RACP Trainee Research Awards
Applications open 1 July to 11:59pm AEST Sunday, 16 August 2026.
All Australian and Aotearoa New Zealand trainees are invited to submit abstracts for oral presentation for the RACP Trainee Research Awards (TRAs). Those selected will present at competitive local events being held in Australian States and Territories and Aotearoa New Zealand.
Trainees who take out top honours at their jurisdictional event will be invited to present alongside recognised researchers at the TRA Symposium in Sydney in 2027. Jurisdictional top honour trainees may also be invited to have their abstracts published in an RACP supplement of the Internal Medicine Journal or Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health.
Eligibility
You must be:
- an RACP trainee* actively training in any of the College Divisions, Faculties or Chapters, or
- a New Fellow actively undertaking Post-Fellowship training with the RACP (see the Post-Fellowship Training section on the Variations in Training page), provided you were admitted to Fellowship on or after 1 July 2025.
An applicant on a formal Interruption of Training may be accepted, provided that the Interruption does not exceed 12 continuous months at the time of application.
Overseas Trained Physicians undertaking RACP training are ineligible to apply.
In your application, choose the category that best fits your topic. For example, if your research involves pregnancy, select Adult Medicine if it focuses on the mother, or Paediatric Medicine if it focuses on the baby.
Works or projects included in the submission that are unpublished or were published on or after 1 July 2025 will be considered.
Prize
Trainees selected at each Australian regional and Aotearoa NZ event receive the opportunity to present alongside recognised researchers at the TRA Symposium in Sydney in 2027. Presentations will be required to be made in person. Further details to be advised.
To enable selected Trainees to present their research at this event, they'll receive:
- return economy domestic or trans-Tasman airfares to Sydney from the closest major airport in the jurisdictional they're representing
- accommodation
- official acknowledgement and a certificate
Award recipients may be invited to publish their abstracts in a supplement of the Internal Medicine Journal or the Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health.
Apply
Read the terms and conditions for awards and prizes valued up to $5000 before you apply.
Your abstract should conform to the prescribed Trainee Research Awards Abstract Guidelines. Abstracts that do not conform to these guidelines will not be accepted.
All applications must be submitted through the online application portal. You may submit as many abstracts as you like in separate applications, however, only one of your abstracts may be selected for presentation.
Your research may have been undertaken anywhere in Australia, Aotearoa New Zealand or overseas. However, you must apply under the region in Australia or Aotearoa New Zealand that you will be residing in at the time of the jurisdictional events.
The College Conflicts Of Interest Policy and Privacy Policy apply to the applicants and recipients.
Apply
Jurisdictional Presentations
Jurisdictional events are generally held between October and December each year.
The following events are confirmed:
| Jurisdictional | Adult | Paediatric |
|---|
| NSW/ACT | TBC
|
| SA/NT | TBC |
| QLD | TBC
|
| TAS | TBC |
| VIC | TBC
|
| WA | Saturday 21 November 2026 (as part of WA Trainees Day) | Friday 13 November 2026 (as part of the Paediatric Research Symposium) |
| Aotearoa New Zealand | Rāapa 14 Whiringa-ā-nuku 2026 | Wednesday 14 October 2026
4.00pm – 6pm
RACP office Te Whanganui-a-Tara | Wellington
| 9-12 Whiringa-a-rangi | November as part of the Paediatric Society of NZ ASM, in Te Whanganui-a-Tara | Wellington |
Selection criteria (jurisdictional events)
- You must have contributed strongly to the concept and execution of your abstract and presentation, with preference given to primary authors.
- Presentations are assessed on:
- content — originality, significance and importance
- presentation — clarity of verbal communication, use of visual aids
- how well they contribute to the discussion
- Works or projects included in the submission that are unpublished or have been published within on or after 1 July 2025 submission will be considered.
Presenting advice
Presenting is an intimidating but invaluable aspect of research. For trainees presenting their work or considering submitting their work in the future, previous adjudicators have provided their reflections that may assist you in communicating your research findings effectively.
Bolster your conclusion
While every clinical study needs a primary outcome, it's valuable to see an attempt at looking at this in another way. It can be tempting to associate cause and effect but also easy for consumers of research to discount associations as meaningless. However, appropriate use of statistical methods like a multivariate logistic regression can strengthen audience confidence in the presented conclusion.
Understand your stats
Much clinical research nowadays is conducted with a statistician as part of the team. As statistical methods increase in complexity, it can be difficult for trainees without formal statistics training to convey the statistical methods of their presented research. As the presenter of the work, it's essential that you at least understands why the employed statistical methods were selected over others and attempt to present the statistical analysis in a conventional manner rather than having to fall back on describing consultation with a statistician.
Describe the relevance
The purpose of clinical research is to improve the quality of medical care in terms of effectiveness, access or cost. Understanding the ‘point’ of a research project is what audiences are trying to do in any research presentation. Making this easy for them improves the quality of a presentation. If clinical research has resulted in a change in practice or has made a difference in lives of people, it should be described in the abstract.
Basic science research may not have a clear link back to patient benefit, which makes it even more important to describe its relevance. This can take the form of suggesting the type of clinical research that should now be undertaken as a result of the benchtop work or what benefits patients may expect from continued work along the line of inquiry.
Explain your role
Research in the 21st century is a team sport and most clinician-researchers generally fall on the modest side of the personality spectrum. When presenting an abstract, particularly in a forum such as the Trainee Research Awards, describing your role personalises the work and makes it much easier for your audience to engage with you and your work.
Selection process
- The selection panel assesses all abstracts to ensure they meet the required standard to fulfil the selection criteria.
- Selected applicants will be invited to give an oral presentation of their abstract at their jurisdictional event.
- Each presenter is allocated 10 minutes maximum for their presentation and 2 minutes for questions and answers.
- A judging panel can select up to 2 trainees in each jurisdiction — 1 trainee per category (adult medicine or paediatric medicine).
- The judging panel reserves the right not to select a representative from their jurisdiction if presentations meet an acceptably high standard.
Contact
If you have any enquiries about award eligibility and application requirements, contact the RACP Foundation.
For enquiries about jurisdictional presentations, contact your local RACP office.
2026 Symposium
Congratulations to the winners of last year's jurisdictional events, who will present at the 2026 TRA Symposium in Sydney on Friday, 31 July 2026. The audience will be able to attend in person or online, and further details will be provided shortly.
Paediatric Medicine Topics
- Dr Gabriella McCray (SA)
Evaluation of the standards of care of paediatric rheumatology services in South Australia: a retrospective cohort study.
- Dr Jack Turley (Vic)
Parental experiences of decision-making in the grey zones of neonatal intensive care: a multi-centre, mixed methodology, phenomenological study. - Dr Alex Jih (Qld)
Diagnostic evaluation of bronchiectasis in the paediatric population: A retrospective cohort study - Dr Lana Jephcote (WA)
A Weighty Conversation: exploring primary caregivers’ perceptions about childhood weight discussion and management by health professionals through a patient-centred lens - Dr Jack Luxford (NSW/ACT)
Contemporary Outcomes of Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation for Neonatal Enterovirus Myocarditis: An ELSO Registry Analysis - Dr Laura Newhouse (Aotearoa NZ)
What can simulation educators learn from the reluctant participant? An exploration of the factors influencing engagement amongst adult learners participating in paediatric
simulation training
Adult Medicine Topics
- Dr Ghassan Zammar (WA)
Cytogenetic Testing in Newly Diagnosed Multiple Myeloma: Real World Evidence of Adverse Outcomes For High Risk Groups - Dr Harsimran Singh (NT)
Epidemiology, clinical features and outcomes of chronic melioidosis in the Top End of Australia’s Northern Territory. - Dr Giorgia Hill (Tas)
Reperfusion times after implementation of streamlined STEMI management in Tasmania - Dr Shilpan Patel (Aotearoa NZ)
Moyamoya Disease in a Pacific and Māori Cohort - Dr Angus Lane (Qld)
Invasive Fungal Infections in Heart Transplants: A ten year, single centre experience from subtropical Australia - Dr
Zak Doherty (Vic)
Work and financial recovery after Intensive Care - Dr Malcolm Borg (SA)
Metformin slows intestinal glucose absorption in type 2 diabetes, irrespective of the timing of its administration - Dr Jonathan Ciofani (NSW/ACT)
Lipid lowering therapies for aortic stenosis: a drug-target Mendelian randomisation study
Dr Joanne Nixon (NT) - Adult Medicine
Dr Katherine Colman (Vic) - Paediatric Medicine
We congratulate the rest of the winners of their jurisdictional events in 2024:
| Paediatric Medicine Topics | Adult Medicine Topics |
|---|
Dr Aya Amer (Aotearoa NZ)
Dr Nadia Hasan (NT)
Dr Olivia-Paris Quinn (Qld)
Dr Eve Taylor (Tas)
Dr Emily Rice (WA)
Dr Deeva Vather (SA)
| Dr Hari Sritharan (NSW / ACT)
Dr Bella Halim (Tas)
Dr Hui Ling Yeoh (Vic)
Dr Angela Burvill (WA)
Dr Brandon Stretton (SA)
Dr Isaac Tranter (Qld) |