Research and clinical trials at Royal Perth Hospital (RPH) play a vital role in the delivery of high quality health care to our patients. We are committed to a philosophy of research into all areas of health care, including the prevention, treatment and investigation into the cause of disease as an integral part of maintaining and improving the health of all West Australians. 

Doctors, nurses, scientists and researchers at RPH and the RPH Research Foundation use state-of-the-art technology to further clinical research and trial novel medicines and devices. The RPH research Foundation is a key provider of high-quality infrastructure, enabling research to be conducted on our campus with a large number of clinical trials undertaken annually.

The RPH campus supports world-class clinical research. This has been recognised by the National Health and Medical Research Council and other funding bodies in the form of numerous grants being awarded to our researchers. Our campus now has a growing cohort of investigators running nationally-competitive research grants and fellowships.

In recent years the strong link between laboratory and clinical practice at RPH has been demonstrated in a number of 'world firsts' in the diagnosis and treatment of disease. These include the seminal discovery of the cause of stomach ulcers by Professor Barry Marshall and Dr Robin Warren for which they were named as the 2005 Nobel Laureates in Physiology or Medicine.

The Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research also has a major role on our campus with researchers focused on both clinical and basic research into human disease. The University of Western Australia is involved in a broad range of basic, epidemiologic and translational medical research. Several other research-intensive organisations have a significant presence on our campus, including Curtin University and Murdoch University. RPH has a strong commitment to postgraduate teaching with a range of opportunities for honours and PhD students.