The University of Queensland is a research intensive institution and is ranked among the top three universities in Australia. The Faculty of Health Sciences makes a significant contribution to the strength and depth of research conducted within the University.
This was highlighted in 2005 with the development of the world’s first cancer vaccine from the work of researchers Professor Ian Frazer, Director of the Diamantina Centre for Cancer, Immunology and Metabolic Medicine, and research partner, the late Dr Jian Zhou. The development of a vaccine for cervical cancer was a result of successful clinical trials held in 2004 and demonstrates what can arise out of innovative Faculty research.
The Faculty has developed a reputation for research that can be taken from the laboratory to the bedside, with a range of research spin off companies established. Research being conducted in national and state priority areas is ranked among the best in the world, with our researchers recognised as leaders in a variety of health areas. Two prestigious Australian Fellowships, awarded by the peak national research funding body, the National Health & Medical Research Council (NHMRC) to researchers making significant contributions in their field, have been awarded to Professor Wayne Hall and Professor Wendy Hoy.
The Faculty attracts major funding from Australian and international sources, including the (NHMRC) and the Australian Research Council. Significant projects include:
- Queensland Health Senior Clinical Research Fellowships - The three recipients of these inaugural Fellowships will be based at Schools and Centres in the Faculty of Health Sciences as well as Queensland Health Hospitals
- The Population Health Metrics Research Consortium Project - in collaboration with Harvard University, Johns Hopkins University, and the Broad Institute in the United States - receiving $24.7million from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation ‘Grand Challenges in Global Health’ (GCGH) initiative
- UQ Centre for Clinical Research – a three-way funding partnership between UQ, the Queensland Government and Atlantic Philanthropies provided $66 million to establish this centre
- The Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health – currently receiving $1,190,000 over next three years from the federal Department of Health and Aging to continue this population-based survey, which examines the health of over 40,000 Australian women over a 20-year period. It was first funded in 1995
- Centre for Military and Veteran’s Health, established in 2004 - funded through Defence Health and The Department of Veterans' Affairs, unites the academic, research and educational expertise of UQ with the Department of Defence, Department of Veterans' Affairs, the University of Adelaide and the Charles Darwin University
- NHMRC-funded Centres for Clinical Research Excellence in cardiovascular and metabolic disease, spinal pain, injury and health and asphasia rehabilitation and major projects in cancer prevention and veteran's health