ANU has won more than $7.4 million for 13 projects in the latest National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) funding round.

Health Minister the Hon Sussan Ley announced the latest NHMRC grants at The John Curtin School of Medical Research at ANU.

The NHMRC funding includes more than $400,000 for a research project looking at how individual brain cells communicate, with a focus on neurotransmitters - the chemicals one nerve cell releases to activate another nerve cell.

Project leader and JCSMR neuroscientist Dr Brian Billups said the research will work toward understanding how nerve cells communicate, what goes wrong, and work toward curing diseases including epilepsy.

In 2014 Dr Billups moved from The University of Cambridge to take up a senior lecturing position at JCSMR. It was the first time he had applied for a NHMRC grant.

"It's wonderful that we have been able to secure this funding. This will allow me to build a team and work towards all the things we want to achieve," he said.

The project is a collaboration between researchers at JCSMR and Professor Stefan Broer and a team at the ANU Research School of Biology.

Other projects to receive NHMRC funding include more than $600,000 to look at the long-term effects of vitamin D and sun exposure, and around $750,000 to find ways to reduce cognitive decline as people age.