Travel Grants
2024 recipients
2024 Bushell Travelling Fellowship in Medicine or the Allied Sciences ($15,000)
Dr Christopher Yu
'A Multi-Centre Non-Inferiority Randomized Controlled Trial of STOPping Cardiac MEDications in Patients with Normalized Cancer Therapy Related Cardiac Dysfunction – The STOP-MED CTRCD Trial'
Dr Christopher Yu is a cardiologist with a specialist interest in cardio-oncology and multi-modality cardiac imaging. He is currently finishing a National Health and Medical Research Council and National Breast Cancer Foundation funded PhD at the University of Sydney investigating advanced cardiac imaging techniques in cardio-oncology and the status of this relatively new speciality in Australia, under the supervision of Professor Kazuaki Negishi.
In 2024, Christopher will be a cardio-oncology fellow at Toronto General Hospital under the supervision of Dr Paaladinesh Thavendiranathan. During his fellowship he will gain clinical experience in managing the cardiac complications of cancer therapies as well as continuing his research into the application of advanced cardiac imaging techniques in cardio-oncology. His research highlights include ranking first in the Canadian Institutes of Health Research Fellowship Program and being a co-chief investigator on successful competitive grants exceeding $1.5m.
2024 Bushell Travelling Fellowship in Medicine or the Allied Sciences ($15,000)
Dr Jonathan Sen
'Machine Learning Approaches to Predict Risk of Cardiotoxicity in Cancer Patients'
Dr Jonathan Sen is a cardiologist who is venturing into the pioneering sub-specialty within cardiology. With a robust clinical background and a commitment to innovation, he has now set his sights on exploring the frontiers of the evolving discipline of cardio-toxicity and cardio-oncology. Dr Sen has demonstrated a keen ability to adapt to new environments and embrace change. He is known for his collaborative spirit and his dedication to staying at the forefront of medical advancements, as demonstrated by him being in the final stages of a PhD. He emphasises continuous learning and creative inquiry, and is a director of the not-for-profit educational organisation, AQuATIC, and a member of the CSANZ Fellows-in-Training Committee. He also served as the national trainee representative on the RACP Cardiology Advanced Training Committee. Enthusiastic about shaping the future of cardiology, Dr Sen embraces the opportunities and challenges ahead with determination and passion.
2024 Alex Cohen Travel Grant in Internal Medicine ($10,000)
Dr Christian Said
'The effects of Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO) and microaxial transvalvular ventricular assist devices on myocardial oxygen consumption in cardiogenic shock'
Dr Christian Said is an early career Interventional Cardiologist. He is currently completing a full-time translational PhD at the Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute investigating the haemodynamics of mechanical circulatory support devices in cardiogenic shock. His research aims to ultimately improve the morbidity and mortality outcomes for these patients. Dr Said currently maintains several of clinical appointments at public hospitals in NSW and the ACT where he actively contributes to the meticulous care of patients, particularly those with cardiogenic shock.
2024 Robert and Elizabeth Albert Travel Grant ($10,000)
Dr Thomas Guy
'What drives antibody formation in human disease?'
Tom is a clinician scientist from Australia undertaking a postdoctoral fellowship at the Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT and Harvard. He is working with Prof Shiv Pillai, an internationally renowned clinician scientist at Harvard who runs an NIH Autoimmunity Center for Excellence at the Ragon Institute. Tom's long-term goal is to establish his own lab to understand how our immune system can be harnessed to treat cancer and ameliorate autoimmune disease. Tom has published 21 peer-reviewed publications on cancer and the immune system in a number of high impact journals with over 800 citations. Prior to his postdoctoral fellowship with Prof Pillai, he completed his PhD at the University in Sydney (2010-2015) and MD at the University of Wollongong (2015- 2018). He completed basic physicians training at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital (2022).