Medical research in Australia plays a vital role in ensuring the health and wellbeing of the population and our track record is impressive.

We can look back at a century of medical innovations that have their origin in Australia, beginning in 1926 when pioneering doctor Mark Lidwill discovered that electricity could stimulate the heart. This led to the development of the cardiac pacemaker – listed by Australian Geographic as one of the top 10 Australian inventions that changed the world.

Australian ingenuity was also behind the development of the ultrasound in 1961, meaning generations of expectant parents have been able to view their child in utero, as well as enabling doctors to diagnose medical issues in unborn children.

Countless hearing-impaired people and their families have had their lives transformed by the work of Professor Graeme Clark who pioneered Cochlear implants with the so-called “bionic ears” allowing deaf people to understand speech.

Australian research has led to a number of highly-significant medical innovations.Credit: File Image

The world’s first anti-cancer vaccine to protect women from cervical cancer has had a global impact since it became available in 2006 thanks to research carried out by the University of Queensland.

More recently, it is Australians who are behind the invention of a fully functioning artificial heart and the world’s first drug to prevent cell damage caused by heart attacks.

None of these globally significant medical inventions and innovations would have been possible without funding support, which is why there is considerable disquiet with the question mark over the future of the NSW Medical Research Support Program (MRSP).

The program has provided about $45 million a year to the state’s medical research institutions, such as the Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute, Black Dog, the Centenary Institute and the Woolcock Institute.

But, as we report today, the current funding is due to expire on June 30 and researchers say they are in the dark about whether it will be renewed.