SERTA Project Grant

RBWH Research Grants (SERTA funded)

The Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital (RBWH), with the generous support of the RBWH Study, Education and Research Trust Account (SERTA) Advisory Committee, aim to provide financial support to RBWH researchers to undertake original and highly innovative research projects that have the potential to:

• directly affect the care provided to RBWH patients, including translational research and new models of care;
• foster collaborations across RBWH departments, and or between RBWH and other facilities and external partners; and/or
• support development of early career researchers.

Two types of research grants are on offer:

1. RBWH Research Project Grants
2. RBWH Research Fellowships Grants (aimed at early career researchers and staff undertaking a research higher degree)

2025 RBWH & QUT Centre for Biomedical Technologies (CBT) Seed Grants

RBWH and QUT CBT Seed Grants have been developed to provide an opportunity for QUT CBT based Early-Mid-Career Researcher (EMCR) engineers and scientists to work with RBWH clinicians to undertake an appropriately scaled research project aimed to solve a clinically relevant problem within a 12-month timeframe. Projects must be completed by 30 June 2026.

• $15,000 Seed grants with funding available for 12 months.
• Up to 4 projects will be awarded.
• Grant round opens: 17 March 2025
• Grant round closes: 9 May 2025
• Outcomes communicated: June 2025

*If you do not have a QUT CBT collaborator but have a project idea you would like to pursue, please forward a brief description through to RBWH_Grants@health.qld.gov.au. We can then arrange a meeting with a relevant researcher from QUT CBT.

RBWH Research Project Grants:

Project Grants are intended to seed research projects undertaken by RBWH staff at the RBWH. Priority will be given to proposals with the potential of being developed into work that can compete for larger scale external support, and to supporting proposals that will enable RBWH early career researchers to develop their research careers.
The 2026 RBWH Research Project Grant scheme round will consist of two categories:

• $50,000 Research project grants (i.e., applications from $25,001 to $50,000) with funding available for 24-months. Up to 10 projects will be awarded in this category.
• $25,000 Research project grants (i.e., applications up to $25,000) with funding available for 24-months. Up to 6 projects will be awarded in this category.
• Grant round opens: 2 June 2025
• Grant round closes: 4 August 2025
• Outcomes communicated: October 2025

RBWH Research Fellowship Grants:

The 2026 Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital (RBWH) Research Fellowship Grants aim to support research capacity building by funding dedicated research or backfill time for an individual to undertake research activities that align with hospital priorities. The 2026 RBWH Research Fellowship Grant scheme has been made possible by the RBWH Study Education and Research Trust Account (SERTA) Advisory Committee.

In 2025, Research Fellowships Grants will be awarded in two categories:

1. Early career researcher (ECR) fellowships. Six 1-year ECR Fellowships (up to $40,000) are on offer with up to three being awarded for 2 years (up to $80,000 in total). For this scheme, an ECR is defined as: (a) an individual within three years of completing a research higher degree (MPhil, PhD or equivalent), or (b) an individual who has not commenced or completed a research higher degree and is within 10 years of commencing active research as indicated by grants and publications. Note: for assessment, track record comparisons will be made within groups, not between groups (“a” and “b”).
2. Research higher degree (RHD) scholarships. Six 2-3 year RHD Scholarships (up to $40,000 per year) are on offer with the possibility of 2 years of funding for undertaking an MPhil (or equivalent) or 3 years of funding for undertaking a PhD (or equivalent). Successful applicants must be enrolled in a RHD (MPhil, PhD or equivalent) for the duration of the scholarship.

Track record will have a relatively smaller weighting (10%) and consideration of career disruptions and “relative to opportunity” will be given.

• Grant round opens: 10 September 2025
• Grant round closes: 2 November 2025
• Outcomes communicated: December 2025