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Story: Medical research

Medical research organisations, 1937–2005

Year Event
1937 First meeting of Medical Research Council (MRC)
1939 MRC-funded research expanded to include tuberculosis and obstetrics
1946 Island Territories Research Committee created
1949 First MRC fellowship awarded to Raymond Blakley
1950 Medical Research Council Act passed
1951 MRC achieves independent status; gains functions of advising government and controlling research
1955 Auckland Medical Research Foundation (MRF), an independent research body, established
1960 MRFs established in Wellington and Palmerston North
1961 Hawke’s Bay MRF established
MRC establishes 14 research units or equivalent groups
1965 Taranaki MRF established
1967 Southland MRF established
1968 Otago MRF established
1990 Health Research Council Act passed, replacing MRC with the Health Research Council (HRC)
2005 HRC becomes a Crown agent

This timeline gives a brief history of the Medical Research Council and the Medical Research Foundations (independent research bodies), culminating in the creation of the Health Research Council.

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How to cite this page

Derek Dow, Medical research – Early days, 1890s to 1930s, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/interactive/45799/medical-research-organisations-1937-2005 (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Derek Dow, published 23 June 2014.