Ramaciotti Foundations: 50 Years of Philanthropy

In 1970, using funds from the sale of her family’s property holdings (including Sydney’s Theatre Royal), Vera Ramaciotti gifts $6.7 million to create the Clive and Vera Ramaciotti Foundations. The Foundations result in the establishment of the Ramaciotti Awards to support pioneering biomedical research.

In 1971, the first major grant assists with the establishment of a new building called the Clive and Vera Ramaciotti Research Laboratories at The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute in Melbourne. Vera’s decision to set up the Foundations was partly influenced by the strong family link with the Hall family and their philanthropic attitude, the same Hall family that carries the name of the institute that received the first funding from the Ramaciotti Foundations. 

In what proves to be a crucial early decision, the Foundations create a Scientific Advisory Committee to guide decision making, maintain the integrity of the grant process and adapt giving over time to ensure grants remain relevant and target areas where other sources of funding may not go.  

In 1976 Professor Janet McCredie uses a grant from the Ramaciotti Foundations to continue her work on Neural Crest Injury – a field vital to the understanding of birth defects.

In 1978 Professor Graeme Clark AC receives a Ramaciotti grant at a crucial stage in his research. It’s a small grant but one large enough for him to retain a key engineer. His multi-channel cochlear implant eventually helps hundreds of thousands of deaf people around the world.

During the 1970s, the Ramaciotti Foundations fund vital research in bone cells, blood growth factors, thalidomide, diabetes and more. By the end of the decade the Ramaciotti Foundations are funding more than 275 research projects in Australia. 

In 1982 Vera Ramaciotti dies but the impact of her Foundations widen. Thanks to intelligent investing over a long time-frame (and the power of compound returns) by 1989, the Ramaciotti Foundations have already given away more money than they were established with – and are making grants of over a million dollars a year.

In 1981 The Ramaciotti Foundations are the source of Professor Christopher Parish’s first external research grant. His work provides theoretical foundations for new cancer drugs. Professor Parish went on to receive the Ramaciotti Medal for Excellence in 2005.

Photo courtesy of Prof Christopher Parish “The Ramaciotti Foundations played an important role in supporting my early research on complex carbohydrates, research that eventually led to the development of the anti-cancer drug, PI-88. At that time, my carbohydrate research was unfashionable and controversial, but the Foundations were willing to provide my laboratory with seed funding that helped me advance my research in this new area." Professor Christopher Parish (November 2005)

In the mid-80s, funding support from the Ramaciotti Foundations helps Professor Rob Sutherland FAA AO, a globally renowned giant of cancer research to establish a cell culture facility for cancer research at the Garvan Institute of Medical Research. Today there are more than 180 cancer researchers at Garvan. Professor Sutherland went on to receive the Ramaciotti Medal for Excellence in 2000.

Photo courtesy of the Garvan Institute of Medical Research “The Ramaciotti Foundations’ continued support of Australian biomedical research is invaluable in ensuring we remain internationally competitive.” The late Professor Rob Sutherland FAA AO (quoted in 2000)

In the 1990s, funding from the Ramaciotti Foundations helps expand knowledge of the brain and nervous system. Growing fund returns enable the launch of the Ramaciotti Medal for Excellence, supporting further research by previous grant recipients. At decade’s end, the Ramaciotti Foundations are granting around $1.5 million a year.

In 1995 Professor John Coghlan (a specialist in molecular biology and hormone production in cells) wins the inaugural Ramaciotti Medal for Excellence. His work is used in fields as wide as foetal development, cancers and hypertension. In 1997 Professor Coghlan was appointed to the Ramaciotti Foundations’ Scientific Advisory Committee.

“The reason no one dies in Australia of diseases like polio and measles is because of research. That’s why encouraging medical research through the Awards is so important.”
The late Professor John Coghlan AO

In 1998 Professor Elspeth McLachlan becomes the first woman to win the Ramaciotti Medal for Excellence. It supports her work on neural pathways in the autonomic nervous system, improving treatments for spinal and nerve damage.

The strong performance of the Foundations allows them to support research at an institutional level. In 2001, the inaugural Ramaciotti Foundations Biomedical Research Award of $1 million is granted to the Alfred Hospital and Baker Research Institute to fund proteomic and genomic research.

In 2008, Professor Ian Frazer AC wins the Ramaciotti Medal for Excellence for his work contributing to the development of the world’s first cervical cancer vaccines. Professor Frazer first received Ramaciotti funding in 1989. 

In 2009, the Foundations provide $1 million for a joint research team at the Children’s Medical Research Institute and The University of Newcastle to establish the world’s first Centre for Kinomics. The hubs (based at both organisations) can be accessed by research teams across NSW to analyse current therapeutic drugs and develop more effective new ones.

“Receiving this funding means that people suffering from a range of conditions will benefit, because scientists from all over the state will have access to this equipment for a broad range of research projects.”
Professor Phillip Robinson (November 2009)

By the end of the 2000s the value of the Ramaciotti Foundations had grown to more than $50 million.

The 2010s recognise the strength of female researchers to biomedical research in Australia. Professor Kathryn North AC, Professor Carola Vinuesa, Professor Jane Visvader and Professor Susan Clark are all recognised through the Ramaciotti Medal for Excellence.

In 2015, the $1 million Ramaciotti Biomedical Research Award is granted to Professor David Craik of The University of Queensland’s Institute for Molecular Bioscience and Professor Marilyn Anderson of the La Trobe Institute for Molecular Science. The grant helps support research into producing pharmaceuticals from plants. This initial funding from the Ramaciotti Foundations has helped The University of Queensland and its partners receive additional funding of $35 million to establish the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Innovations in Peptide and Protein Science.

“We are thrilled to receive the Ramaciotti Biomedical Research Award for our work on using plants as ‘biofactories’ for producing next-generation pharmaceuticals….this type of blue-sky research falls outside the realm of work typically funded by government or industry so we are particularly grateful to the Ramaciotti Foundations for their support.”
Professor David Craik (October 2015)

A further example of this innovative approach is the 2019 Ramaciotti Biomedical Research Award of $1 million to the Menzies School of Health Research. The funding has created the Ramaciotti Regional and Remote Health Sciences Training Centre which will focus on creating a local and Indigenous biomedical workforce in northern Australia. The Centre currently has 24 youth engaged in training including youth from the most remote parts of the Northern Territory.

“Having the Ramaciotti name behind this Centre will help Menzies [School of Health Research] build capacity in the delivery of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health services by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health staff and develop a model which can be implemented beyond the Northern Territory.”
Associate Professor Heidi Smith-Vaughan (October 2019)

By the end of 2019, the Ramaciotti Foundations had distributed over $61 million for biomedical research - often to projects not easily funded from other sources. 

<sup>Photo courtesy of The University of Queensland



The Centre is delivering real-world opportunities to young people from across the Northern Territory. Raelene Collins, picture here, completed her lab-based traineeship and is now undertaking a Nursing degree. She has also graduated to our Centre’s cadet program which supports her with casual employment while studying. Photo courtesy of the Menzies School of Health Research.</sup>

Meet the 2020 recipients
This year’s awards include joint recipients of the 2020 Ramaciotti Medal for Excellence and a total of seven Health Investment Grants to support early career researchers.

Find out more about this year’s Ramaciotti recipients – and their research.