Unlock the MRFF – Professor John Fraser AO Joins Call for Action on Medical Research Funding

De Motu Cordis Founder and Chief Medical Officer, Professor John Fraser AO, is among more than 60 of Australia’s most eminent scientists and industry leaders calling on the federal government to unlock the Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF).

Professor Fraser is one of three Foundation signatories – alongside University of Queensland colleagues Professor Trent Munro and Emeritus Professor Paul Young – on an open letter addressed to Health Minister Mark Butler, Minister for Disability and the NDIS Senator Jenny McAllister, and Aged Care Minister Sam Rae.

The letter, which also carries the signatures of three Nobel Laureates – Peter C Doherty, Professor Brian Schmidt AC, and Professor Barry Marshall AC – urges the government to release the MRFF’s committed funds and support Australia’s future as a global innovation leader.

The $25 billion MRFF was established to deliver up to $1 billion annually for lifesaving research, yet significant capacity remains underutilised. The signatories argue that without action, Australia risks losing a generation of scientific capability.

The open letter highlights several pressing concerns facing the sector. Current success rates for early-career research grants sit below five per cent. Australia’s research and development investment stands at 1.7 per cent of GDP, placing the nation in the bottom third of all OECD countries. The result is that Australia’s most promising researchers are leaving the system – or the country altogether.

The signatories are calling for three key actions: unlock the full capacity of the MRFF and deploy it as originally intended; make scientific research a viable and sustainable career; and link discovery to translation, manufacturing, and commercialisation to ensure Australia captures the benefits of its own breakthroughs.

As Professor Fraser wrote in his call to action, medical research is one of the few sectors where Australia consistently outperforms its size, delivering breakthroughs that save lives globally and returning nearly four dollars for every dollar invested.

The open letter was covered in The Australian on 30 March 2026, under the headline reporting that top scientists are demanding action on research funding to prevent an Australian brain drain.

De Motu Cordis is proud to see its Founder standing alongside Australia’s leading scientific voices in advocating for a stronger, better-funded research ecosystem – one that retains talent, accelerates translation, and secures the nation’s position as a global innovator.