Career Advancement Fellowships
The RPH Research Foundation Career Advancement Fellowships Program supports outstanding early- to mid-career researchers (EMCRs) whose work has a clear, meaningful, and sustained connection to the East Metropolitan Health Service (EMHS).
The Fellowship aims to:
Build research capacity and leadership within EMHS and WA
Enable protected time for high-quality, clinically relevant and translational research
Strengthen research embedded in EMHS hospitals, services and workforce to improve the outcomes for EMHS patients
Retain talented EMCRs within EMHS and the broader Western Australian research ecosystem
Accelerate West Australian research with the potential to improve patient outcomes, clinical practice, and health system performance within EMHS
In 2026, the RPH Research Foundation will award a total of $2.22 million across multiple Fellowships.
Applicants can request salary support for research duties of up to $160,000 per annum for a maximum period of four years. In addition to salary support, applicants may request up to $100,000 in direct research costs.
All queries related to this grant program should be directed to grants@rphresearchfoundation.org.au.
RPH Research Foundation will run the Career Advancement Fellowships Program again in April 2026.
Eligibility Criteria
- At the time of application are an Australian or New Zealand citizen, a permanent resident of Australia, or have an appropriate work visa in place and will reside in WA for the duration of the grant.
- Have no more than ten years’ research experience, (full time or equivalent), taking into consideration any career disruptions as defined in the National Health and Medical Research Council’s (NHMRC) Relative to Opportunity Policy.
- Be the Chief Investigator (CIA) on the research project proposed to be undertaken during the Fellowship.
- Be undertaking research that has a strong and meaningful connection to the East Metropolitan Health Service (EMHS). Eligibility determination will be based on the strength of applicant’s affiliation with the EMHS, degree of involvement of known EMHS patients or remunerated staff members on the project, the direct benefit to EMHS services or patient care or operational priorities, and the extent of research activities occurring within the public entities of the EMHS network (i.e., Royal Perth Hospital, Bentley Health Service, Armadale Health Service, Kalamunda Hospital, and Population and Community Health Programs).
- Appoint a research mentor, who will be a senior/established researcher based in WA, who agrees to provide guidance and ongoing support during the term of the Fellowship.
- Ensure they have adequate time to complete the research activities and meet the major milestones as per the grant contract.
- Include only one project in the application, which has the potential to enable scientific concepts to be clinically translated. The applicant should provide proof-of-concept, quality of evidence and data to support the value and novelty of the research proposal
Fellowship funding is open to individuals who:
- May only submit one application for funding in the 2026 Career Advancement Fellowship Program.
- Seeking to undertake or complete a PhD (or other higher degree by research training) are not eligible to apply.
- Must not be a current or past recipient of an RPH Research Foundation Career Advancement Fellowship.
- Must have no overdue reports for any RPH Research Foundation grant funding programs from any year (excluding authorised extensions).
Applicants: