SMARTER INVESTMENT IN THE RESEARCH LONG GAME Government support for health and medical researchers and innovators needing investment cycle review
With
Nadia Levin, CEO
Research Australia
OP-ED SEGMENT
Filmed in Sydney | April 2026
In this Op-Ed, Nadia Levin, CEO of Research Australia, spoke with the Australian Health Journal about the need for smarter and more strategic investment in Australia’s health and medical research sector.
Levin argued that Australia’s approach to health and medical research has been shaped too heavily by short-term political cycles rather than a long-term national vision. She emphasised that meaningful progress in science, innovation, and healthcare requires sustained investment over many years.
According to Levin, health and medical research should not be viewed simply as a social good, but as a major driver of economic growth, productivity, and national resilience. She highlighted that every preventable hospital admission, faster diagnosis, or locally developed medical product contributes to economic performance.
Research Australia estimates that for every dollar invested in health and medical research, the Australian economy receives around four dollars in return.
Levin pointed to Australia’s past achievements, including the development of IVF, the cochlear implant, the HPV vaccine, and ultrasound imaging, as examples of how research can improve lives while creating industries and export opportunities.
A major focus in the need to strengthen the entire research pipeline, from early-stage discovery through to clinical translation, commercialisation, and integration into healthcare systems. Research Australia in a media release March 2026, noted that while the Medical Research Future Fund was created to distribute around $1 billion annually, it is currently providing only about $650 million each year despite holding approximately $24.5 billion.
Levin referenced costings from the Parliamentary Budget Office (PBO), commissioned by Dr Monique Ryan MP, showing the fund could distribute up to $1.4 billion annually without reducing its capital base, arguing that the money, demand, and need already exist, but stronger government commitment is required.
Source: Adapted from Research Australia media release March 2026
-
Physiotherapist, exercise physiologist support for management of osteoporosis
Osteoporosis is commonly managed medically and typically with treatment. Exercise is also essential in the management of osteoporosis but tends to be under-utilised due to lack of knowledge and unfounded concerns about the risk of injury. In fact, optimal care of people with low bone mass, osteoporosis and/or increased risk of falling can and should include targeted exercise to help prevent osteoporotic fracture.
In early 2024, Healthy Bones Australia released a summary of the principles of osteogenic loading and fall prevention, the translation of those principles into clinical practice, evidence-based recommendations for exercise prescription, and special considerations, along with links to several relevant resources for people with or at risk of osteoporosis, falls and fractures.
-
Bridging the orthodontic knowledge gap
In recent years, the orthodontic sector has been growing rapidly due to success in B2C marketing and companies like Invisalign reaching the consumer, but there has also been a lack of knowledge sharing among general dental practitioners and specialists.
General dentists require mentorship and guidance from orthodontists to feel confident in providing orthodontic treatment to their patients, ultimately improving the quality of care in the community.
-
Growing impact of blood cancer on women
According to the Leukaemia Foundation, blood cancer is one of the most urgent and under-recognised women’s health issues in Australia, with three times more Australian women diagnosed with blood cancer than ovarian and cervical cancer combined (Source: AIHW, Cancer Data in Australia, 2024).
Blood cancer has also emerged as the second most common cancer diagnosed in Australian women overall – behind only breast cancer – and the leading cancer amongst girls and women under the age of 30 (Source: AIHW, Cancer Data in Australia, 2024).
