Posted on by Shannon Coleman

David & Margaret Wattchow Research Travel Fund 2023 Applications now open

 

This annual Award has been made possible by a generous gift from Professor David Wattchow AM and his wife Margaret, to support Higher Degree or Early-Career Researchers to obtain skills and knowledge that will directly benefit neuroscience research in the Flinders Health and Medical Research Institute (FHMRI), Flinders University.

Professor Wattchow (BMBS ’80, PhD (Med) ’89, CUniv ’16) was a graduate of the Flinders University Medical School and retired from his role as Senior Consultant Surgeon at Flinders in 2021. Learn more on the donors webpage.

Please note: applications can only be submitted by members of the FHMRI neuroscience research community (i.e., students enrolled at, or staff employed by Flinders).

Award details:

  1. A total of $1000 to support professional development and travel by a Higher Degree student, or Early Career Researcher (<10 years post-award of PhD plus career disruption), to a Centre or conference to bring back new knowledge or techniques to FHMRI. These funds may be split equally between multiple recipients.
    1. Laboratory visits and collaborations will be prioritised over trips that are limited to conference attendance. Visits that incorporate both are allowed.
    2. The funds can be spent in the period 1st October 2023 to 30 September 2024.
  2. The Gift aims to support the growth of neuroscience research in FHMRI. As such, recipients will be required to provide a short presentation to the FHMRI neuroscience community, to describe the outcome of their trip and what new knowledge/techniques they are making available to the FHMRI community.
    1. This presentation is to be arranged with Professor Kim Hemsley, FHMRI Neuroscience Lead, within one month of return from the trip.

Applications close 9 am on Monday 28 August 2023. No late applications will be assessed. Applications will be judged by the FHMRI Neuroscience Guidance Committee and other Senior FHMRI Neuroscience Researchers. Assessors will be replaced if they have a conflict of interest. If there are no appropriate applications, the funds will be held over and awarded in 2024.

The Award will be announced in late September/early October 2023 in the FHMRI Seminar series. The Awardee will also be announced on the Flinders University website.

Application Instructions

The application should:

  • Provide your name, qualifications, and:
    1. Year level as a Higher Degree student, or
    2. Date of conferral of your PhD as an ECR.
      1. The cut-off date for ECR status for this award in 2023 is PhD conferral on or after 29/8/2013.
      2. If you have experienced a career disruption, please include the period of disruption in your application, and adjust the cut-off date accordingly. Any disclosure made will be treated as highly confidential.
  • Outline the details of the lab visit/collaboration, including the name/location of the lab, the name of the collaborator(s) and the skills/techniques you will obtain experience in and provide to the FHMRI neuroscience community (500-word limit).
  • If you will also attend a conference, provide details on it and the title/short description of your research to be presented (500-word limit).
    1. It is expected that you will present your research as a poster or oral presentation if you attend a conference in addition to the lab visit/collaboration, but it is understood that you may not yet have evidence of acceptance of your abstract.
  • Address the benefit of your travel to the FHMRI neuroscience community (500-word limit).
    1. Whilst you will gain personal development from the trip, your application will be judged on the benefit gained by neuroscience research at FHMRI, and this should be the focus of your response here.
  • A statement from your supervisor indicating that they support your application and confirm all the details you have provided in the application.
  • A signature from both you and your supervisor on the application.

Applicants should submit a single PDF file to Prof Kim Hemsley (FHMRI Neuroscience Lead: Kim.Hemsley@flinders.edu.au) before 9 am on Monday 28 August 2023. The file should be named: first name second name – David and Margaret Wattchow Travel Award 2023 (for example: Jill Smith – David and Margaret Wattchow Travel Award 2023.pdf).

 

 

 

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