John Snow Scholarship

Applications open 1 July to 12 October 2025.

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 on Tuesday 24 March 2026.

2025 Winners

Congratulations to our 2025 finalists and winner.

Yaron Gu | 2025 winner

New South Wales (University of New South Wales)

Economic Evaluation of HLA-B*15:02 Genotyping for Asian Australian patients with epilepsy (PDF)

Yaron Gu is a final year medical student at the University of New South Wales. He conducted his BSc(Med)Hons research in 2023 on the cost-effectiveness of HLA genotyping to prevent adverse drug reactions. His broad research interests include public health, health economics, and dermatology.

Through his research and clinical placements, Yaron recognises the importance of health economics in underpinning the Medicare system. He recently completed an overseas elective at the National University Hospital in Singapore, which highlighted the differences between unique funding systems in healthcare and expanded his interests in global health. He seeks to further his understanding of these issues through additional postgraduate training and hopes to contribute to decision making in these issues in the future.

Jade Guitera | 2025 finalist

Victoria (Monash University)
GP experiences of facilitating paediatric mental health care access – A quali-tative study (PDF)

Arona Merchant | 2025 finalist

Queensland (University of Queensland) Cultural competence and communication: medical students’ experiences during hospital observerships (PDF)

Eligibility

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

Prize

All non-winning finalists receive:

$250 cash prize
a certificate in recognition of your achievement

The John Snow Scholarship 2026 winner receives:

$500 cash prize
a certificate in recognition of your achievement
reimbursement of up to $1000 to attend an event or conference organised by one of the following organisations:

Royal Australasian College of Physicians (RACP) / Australasian Faculty of Public Health Medicine (AFPHM)
Public Health Association of Australia (PHAA)
New Zealand College of Public Health Medicine (NZCPHM)

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

Applicants must read the Terms and Conditions for Awards and Prizes valued up to $5000 before applying.

When applying for the Scholarship, you'll need to provide the following supporting documentation:

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 isn't 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 one to two selected learning objectives from the Public Health Medicine Advanced Training Curriculum (PDF)

a clear connection between the piece of work and the reflection
what you learned about the selected learning objectives by undertaking the piece of work and how you learned this

A text-based 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.

Email your complete application to Foundation@racp.edu.au

Applicants must ensure:

your name, your university's name or any personal or university 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 application form (DOC)

Selection process

Applications are de-identified and assessed based on the selection criteria and marking guide.

Each review panel will select a regional finalist and all applicants will be advised of the outcome of their application.

The review panels reserve the right not to nominate a regional finalist if all submissions fail to meet a sufficiently high standard.

The selected representatives from each Australian state and territory and Aotearoa New Zealand will be invited to present virtually at the finals in 2025, where the presentations will be judged by a panel, and an overall winner selected.

Past recipients

Lewis Weeda | 2024 winner
Western Australia (University of Western Australia)
How climate change degrades child health: A systematic review and meta-analysis (PDF)

Nhung Tran | 2024 finalist
New South Wales (University of New South Wales)
Barriers to cervical screening in the Australian Indigenous community (PDF)

Wai Chung Tse | 2024 finalist
Victoria (Monash University)
Does naloxone provision lead to increased substance use? A systematic review to assess if there is evidence of a ‘moral hazard’ associated with naloxone supply (PDF)

Sara Suk-Udom | 2023 John Snow Scholarship winner
Western Australia (University of Western Australia)
Improving syphilis outcomes in culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) populations (PDF)

Jessica Aw | 2023 finalist
Australian Capital Territory (Australian National University)
Who smokes in Australia? Reducing stigma and informing tobacco control through population profiling (PDF)

Kimberley McAuley | 2023 finalist
Aotearoa New Zealand (University of Otago)
Clinical practice improvement project: an audit of non-accidental, unexplained injuries and sexual assault for young people within the Te Whatu Ora Southern region (previously Southern District Health Board) (PDF)

Bella Zhong | 2023 finalist
Victoria (Monash University)
Factors that promote resilience in vulnerable communities exposed to natural hazards (PDF)

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)

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.

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 (PDF)

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

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

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 (PDF)

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 (PDF)

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

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

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

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

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 (PDF)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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 (PDF)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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 (PDF)

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

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

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

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

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 (PDF)

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

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

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 (PDF)

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

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

Cecilia Xiao | 2014 finalist
Tasmania | University of Tasmania
Challenges in implementing telehealth in west coast Tasmania (PDF)

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John Snow Scholarship

Applications open 1 July to 12 October 2025.

A physician for all