2020 recipients
Dr Samantha Bateman
RACP Jacquot NHMRC Award for Excellence ($10,000 x 3 years)
'The Benefits and Burdens of Kidney Transplantation for First Nations Australians'
Dr Samantha Bateman in a nephrologist and general physician, working for the Central and Northern Adelaide Renal and Transplantation Service at the Royal Adelaide Hospital. As a PhD candidate, based at the South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute, she is researching the benefits and burdens of kidney transplantation for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people through the University of Adelaide. Sam graduated from the University of Western Australia medical school with honours in 2008. She completed a Master of Public Health from James Cook University in 2018 and became aFellow of the RACP in 2019. She has a special interest in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health and has worked and studied in rural and remote communities across Australia from the Western Desert of Western Australia to Far North Queensland. With her research, Sam hopes to improve access to and outcomes of kidney transplantation for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people as this is an area, identified by the community, to be of significant need.
Dr Joshua Misha Lewis Casan
RACP NHMRC JJ Billings Scholarship ($10,000 x 3 years)
Interrogating and manipulating cancer immunotherapy using novel genomic technologies (PDF) | Year 1 Report
Dr Joshua Casan is a consultant haematologist and haematopathologist, having recently completed his advanced physician and pathology training at the Alfred Hospital and Monash Health. Josh has also completed fellowships in lymphoma genomics with the Melbourne Genomics Health Alliance and clinical trials at Monash Haematology. With a strong interest in cancer immunology, he is undertaking his PhD studies at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, utilising cutting-edge genetic technologies to pursue better immunotherapies for patients with haematological malignancies. He is committed to translating scientific discoveries into meaningful clinical benefits for patients with blood cancer, with a particular focus on immunotherapy.
Dr Kathryn Connelly
RACP NHMRC CRB Blackburn Scholarship ($10,000 x 3 years)
A novel clinician-reported treatment response measure in systemic lupus erythematosus (TRM-SLE) (PDF) | Year 1 Report
Dr Kathryn Connelly is a rheumatology Advanced Trainee in Victoria. She obtained her MBBS and was awarded dux of the medical degree at Monash University in 2013. She completed her internship and Basic Physician Training at the Alfred Hospital in Melbourne and received the prestigious Bryan Hudson Medal as the highest scoring candidate in the RACP Basic Training Written Examination in 2017. She is currently undertaking clinical rheumatology training at Monash Health and Austin/Northern Hospitals in Victoria and will commence a PhD in 2020 exploring outcome measures in systemic lupus erythematosus. Kathryn has a broad range of medical interests, including the management of multi-system and chronic rheumatic diseases. She also enjoys bridging research and clinical medicine and being actively involved in medical education.
Dr Suddhasattva Suman Majumdar
RACP NHMRC Woolcock Scholarship ($10,000 x 3 years)
'Towards ending a multidrug-resistant tuberculosis epidemic through implementation science'
Dr Suman Majumdar is a clinician-scientist with a focus on infectious diseases and global health equity. He is the Deputy Program Director for Health Security and Co-Head of the Tuberculosis (TB) Elimination and Implementation Science Group at the Burnet Institute. Suman is an infectious diseases physician with additional qualifications in public health and tropical medicine as well as experience in global health delivery in Asia, the Pacific, Africa, Latin America and Central Asia. He has appointments at the Alfred Hospital, Monash University and is a PhD student at the University of Melbourne. He co-leads a multidisciplinary group that aims to generate knowledge and develop solutions to respond to multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB) and ultimately, towards ending TB in the Asia-Pacific region. Since 2014, he has been the technical director of a program of work to deliver a response to the MDR-TB epidemic in Papua New Guinea and strengthen the health system through technical support, workforce capacity development and collaborative research. Suman is an executive committee member of the Australasian TB Forum and Associate Investigator with the NHMRC TB Centre for Research Excellence in TB Control.
Dr Hashrul Rashid
RACP NHMRC Kincaid-Smith Scholarship ($10,000 x 3 years)
Investigating the role of thrombosis biomarkers and prostheses geometry in the development and diagnosis of leaflet thrombosis following transcatheter aortic valve implant (TAVI) (PDF) | Year 1 Report
Dr Hashrul Rashid is a cardiologist currently completing a PhD on subclinical leaflet thrombosis after transcatheter aortic valve replacement at Monash University, where he also completed his medical degree with honours in 2011. During his physician’s training at Monash Health, he was awarded the 2013 PMCV Victorian Junior Doctor of the Year, 2014 Monash Health Resident of the Year and was a finalist for the 2013 Australian Junior Doctor of the Year. A passionate educator, he received the Monash Health Excellence in Medical Education award in 2016. Hash is an emerging scholar in cardiovascular research, with 25 publications that are mostly first-authored. He has been invited to present his research at multiple international conferences. His notable research awards include TCT Asia Pacific Best Abstract Award in Interventional Cardiology (2016) and Cardiac Imaging (2018), the 2017 Monash Health Best Clinical Research Award and the 2019 CSANZ Registrar Research Prize. He also receives the NHMRC Postgraduate Scholarship and a research grant from the National Heart Foundation. Hash is grateful to be recognised by his colleagues with his awarding of the RACP NHMRC Kincaid-Smith Scholarship as well as also receiving the NHMRC Postgraduate Scholarship and a research grant from the National Heart Foundation. He hopes his research will help reduce cardiovascular mortality and morbidity among Australians.
Past recipients
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