Ambulance Victoria's commitment to clinical excellence and cutting-edge research has been recognised on the national stage, with Dr Ziad Nehme receiving the highly prestigious Peter Doherty Investigator Grant Award at the 2025 NHMRC Research Excellence Awards in Canberra last week.
The Peter Doherty Award is reserved for the highest-ranked recipients of the NHMRC's fiercely competitive Investigator Grant scheme - Australia's flagship medical research funding programme.
Dr Nehme, Director of the Centre for Research and Evaluation at Ambulance Victoria and Senior Research Fellow at Monash University, was one of only two researchers to achieve this distinction among 1,666 applicants nationwide.
Dr Nehme's award-winning research is set to transform emergency response to out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) - a condition that affects more than 25,000 Australians every year.
photo credit Hilary Wardhaugh Photography
His work focuses on accelerating early recognition of cardiac arrest, improving bystander cardio-pulmonary resuscitation (CPR) rates and expanding access to life-saving defibrillation before paramedics arrive.
"Every minute without CPR reduces a patient's chance of survival by 10 per cent," Dr Nehme said.
"This research will drive a next-generation system of care, harnessing technology and community engagement to improve survival outcomes."
Ambulance Victoria's Executive Director Quality & Clinical Innovation Dr Tegwyn McManamny praised Dr Nehme's achievement, reinforcing the organisation's global leadership in pre-hospital emergency care research.
"Ambulance Victoria is home to some of the world's most respected paramedic researchers," Dr McManamny said.
"Dr Nehme's groundbreaking work will save countless lives and is a testament to the world-class expertise we have within our ranks. This award reinforces our commitment to evidence-based innovation and our position as a global leader in emergency care."
Dr Nehme's research, conducted in collaboration with Monash University, builds on Ambulance Victoria's legacy of improving cardiac arrest survival through community education campaigns, high-performance CPR training, and pioneering digital solutions that mobilise bystanders to act before paramedics arrive.
Dr Nehme's NHMRC-funded programme will focus on three key areas:
Optimising emergency call recognition to reduce delays in CPR and defibrillation.
Expanding access to community-based defibrillation using novel interventions.
Advancing post-resuscitation care to improve long-term survival and neurological outcomes.
"This isn't just about research - it's about delivering real-world impact," Dr Nehme said.
"We are developing a system where every person experiencing cardiac arrest has the best possible chance of survival."
Thanks to Dr Nehme's dedication to research, Victoria has become the safest place in Australia and the third safest in the world for cardiac arrest survival, as highlighted in the recently released 2023/24 Victorian Ambulance Cardiac Arrest Registry (VACAR) Annual Report.
The Victorian Ambulance Cardiac Arrest Registry Report showcases groundbreaking advancements in cardiac arrest response and survival rates across the state.
