MDHS - 2025 Michael Hirshorn Medical Research Commercialisation Fund

Please ensure that you have read and understood the 2025 Michael Hirshorn Medical Research Commercialisation Fund Guidelines and the Privacy Collection Notice below.

This Michael Hirshorn Fund Trust was established in 2016 through a substantial donation from Dr Janice Hirshorn and Dr George Jacobs in recognition of Janice’s brother, Dr Michael Hirshorn OAM, who was a graduate of the University of Melbourne and passionate about the commercialisation of biomedical inventions. Dr Hirshorn was also a co-founder and Chief Executive of the company behind the “bionic ear”, Cochlear, and a founding director of the sleep disorders company Resmed.

Dr Hirshorn and Dr Jacobs are pleased to be able to support biomedical research at the University with commercialisation potential through the Michael Hirshorn Medical Research Commercialisation Fund.

MDHS trust grants and fellowships are funded from funds established through the generosity of alumni, former staff and other benefactors as well as philanthropic foundations. Recipients of MDHS trust grants and fellowships are required to acknowledge the support of the donor or trust on publications or written material which relate to the funded research, provide annual reports so that donors may understand the use to which the funds are being put, and may be asked to attend thank you, award, prize-giving or other ceremonies to acknowledge the generous support that has made the research/project possible.

The collection of personal information by the University of Melbourne (University) is governed by the Privacy and Data Protection Act 2014 (Vic) and Health Records Act 2001 (Vic) (together, Privacy Laws). The University is also considered to be a data controller for the purposes of the EU General Data Protection Regulation 2016/679 (GDPR) in relation to the collection of personal information from individuals located in the EU. The University is committed to protecting your privacy and processing your personal information fairly and lawfully in compliance with the Privacy Laws and the GDPR, as applicable.

The information in this form is being collected by Research Support & Evaluation, Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences, the University of Melbourne. The information you provide is being collected in order to record administrative details of the applicant, and for assessment by a sub-committee of the MDHS Innovation & Enterprise Steering Committee. The assessment committee will be chaired by the Associate Dean (Innovation & Enterprise) or equivalent. The information will be used by authorised staff for the purpose for which it was collected, and will be protected against unauthorised access and use. The names of successful applicants and a summary of their projects will be reported to relevant University committees and senior officers. If you do not provide all of the information requested on this form, your application may be deemed ineligible and removed from consideration by the committees.

We take all reasonable steps to ensure that the information we hold is accurate and complete and that it is protected from misuse, loss, unauthorised access or disclosure. We will only retain your personal information for as long as required for the purpose it was collected and in accordance with our legislative obligation. Your personal information will be securely stored and destroyed in accordance with the University’s retention and disposal authority. We will not disclose your personal information to anybody else unless you have given consent, or we are authorised or required to do so by law. You may request access to, or correction of, your personal information held by the University at any stage. You may exercise data subject rights under the GDPR if applicable. You can contact us at 13 63 52. For further information about how the University manages personal information, to make an enquiry or complaint, or for contact details of the University’s Privacy and Data Protection Officer, please view the University’s Privacy Policy, visit our Privacy Webpage, or contact the University’s Privacy Office at privacy-officer@unimelb.edu.au.