Research at The Queen Elizabeth Hospital is formally promoted by the hospital’s own The Queen Elizabeth Hospital Research Foundation. Moves to establish the Foundation were initiated only 12 months after the new general section admitted its first patient.

The Foundation was one of the first of its kind in South Australia and has since become a model which similar foundations have been built upon. The idea was first discussed at a meeting of the Honorary Medical Staff Society in March 1960. It was thought such a foundation could be used to support clinical research within the hospital, to subsidise visiting lecturers and to make travel grants to suitable members of the staff.

By July 1960, both the hospital board and the chief secretary’s department had approved the principle of such a foundation. However, there were delays with tax exemptions and royal consent to use the Queen’s name and it was not until 21 September 1965 that the Foundation was incorporated. Another two years passed before the Foundation was announced in the press. The first funds were formed mainly from members of the honorary staff. A research committee was set up to receive applications for assistance with research projects and one of the first projects accepted related to organ transplantation. A council for the Foundation was elected on 2 March 1967.

The Queen Elizabeth Hospital Research Foundation is a major source of funding for research projects happening at The Queen Elizabeth Hospital. We have supported numerous PhD and Honours students as well as clinicians to develop innovative treatments for disease.

The Queen Elizabeth Hospital is Adelaide's second largest teaching hospital. Since opening its doors in 1954, The Queen Elizabeth Hospital has established a reputation as a leading treatment centre in a variety of medical, surgical and allied health fields. This has been coupled with an active and dedicated research program, which aims to better understand health and disease and its management.

The Queen Elizabeth Hospital Research Foundation is a major source of funding for research at the hospital and between 2000 and 2007, donated $6.2 million dollars to research.