Highest ever number of OCRF Research Grant applications
September 14, 2026
The OCRF has received the highest-ever number of research applications in a single grants round, with 57 proposals and a total funding value of $26 million.
The number of Expressions of Interest to the OCRF’s National Research Grants Program was a significant increase from 35 last year.
This year’s applications reflect the scale of the need for investment in ovarian cancer research. The submissions involved 246 individual academic, clinical and lived experience investigators across five states, and New Zealand.
These proposals contain the brightest ideas, from the brightest minds in the field. However, only a portion of these will be funded – which is why the OCRF continues to advocate with our partners for more Federal Government funding dedicated to ovarian cancer research.
What is the National Research Grants Program?
The annual National Research Grants Program is the OCRF’s long-standing, flagship research initiative, and the primary means by which it supports vital new research. The program focuses on innovative, early-stage laboratory-based research into ovarian cancer. Each application must demonstrate the potential to lead to better ways to detect, treat or prevent ovarian cancer.
Nearly two-thirds of applicants opted for pilot funding, a new category designed to support up-and-coming researchers and exciting new ideas.
This suggests the new stream will be embraced by the research sector. “Pilot grants offer junior researchers a foot in the door and senior researchers the chance to test bold new ideas, with up to 18 months of funding capped at $300,000,” said OCRF Executive Director of Research and Policy, David Hunt. The pilot stream sits alongside the traditional project grants, which fund larger, established research for up to three years with no funding cap.
Why early 'seed' funding is essential
“Research is the only way to improve survival rates for ovarian cancer, and the OCRF exists to fund the studies others won’t,” said Mr Hunt.
Consultations carried out in 2024 confirmed how vital this early, ‘seed’ funding is: government bodies like the NHMRC and MRFF are often reluctant to back high-risk, high-reward research, and promising researchers who are a little too early in their careers can struggle to compete for large, three-year grants.
The new pilot stream was created in direct response to that gap. “With funding for research under growing pressure across the world, particularly in women’s health, that support matters more than ever,” Mr Hunt said.
What does this mean for ovarian cancer research?
This latest funding call is incredibly exciting for the OCRF, researchers, and people affected by ovarian cancer. “Because of the incredible fundraising of our community, more ideas can be tested, and more promising researchers kept in the field longer and given the opportunity to lead their own projects,” Mr Hunt said. “We hope that the ovarian cancer research community across Australia and New Zealand can grow stronger as a result. For people affected by ovarian cancer, that means a deeper, more resilient pipeline of research working towards earlier detection, better treatments, and improved survival.”
What’s next?
Following assessment by the OCRF’s International Scientific Advisory Committee (ISAC) and Lived Experience Assessment Panel (LEAP), 17 applicants will now submit a full proposal, with the successful projects due to be announced next year, and start from 1 July 2027.
The OCRF will continue to work closely with the community to ensure that funds raised by the community have maximum impact.
Look out later this year for an announcement about our new Partnership Grants Program.
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