Press Releases

Call for Health and Medical Research Fund applications

The Health and Medical Research Fund (HMRF) opens for applications today (August 30).

Administered by the Food and Health Bureau, the HMRF aims to build research capacity and to encourage, facilitate and support health and medical research; formulate health policies; improve population health, strengthen the health system, enhance health-care practices, advance standards and quality of care, and promote clinical excellence through the generation and application of evidence-based scientific knowledge derived from local research in health and medicine.

Under the current round of applications, the HMRF invites research proposals in the following areas:

(a) Public health, human health, health services and Chinese medicine;

(b) Prevention, treatment and control of infectious diseases; and

(c) Advanced medical research in specific areas, including paediatrics, neuroscience, clinical genetics and clinical trials.

The fund invites applications from locally based academics, researchers, and health-care practitioners from the public and private sectors. Collaborative research with non-local institutions is also encouraged.

Priorities will be accorded to the following research areas under the current round of applications:

(I) Health and health services

(a) Public health
* Smoking
* Mental health
* Injury and poisoning
* Alcohol-related harm
* Major non-communicable diseases
* Environmental pollution

(b) Health services
* Enhanced primary care
* Chronic disease management and palliative care
* Reducing avoidable hospitalisation
* Enhanced elderly care
* Health systems research

(c) Chinese medicine

(II) Infectious diseases

(a) Respiratory pathogens (including influenza)
(b) Technology platforms for infectious disease
(c) Emerging and zoonotic diseases
(d) Antimicrobial resistance
(e) Economic analysis of vaccination programmes in Hong Kong

(III) Advanced medical research

(a) Paediatrics
(b) Neuroscience
(c) Clinical genetics
(d) Clinical trials

Applications will be subject to peer review. The vetting will take into account scientific merit, local relevance, research capacity of the administering institution, the track record of applicants, translational potential/value, value for money of the proposals and research ethics.

The closing date for applications is December 13, 2013. Details of the research priorities and application guidelines are available from www.fhb.gov.hk/grants. Enquiries can be made by fax at 2102 2444 or by e-mail to rfs@fhb.gov.hk.
Ends/Friday, August 30, 2013
Issued at HKT 12:25