John Snow Scholarship

Applications for the 2023 Scholarship open 1 July to 12 October 2022.

A physician for all

A public health medicine physician is concerned with the health and care of populations. They train in both clinical medicine and public health, opening pathways in to:

the health and care of populations
health promotion
prevention of disease and illness
assessment of a community's health needs
provision of health services to communities and smaller population groups
public health research

The Australasian Faculty of Public Health Medicine (AFPHM) John Snow Scholarship aims to increase the awareness among medical students to help them identify public health medicine as a medical specialty or potential career path.

The AFPHM, as the principal faculty for public health medicine training in Australasia, looks to provide medical students the opportunities for intellectual and social discourse with AFPHM Fellows and trainees.

Representatives from across Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand will be invited to present virtually at the finals in 2023.

2022 Winners

Congratulations to our 2022 finalists and winner.

foundation-john-snow-scholarship-winner-dr-catherine-zheng Catherine Zheng | 2022 John Snow Scholarship winner
New South Wales (University of Sydney)
Patterns of drinking in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as selfreported on the Grog Survey App: a representative urban and remote sample (PDF)

Catherine is a junior doctor at Gosford Hospital in the Central Coast (Darkinjung Country) but was born and raised in Aotearoa New Zealand before moving to Sydney for university. She graduated with a Bachelor of Science, majoring in immunology, before starting medical school. Over the last four years she has balanced her studies while working as a research assistant with the team at the Centre for Research Excellence in Indigenous Health and Alcohol, based at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital. She enjoys a slower pace of medicine, and hopes start a Master of Public Health degree in the near future. Her interests include renal medicine and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health.

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Adrina Venayagam | 2022 finalist
Aotearoa New Zealand (University of Otago)
Inspection system of Rental properties in New Zealand (PDF)

Sam Gerami | 2022 finalist
Australian Capital Territory (Australian National University)
An Audit of Pharmacological Management of Cardiovascular Risk Factors in Chronic Kidney Disease in a General Practice (PDF)

Daniel Stoker | 2022 finalist
Queensland (University of Queensland
Frequency of laboratory no-test outcomes: evidence based practice poster to avoid common errors in drawing blood at a Rural Hospital (PDF)

Daniella Nolan | 2022 finalist
South Australia (University of Adelaide)
Health equity placement critical reflection (PDF)

Husharn Duggan | 2022 finalist
Victoria (Monash University)
Early-Onset Sepsis Among Very Preterm Neonates in Australia and New Zealand, 2007-2018 (PDF)

Mohit Kumar | 2022 finalist
Western Australia (University of Western Australia)
The clinical presentation of Type 2 Diabetes in children and adolescents in Western Australia (PDF)

Watch the 2022 presentations here.

Eligibility

You must be a medical student currently enrolled in a medical school at an Australian or Aotearoa New Zealand university.

Prize

All selected regional representatives receive:

$250 cash prize
a certificate in recognition of your achievement

The John Snow Scholarship 2023 recipient receives:

$500 cash prize
a certificate in recognition of your achievement

Why apply?

Watch testimonials from previous John Snow Scholarship participants.

Why you should apply for a John Snow Scholarship

Immediate and short-term benefits of being a John Snow Scholarship recipient.

What makes a competitive application

Tips for medical students applying for a John Snow Scholarship.

How the John Snow Scholarship has helped my career

Longer term benefits of being a John Snow Scholarship recipient.

Application guidelines

Applications open 1 July 2022.

Applicants must read the terms and conditions before applying.

When applying for the Scholarship, you'll need to provide the following supporting documentation (in a single PDF file):

A piece of work previously submitted for formative or summative assessment to your medical school.

The piece can also be a public health project in the form of a case history, reflection, evidence-based medicine project or clinical audit from your professional portfolio.

Note: The piece is not assessed as part of the application but is required to ensure that the Scholarship is accessible to all medical students and not only those who have completed extracurricular public health study or work.

A reflection piece (800 to 1000 words) demonstrating your understanding of:
1. one to two selected themes and learning objectives from the Public Health Medicine Advanced Training Curriculum (PDF)
2. public health in general, by undertaking a medical school assessment piece

A presentation plan (500 words maximum) describing how you would present the assessment piece and the reflection if chosen as a scholarship recipient.

A letter of support from the University (DOC) confirming that you're currently enrolled as a student and that the piece of work you are presenting has been submitted for formative or summative assessment. The letter should be signed by the Dean of the Medical School.

A completed application form.

Applicants must ensure:

your name or any personal identifying information must not appear in the selected piece of work, reflection or presentation plan to allow for unbiased selection
references are formatted in Vancouver style as required by the Medical Journal of Australia
if your Formative or Summative Assessment piece is a group project, then you are required to submit an individual application with individual reflection and presentation plans demonstrating what you have learned, and not the group learnings

Download form (DOC)

Selection process

Applications are de-identified and assessed by each AFPHM Regional Committee based on the selection criteria and marking guide.

Each AFPHM Regional Committee will select a regional finalist and advise all applicants of the outcome of their application

The selected representatives from each Australian state and territory and Aotearoa New Zealand will be invited to present virtually at the finals in 2023, where the presentations will be judged by a panel, and an overall winner selected.

Past recipients

The listings for 2020 and previous years show the year in which finalists were selected, their presentations were made in the following year.

Karen Motta | 2020 John Snow Scholarship winner
Western Australia (University of Notre Dame)
Cervical screening in four remote Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations: adherence to the National Cervical Screening Program? (PDF)

Georgia Behrens | 2020 finalist
New South Wales (University of Notre Dame)
Heat-related illness in Australia’s elderly population: population health and clinical approaches (PDF)

Joel Ern Zher Chan | 2020 finalist
South Australia (University of Adelaide)
COVID-19 as a valuable learning opportunity: Reflections from a public health placement at South Australia’s Department for Health and Wellbeing during the pandemic (PDF)

Georgina Chrisp | 2020 finalist
Victoria (University of Notre Dame)
Medical jewellery use in young Australians with adrenal insufficiency (PDF)

Thomas Swinburn | 2020 finalist
Aotearoa New Zealand (University of Auckland)
Climate change, food security, and health in Pacific Island countries and territories (PDF)

Note: In 2021 the awards were renamed.

Carla De Angelis | 2019 John Snow Scholarship winner
South Australia (University of Adelaide)
The Incidence of Acute Rheumatic Fever in Indigenous Adults in the Northern Territory, South Australia and Western Australia (PDF)

Zi Long Chow | 2019 finalist
Tasmania (Tasmanian School of Medicine)
Patterns of pollen sensitisation and seasonal allergic rhinitis in Hobart, Tasmania (PDF)

Dr Malindu Fernando | 2019 finalist
Queensland (James Cook University)
Discontinuation of contact precautions for hospital patients with drug-resistant healthcare associated infections — When is this a consideration? (PDF)

Caris House | 2019 finalist
Western Australia (University of Notre Dame, Fremantle)
Influenza and Pertussus Immunisation in Pregnant Women — A retrospective document audit at an outer metropolitan general practice (PDF)

Jessica Medland | 2019 finalist
New South Wales (University of Notre Dame Australia, Sydney)
Public health and clinical approach to prevent childhood burn injuries in Kenya (PDF)

Roshan Selvaratnam | 2019 finalist
Victoria (Monash University)
Does public reporting of the detection of fetal growth restriction improve clinical outcomes? A retrospective cohort study (PDF)

Sabrina Yeh | 2018 John Snow Scholarship winner
Victoria | Monash University
Antibiotic prescribing patterns in the paediatric community

Logan Williams | 2018 finalist
Aotearoa New Zealand | University of Auckland
The Impacts of Colonisation on the Inequities of Smoking During Pregnancy in Aotearoa

Siddhanth Sharma | 2018 finalist
Western Australia | University of Notre Dame
Putting feet first: Improving the provision of diabetic foot care at a remote ACCHS

Josephine Davies | 2018 finalist
ACT | Australian National University
Routine and pulse vaccination for Lassa virus could reduce high levels of endemic disease: a mathematical modelling study

Sebastian Rositano | 2018 finalist
South Australia | University of Adelaide
The epidemiology of antidepressant use and experiences of bullying or sexual abuse in the South Australian population

Samuel Tan | 2018 finalist
Queensland | University of Queensland
A Contemporary Meta-Narrative Realist Review of Population-Level Suicide Prevention Strategies

Timothy Bemand | 2018 finalist
NSW | University of New South Wales
Computed tomography coronary angiography for Indigenous Australians in Rural Australia

Ned Latham | 2017 winner
Victoria | Monash University
Understanding the acceptability of rapid, point-of-care hepatitis C testing in people who inject drugs

Alexandra Carle | 2017 finalist
Western Australia | University of Notre Dame
Mycoplasma Genitalium: An important consideration in male urethritis

Rachael McCormick | 2017 finalist
ACT | Australian National University
‘It can help our community… I hope the government will listen to what we are saying’: Reasons for caregiver participation in a longitudinal study of indigenous Australian children

Arunan Sriravindrarajah | 2017 finalist
NSW | University of Sydney
Ending offshore detention of asylum seekers – the role of the medical profession

Dipti Sugumar | 2017 finalist
Tasmania | University of Tasmania
Influence of social circumstance in childhood, adulthood, and social mobility on adult dietary quality

Alisha Thompson | 2017 finalist
South Australia | Flinders University
Australians’ understanding of the decline in fertility with increasing age and attitudes towards ovarian reserve screening

Rebecca Kelly | 2016 winner
Tasmania | University of Tasmania
Prediction of adult blood pressure in childhood: opportunities for early risk assessment

Michael Au | 2016 finalist
Queensland | James Cook University
An injustice in the justice system - HIV/HCV prevention in Australian incarcerated populations

Matthew Borg | 2016 finalist
South Australia | University of Adelaide
Renal health outcomes in relation to temperature and heatwaves in Adelaide, South Australia

Matthew Koh | 2016 finalist
NSW | University of New South Wales
A primary case-based model for assessment and treatment of chronic hepatitis c infection in rural and remote regions of Australia

Joevy Lim | 2016 finalist
Aotearoa New Zealand | University of Auckland
The Silver Age of HIV

Rosie Viner | 2016 finalist
Western Australia | University of Notre Dame
An audit of VTE prophylaxis following caesarean section

Hui Ling Yeoh | 2016 finalist
Victoria | Monash University
The Silver Age of HIV: The public health needs of people ageing with HIV

Su'Ad Muse | 2015 winner
Aotearoa New Zealand | University of Otago
Whakawhanaungatanga and Antiracist Research Praxis

Olivia Charlton | 2015 finalist
NSW | University of Notre Dame
Melanoma in the news: A discourse analysis of articles in The Australian newspaper

Carmen Hayward | 2015 finalist
South Australia | Flinders University
Vitamin D supplementation in reducing the risk of vitamin D insufficiency during infancy

Aleece MacPhail | 2015 finalist
Victoria | University of Melbourne
Surveillance and epidemiology of blood borne viral hepatitis in Australia: 21 years of the National Notifiable Disease Surveillance System

Eliza Nolan | 2015 finalist
Tasmania | University of Tasmania
Child and family centres & healthcare access - a pilot cohort study

Matilda-Jane Oke | 2015 finalist
Western Australia | University of Notre Dame
Trachoma mass drug administration and health promotion in the Western Australian goldfields

Shaun Vaughn | 2015 finalist
ACT | Australian National University
Potential efficiency gains in Australian primary care

Ashish Vaska | 2014 winner
South Australia | University of Adelaide
Age Determination in Refugee Children: Developing an Evidence-Based Narrative History Tool

Chloe Attree | 2014 finalist
Western Australia | University of Notre Dame
Acute variceal bleed management: An audit on the proportion of patients who received prophylactic antibiotics for acute variceal haemorrhage in a tertiary Western Australian hospital

Christopher Bailie | 2014 finalist
Queensland | University of Queensland
Variation in delivery of preventive health care in Indigenous communities: a cross-sectional analysis

Alexander Cochrane | 2014 finalist
ACT | Australian National University
Enhancing the Immunise Australia Program

Amanda Cohn | 2014 finalist
NSW | University of New South Wales
"My vagina makes funny noises": Analysing online forums to assess the real sexual health concerns of young people

Sarah Rockefeller | 2014 finalist
Victoria | Monash University
Sexual violence and women's health: Educating future clinicians

Daniel Vickers | 2014 finalist
Northern Territory | Flinders University
Perinatal outcomes in Indigenous women with Rheumatic Heart Disease in the Top End

Cecilia Xiao | 2014 finalist
Tasmania | University of Tasmania
Challenges in implementating telehealth in west coast Tasmania

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