Sixty-two outstanding health and medical graduates will share in more than $7 million of funding to support their research training through this year’s National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Postgraduate Scholarship Scheme.
Dr Yanna Ko from Western Sydney University will use her Postgraduate Scholarship to evaluate faecal microbiota transplantation as a method of restoring healthy gut bacteria when treating irritable bowel syndrome.
“This scholarship will help support much needed research into an extremely common condition where better treatment options are still being developed,” Dr Ko said.
The Postgraduate Scholarship Scheme aims to support exceptional health and medical graduates early in their careers and develop capacity for original independent research within Australia.
Dr Michael Moso from The University of Melbourne said the scholarship would provide him with the opportunity to fully dedicate his time to research.
“It has given me the ability to further advance my career as a clinician-scientist,” he said.
Dr Moso will use his Postgraduate Scholarship to develop a therapeutic approach using nanoparticles and gene therapy to cure human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection.
NHMRC CEO Professor Anne Kelso AO said the scheme supported graduates in medicine, dentistry, allied health and other fields early in their careers to undertake health and medical research.
“Successful applicants are funded to attain a research-based postgraduate degree that will set them on the path to an independent research career,” she said.
Projects funded (in order of Application ID):
| Chief Investigator | Application Title | Administering Institution |
|---|---|---|
| Doctor Natacha Omer | Natural killer cell immunotherapy in paediatric sarcomas | University of Queensland |
Doctor Xi May Zhen | Overweight and obesity in young adults with type 1 and type 2 diabetes: mortality, pregnancy outcomes, and novel glycaemic interventions | University of Sydney |
Doctor Josephine Warren | Evaluation and diagnosis of cardiac allograft vasculopathy post heart transplant using novel Cardiac CT techniques. | Monash University |
Harrison Hansford | The ZEUs (ZopiclonE for acute low back pain) trial: A multi-site, double blind, randomised controlled trial of zopiclone for acute low back pain | University of New South Wales |
Doctor Sarah Heynemann | Ethics of cancer trials | University of Sydney |
Doctor Lawrence Kasherman | Improving outcomes and experiences of culturally and linguistically diverse patients affected by cancer participating in survivorship programs | University of Sydney |
Doctor Phillip Nguyen | Clonal determinants of immune evasion to allogeneic stem cell transplant in acute myeloid leukaemia | University of Melbourne |
Doctor Steven Nicolaides | Immune related adverse events of the gastrointestinal system and investigation of novel diagnostics and therapeutics | Monash University |
Doctor Elisabeth Ng | Primary Aldosteronism: new strategies for diagnosis and management | Monash University |
Doctor Hannah Gordon | Characterising the perinatal, neonatal and school-age childhood outcomes associated with diabetes in pregnancy | University of Melbourne |
Doctor Suyi Ooi | Advanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) biomarkers for prediction of clinical outcomes after a first seizure | University of Melbourne |
Doctor Avraham Travers | CD8+ T cell tolerance within the tumour draining lymph node as a novel immunotherapy target in colorectal cancer | University of Melbourne |
Doctor Gia Tang | The impact of gender affirming hormone therapy on scalp hair pattern and distribution | University of Melbourne |
Doctor Minh Huan Dang | Defining new therapeutic targets for ANCA-associated vasculitis | Monash University |
Doctor Shuyu Wang | Advancing precision therapies for epilepsy | University of Melbourne |
Stefanie Dimov | The impact of post-school transitions on the mental health of young people with developmental disabilities | University of Melbourne |
Doctor Briony Shaw | Novel approaches to transfusion to improve supportive care for patients with blood cancers | Monash University |
Doctor Rahul Muthalaly | Cardiovascular risk reduction in stroke survivors | Monash University |
Doctor Rajan Rehan | Novel insights into ischemia and no obstructive coronary artery disease | University of Sydney |
Karan Rao | Investigating methods to optimise and streamline transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) | University of Sydney |
Lottie Morison | Improving outcomes for children with complex communication needs | Murdoch Children’s Research Institute |
Doctor Omali Pitiyarachchi | Moving towards personalising treatment for patients with pancreatic cancer using a patient-derived tumour explant model | University of New South Wales |
Doctor Youlin Koh | Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors And Depression in Atrial Fibrillation: The SAD-AF randomised controlled trial | Melbourne Health |
Doctor Yanna Ko | The role of the gut microbiome in irritable bowel syndrome and its therapeutic potential | Western Sydney University |
Rachael Farquhar | Investigating the effectiveness of systems-oriented implementation research and partnerships in malaria-endemic settings | Burnet Institute |
Doctor Antonia Kolovos | Saving sight: Novel stratification instruments for glaucoma | Flinders University |
Nina Leggett | Digital health to assist recovery after critical illness | University of Melbourne |
Juliana Kanawati | Three-dimensional (3D) printing to refine cardiac assessment and procedures | University of Sydney |
Doctor Justin Chua | Defining the landscape of ANCA-associated vasculitides in Australia and providing a foundation for improved care | Monash University |
Doctor Michael Moso | Nanoparticle and gene therapy approaches to HIV cure | University of Melbourne |
Doctor Antonia Clarke | Community, country and cognition: a multi-jurisdictional assessment of dementia affecting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples | University of Melbourne |
Doctor Yvonne Kong | Platelet biomarkers of thrombotic risk in type 2 diabetes | University of Sydney |
Yunduo Zhao | Coronary artery mimicking blood clot test: a point-of-care prothrombotic prediction device for patient-specific diagnosis | University of Sydney |
Doctor Natasha Gorrie | Understanding the phenotypic expression of early disease and genetics of cardiac amyloidosis | University of New South Wales |
Doctor Douglas Tjandra | Predicting progression of intestinal metaplasia to gastric cancer | Monash University |
Ellie Medcalf | Generating the trial evidence end-users prefer: adding value to the analysis of a randomised controlled trial of patient-led surveillance for subsequent melanoma (MEL-SELF) | University of Sydney |
Rabia Khalid | Understanding the interplay between eating disorders and weight management therapy | University of Sydney |
Doctor Jeremy Hill | Towards ending tuberculosis and leprosy in the Pacific – implementing the PEARL study in South Tarawa, Kiribati | University of Sydney |
Doctor Karen Liddle | Precision diagnosis for children with hearing loss: optimising utilisation of imaging and genetic testing | University of Queensland |
Doctor Abera Saeed | Novel retinal imaging biomarkers for the assessment and prevention of diabetes complications | Centre for Eye Research Australia Limited |
Doctor Shejil Kumar | The effects of osteoanabolic pharmacotherapy and osteogenic exercise on bone and muscle outcomes in postmenopausal osteoporosis: exploring the bone/muscle interface | University of Sydney |
Danielle Hutchinson | Community Sentiment Tool | University of New South Wales |
Doctor Russell Gear | Comparing the efficacy and acceptability of genomic testing and skin biopsy in diagnosing monogenic skin disease | Murdoch Children’s Research Institute |
Doctor Justin Phan | Assessing the cardiac arrhythmia profile of cancer therapeutics | University of New South Wales |
Doctor Smitha Kumble | Critical evaluation of the diagnostic utility of whole genome and transcriptome sequencing and the training of physicians in the deployment of frontier diagnostic technologies in healthcare | Murdoch Children’s Research Institute |
Doctor Emma Tay | Prescription drug monitoring program in New South Wales: a mixed methods study of implementation processes, stakeholder experiences, and program impact | University of Sydney |
Nga Yan Tse | Functional connectivity-guided transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) treatment for young people with major depression | University of Melbourne |
Doctor Aashray Gupta | Evidence supporting strategies for coronary artery revascularisation | University of Adelaide |
Doctor Aleece MacPhail | Predicting and preventing sepsis in patients with haematological malignancy | Monash University |
Doctor Joshua Wong | Heart failure prevention in cancer survivors by recognition and treatment of subclinical disease | Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute |
Doctor Alex Stoyanov | Detection of autoantibodies using novel bioluminescent systems | University of Sydney |
John Chetwood | Optimising biologics in inflammatory bowel disease | University of Sydney |
Georgia Carstensen | Novel policy approaches to reduce the supply and availability of tobacco products | The University of Queensland |
Catherine Banks | Targeted and stem cell therapeutics for cystic fibrosis sinus disease | University of New South Wales |
Doctor Chun Mei Thng | Investigating novel prevention and treatment strategies for gonococcal control | Griffith University |
Doctor Adam Peterson | Human amnion epithelial cell derived novel therapeutics in inflammatory bowel disease | Monash University |
Sarah Donoghue | Towards treatment of intellectual disability caused by errors in the chromatin machinery | Murdoch Children’s Research Institute |
Yasmin Mohamed | Vaccine champions and vaccine communication program | Murdoch Children’s Research Institute |
Doctor Patricia Khoo | Novel bacteria as a therapy for inflammatory bowel disease | Monash University |
Doctor Megan Frohlich | Application of novel personalised medicine tools to understand treatment mechanisms in Primary Ciliary Dyskinesia | University of New South Wales |
Doctor Melissa Shields | Better vision for patients with ocular toxoplasmosis | Flinders University |
Michael Dymock | Designing Bayesian clinical trials to enhance clinician- and consumer-directed decision-making | University of Western Australia |
