expertise to lend to this global fight, please register on the database today. We encourage you to share this database with your networks and colleagues, and encourage them to register, to ensure the AAS capture as many of the nation’s experts to tackle COVID-19 as possible.

The development of the national COVID-19 Expert Database is one of a suite of initiatives the Academy has undertaken to respond to the pandemic. To assist the public better understand the changing situation, the Academy is producing articles and videos based on the most current information. In addition, the Academy has called on governments to make public the data and evidence supporting decision-making so as to allow all scientific knowledge to be brought to bear to solve this global crisis.  

Science has never been more critical to securing our health and wellbeing and restoring our way of life. The Australian Academy of Science is placing science at the service of the nation.

The Rebecca L Cooper Medical Research Foundation has decided to delay, and possibly cancel, the Project Grant round scheduled to open in August 2020 due to COVID-19.

Like other medical research funders, the Foundation understands there is a lot of uncertainty with regards to when full access to laboratory and clinical research facilities will again be available.

The Foundation will be closely monitoring progress to “research as normal” and they wish to assure researchers that at an appropriate time the Foundation will seek to recommence their funding at the highest possible level.

"On behalf of the directors and the Foundation, I wish you all the best through this difficult period and hope you stay safe," Leanne Arber, Executive Officer, Rebecca L Cooper Medical Research Foundation.

The 2021 Al & Val Rosenstrauss Fellowship from the Rebecca L Cooper Medical Research Foundation is currently open.

The Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF) has released a statement on the impact of COVID-19 on the MRFF grants.

This includes information on the Frontier Health and Medical Research Program Stage One, the Targeted Translation Research Accelerator and the Frontiers grant opportunity.

"We want to reassure the health and medical research community that we recognise and acknowledge the impact the COVID-19 pandemic is having on them. This ranges from the ability to undertake research through to submission and expert assessment of applications. We also understand that this is just the beginning, with information regarding the pandemic constantly evolving.

We are working closely with the Minister for Health and our grants hubs to ensure our processes account for the pandemic’s impact on health and medical researchers.

We expect there may be delays in your ability to undertake research and subsequently expend grant funds. We also expect some delays in our ability to review applications already submitted to us. If you have concerns, contact the Grant Hub administering the relevant MRFF Grant Opportunity or Grant Agreement (NHMRC or BGH).

We have received enquiries regarding our open MRFF grant opportunities. Our current advice is that:

• We have deferred the Frontier Health and Medical Research Program Stage One Grant Opportunity. We have provided advice to applicants regarding next steps.
• We are proceeding with the Targeted Translation Research Accelerator (TTRA) Grant Opportunity (currently due 20 April 2020). We will review arrangements over coming weeks.

We are deferring the Frontiers Grant Opportunity because many potential applicants stated they were unable to apply by the closing date because of COVID-19. We intend to re-open the Grant Opportunity once circumstances regarding COVID-19 improve. (See the previous Inspiring Research article on this deferral for Flinders specific information).

We will publish significant changes to our grant opportunities on the MRFF website.

If you have not already done so, please subscribe to the MRFF newsletter.

For now, while we try to maintain business as usual, we will be prioritising our efforts on research to support the response to COVID-19. We are also conscious that significantly delaying grant assessment and grant opportunities will impact the amount of funding available for research in coming years.

We will provide more information as it becomes available. Please contact us at MRFF@health.gov.au with any inquiries. (We ask that you email nhmrc@flinders.edu.au in the first instance)"

For more information on the MRFF, visit the MRFF - Department of Health website.

The Australia-Japan Foundation has postponed its 2020-21 grant round in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Australia-Japan Foundation (AJF) is Australia's oldest cultural council supporting people-to-people links underpinning this key bilateral and regional relationship.

Inspiring Research will provide updates related to future opportunities with the Australia-Japan Foundation.

For more information on the Australia-Japan Foundation, visit the Australia-Japan Foundation website.

The Council for Australia Latin America Relations has postponed its 2020-21 grant round in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Council on Australia Latin America Relations (COALAR) was established by the Australian Government in 2001 to enhance Australia's economic, political and social relations with Latin America.

Inspiring Research will provide updates related to future opportunities with the Council for Australia Latin America Relations.

For more information, visit the Council for Australia Latin America Relations website.

The Australia-ASEAN Council has postponed its 2020-21 grant round in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Australia-ASEAN Council (AAC) grants generate opportunities for Australian business, education, science and innovation and the arts to work with partners in Southeast Asia.

The AAC's mission is to increase knowledge and promote Australia's interests in Southeast Asia by initiating and supporting activities designed to enhance awareness, understanding and links between people and institutions in Australia and ten Southeast Asian countries: Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

Inspiring Research will provide updates related to future opportunities with the Australia-ASEAN Council.

Further information is available at the Australia-ASEAN Grants webpage.

The Australia-India Council has postponed its 2020-21 grant round in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Australia-India Council (AIC)'s mission is to advance Australia's foreign and trade policy interests by building awareness and understanding between the people and institutions of Australia and India.

Inspiring Research will provide updates related to future opportunities with the Australia-India Council.

For more information, visit the Australia-India Council grant webpage.

The Australia-Indonesia Institute has postponed its 2020-21 grant round in the context of the emerging COVID-19 pandemic. 

The Australia-Indonesia Institute (AII) was established in 1989 to foster links between Australia and Indonesia by increasing cultural awareness and mutual understanding, and promoting cooperation and exchange.

AII grants contribute to a more broadly based and enduring relationship between Australia and Indonesia and foster positive images of Australia and Indonesia in each other's country.

Inspiring Research will provide updates related to future opportunities with the Australia-Indonesia Institute.

For more information visit the Australia-Indonesia Institute grants webpage.

Do you know someone making a difference in their field? Nominations for the Australian Museum Eureka Prizes 2020 program to reward excellence in Australian science are now open.

The spectrum of prizes cover a broad range of scientific disciplines and aim to recognise the work of scientists and researchers at all career stages.

Over the years a number of Flinders' researchers have received these awards in recognition of their brilliant achievements that make a difference - including members of the Colvera Team (2017), members of the TEPO Team (2016) and Associate Professor Philip Dinning (2011). 

The 2020 program comprises of 17 prizes across the areas of research & innovation, leadership science engagement, and also school science. Entries will now close on Friday 15 May 2020. The Flinders internal closing date is 8 May 2020 for a completed final draft application. For assistance in preparing the nominations/applications, please contact Dr Marina Delpin as soon as possible.

The Prizes are the country’s most comprehensive national science awards, celebrating excellence in research & innovation, leadership, science engagement and school science. Entrants can enter themselves or be nominated, with prizes available for both individuals and teams. It’s free to enter, and in 2020 there is a prize pool of $170,000 on offer.

Many winners have enjoyed significant media coverage and reported a range of new opportunities following their selection.

For more information, visit the Australian Museum Eureka Prizes website.