We are looking for well-defined precision-medicine projects that will benefit from an integrated pipeline across one or more Westmead Research Hub Core Facilities and the PrecisionGo Digital Platform. Projects should have a credible pathway towards clinical, translational or health-system impact.

Projects should be sufficiently developed to have a clear research question, appropriate study design, identified samples or a feasible sample-access plan, and realistic milestones. The proposed work must be achievable between January 2027 and December 2028 and produce a meaningful proof-of-principle outcome.

Successful projects are expected to begin from January 2027. All PrecisionGo-supported activities and reporting must be completed by 31 December 2028.

Applicants are expected to be notified in December 2026.

Yes, you can. As long as the lead Investigator of your application is from an organisation with an Australian ABN, you're welcome to apply. Universities are able to apply for this grant application, and we are also open to non-lead investigators coming from other organisations, such as commercial organisations or overseas organisations. 

Yes. Applications are open Australia-wide. The lead Chief Investigator must be affiliated with an Australian not-for-profit organisation.

Yes. Commercial organisations may participate as collaborators or non-lead investigators. However, the lead Chief Investigator must be affiliated with an Australian not-for-profit organisation.

Potentially. However, the award is intended to support PrecisionGo Core Facility, Digital Platform and bioinformatics activities—not the broader costs of conducting a clinical trial or recruiting participants. Projects involving recruitment must demonstrate that recruitment, ethics and sample collection can be completed within the project timeframe.

This portion provides up to $30,000 in in-kind access to the Westmead Research Hub Core Facilities. It may cover services and technologies required for your proposed PrecisionGo pipeline, including specialist technical expertise, instrument and equipment time, and eligible kits, reagents and consumables.

Available capabilities include histology, genomics, proteomics, cytometry, imaging and biobanking. This funding is provided as services and support rather than as cash paid to the successful applicant.

PrecisionGo's partner organisations are supporting these trials by providing discounted kits and reagents, which we hope make this opportunity more valuable for you. Please contact precisiongo@wimr.org.au to find out more. 

We recommend the following high-level guidelines be used when planning your project’s budget for the $30,000 portion of the grant for access to the WRH Core Facilities and technology pipelines:

Pipeline 1 (whole transcriptome profiling with Visium HD)

• Allow $25k for Visium HD consumables (includes 4 capture areas for single or multiple tissue placement, each 6.5 x 6.5mm)

• Allow $5k for histology, imaging, genomics and sequencing services

Note: Pricing for Visium HD consumables can vary depending on capture area sizes (11 x 11mm capture areas also available) or if the 3' assay is required for multi-species profiling). Sequencing requirements (and cost) may also vary depending on tissue type. Please contact westmead.genomics@wimr.org.au for project specific pricing.

Pipeline 2 (targeted gene profiling for up to 5k genes)

• Allow $25k for Xenium Prime consumables (includes 2 capture areas for single or multiple tissue placement, each 10.45 x 22.45mm and 5k gene panel)

• Allow $5k for histology, imaging and genomics services

Note: Price of gene panel varies based on number of genes on panel. Please contact westmead.genomics@wimr.org.au for specific panel pricing.

Pipeline 3 (Single cell transcriptomics, run of 12 samples with ~5k cells/sample)

• Allow $6k for Rhapsody single cell transcriptomics consumables

• Allow $9k for genomics, sequencing and optional flow cytometry cell sorting services

Note: Pricing Rhapsody consumable cost can vary depending on sample numbers, cell numbers, multiomic parameters and sequencing requirements. Please contact westmead.genomics@wimr.org.au for project specific pricing.

PrecisionGo support for WRH Core Facility access is capped at $30,000 and cannot be transferred from the Digital Platform allocation. Any costs above this amount must be covered by the applicant or another confirmed funding source and clearly identified in the application.

This portion provides in-kind access to PrecisionGo’s Digital Platform and dedicated bioinformatics support throughout the project period, from 1 January 2027 to 31 December 2028. It is available as one day a week access to our Bioinformatics team, and this is not cumulative. 

Support may include data management, processing, analysis and integration; the development and execution of bioinformatics workflows; and the preparation of analytical outputs or reports. The precise activities will be agreed with each successful project based on its data and analytical requirements.

You do not need to develop a detailed itemised financial budget for this component. The $70,000 represents access to bioinformatics support equivalent to approximately one day per week from 1 January 2027 to 31 December 2028. In your application, explain the bioinformatics activities your project is likely to require, when these are expected to occur and how they align with your project milestones. Support does not accumulate if it is unused.

However, we recognise that bioinformatics input is likely to be more intensive at particular stages, such as after data generation, and can offer greater flexibility in how the available support is scheduled during those periods.

All data generated in the Proof of Principle Trial projects will be owned by the applicant.

All IP generated in the Proof of Principle Trial projects will be owned by the applicant.

Project data will be stored securely on WIMR servers and managed in accordance with WIMR’s institutional data-security policies and protections, including its firewall controls.

Depending on the project’s analytical requirements, data processing may also occur within the University of Sydney Research Data Centre and on Gadi, Australia’s national research supercomputer. Data processed in these environments will be managed in accordance with the applicable University of Sydney and National Computational Infrastructure policies and security requirements.

Arrangements for each project will also need to comply with its ethics approvals, consent conditions and relevant privacy and institutional requirements.

Yes. The outputs to be provided will be agreed during project planning and will include processed data, analytical results, reports and relevant workflow documentation. Release of outputs will remain subject to ethics, privacy, security, licensing and institutional requirements.

No. The allocation is fixed: up to $30,000 in in-kind access to the WRH Core Facilities and $70,000 in in-kind access to bioinformatics support and the PrecisionGo Digital Platform. Funding or support cannot be transferred between the two components. Applicants should therefore design their project and budget within this allocation.

The award does not provide general research funding or salary funding to the applicant’s organisation. Costs outside the approved WRH Core Facility pipeline and PrecisionGo Digital Platform support - such as participant recruitment, clinical care, investigator salaries, travel and institutional overheads - are not covered unless explicitly included in an approved Core Facility quotation.

No. The award provides up to $100,000 of in-kind services and expertise. No cash payment will be made to successful applicants or their organisations.

Routine sample collection and transport to Westmead are generally the applicant’s responsibility. Eligible processing or storage services delivered by a participating WRH Core Facility may be included within the $30,000 allocation where agreed and included in the approved project budget.

Potentially. Suitability will depend on the proposed technology, preservation method, sample quality and intended analysis. Applicants should contact PrecisionGo before applying to confirm that their sample type is compatible with the proposed pipeline.

Yes. Existing biobanked or archival samples may be used, provided the applicant has, or can obtain, the necessary ethics approval, consent coverage and authorisation to access and transfer them.

PrecisionGo-supported laboratory work will primarily be performed through the participating Westmead Research Hub Core Facilities in Westmead, NSW.

The award is intended to support services delivered through the WRH Core Facilities and PrecisionGo Digital Platform. Work outside the Hub may form part of the broader project, but external facility costs are not covered by the award unless agreed in writing by PrecisionGo.

Yes. Successful applicants must provide short annual and final reports, contribute short project summaries and suitable images, and present project outcomes at the 2028 Westmead Research Conference.

You may apply while ethics approval or a sample-access agreement is pending. However, all required approvals and agreements must be in place before any PrecisionGo-supported work begins. Please explain the status and expected approval date in your application.

Applications be sent to precisiongo@wimr.org.au by 11:59 pm on Wednesday 30th September. The application email must include the completed application form, a one-page CV for the Chief Investigator and each named investigator, and the project milestones and activities plan and budget tables if these are submitted separately. Include the ethics approval letter if approval has already been obtained; otherwise clearly state its current status and expected approval date.

Applicants will receive an email confirming receipt of their application within 1 business day. 

Successful applicants are encouraged to publish and otherwise share their findings, e.g. conference presentations, etc. Publications and other outputs arising from the award must acknowledge PrecisionGo, the Medical Research Future Fund, WIMR and the participating WRH Core Facilities, as applicable.