With the election out of the way, medical research lobbies are getting back to lobbying

The Australian Society for Medical Research is worried that the Medical Research Future Fund is seen as all that is needed. Society president Roger Yazbek (Flinders U) says not so, that while “a welcome addition to the funding landscape” the MRFF supports “a very specific part of the research pipeline” – translation and commercialisation and this has happened at the expense of increased funding to the National Health and Medical Research Council.

“The critical fundamental science and translational research supported by statutory bodies like the NHMRC and Australian Research Council are essential to drive transformative health discoveries and commercial activity.”

Fair enough, but the MRFF is on track to reach its $20bn target and that should buy the government a bunch of time before it feels the heat on NHMRC funding.