Menzies will be part of a National Network for First Nations Researchers which is being established with the goal of growing the next generation of research leaders.
The National Network is made up of a team of 91 investigators, led by four First Nations leaders, and represents the largest cohort of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander researchers (97 percent) ever assembled.
The National Network is an essential part of the National Health and Medical Research Council’s (NHMRC) framework for improving Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health through research, and the NHMRC is providing $10 million to the National Network over the next five years.
The Network will be led by some of Australia’s most eminent Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander researchers, many of whom have pioneered Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health research over the last two decades: Dr Pat Anderson AO (The Lowitja Institute), Professor Sandra Eades (Curtin University), Professor Alex Brown (University of Adelaide/South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute) and Professor Gail Garvey (Menzies).
“The collective vision of the National First Nations Research Network is the establishment of a culturally secure and inclusive network of First Nations researchers across Australia. It will be guided by self-determination and will nurture culturally safe environments, connect expertise and catalyse research methods, training and development,” they said.
Professor Garvey, Senior Principal Research Fellow at Menzies, said “the Network collaboration aims to bring together Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health research groups and their support networks to create an inclusive structure that builds the capacity and capability of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health researchers”.
The National Network, through Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Leadership and Governance, will focus on Career Pathways, Connecting Expertise, and Methodological Training and Development.
Research and career opportunities provided by the National Network include start-up scholarships for Higher Degree Research students, fellowships, traineeships for school leavers, Community Based Researcher positions, and an increase in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander led Category One grants.