Dr Niro Jeyakumar | 2023 recipient

Hi everyone, my name is Niro. I'm 27 years old, Sri Lankan Tamil, and I think I'm a pretty straightforward guy. I love my family, my friends, and my work. I've wanted to be a doctor ever since I can remember, and my passion in medicine is neurology, especially movement disorders. I love its clinical precision and the research mysteries that remain to be solved. I dream that one day I'll help uncover the pathogenesis of neurodegeneration and develop disease-modifying therapy. I believe that if we can do that, we will change the world. And when we do, I hope we will share our progress with everyone who needs it—in every corner of the globe, regardless of race, religion, income, or gender.

I’m so honoured to receive this prestigious award along the way. I have to give full credit to my family, my friends, and my mentors at Westmead Hospital—there is no better place to forge a real doctor.

Emily Aitken | 2023 recipient

Dr Emily Aitken is an Advanced Trainee from Aotearoa New Zealand. She has a Bachelor in Medicine and Surgery with Distinction from the University of Auckland, and a Diploma in Child Health from the University of Otago. She undertook her Basic Training at Whangarei Hospital and Starship Hospital, completing roles with their Respiratory, Neurology, Neonatal, Emergency, and General Paediatric services.

Emily is currently based in London, where she has been appointed as a Senior Clinical Research Fellow with Imperial College London and the Chelsea and Westminster Foundation Trust. She will be spending the 2024 academic year completing clinical work and fostering a new collaborative project between the Starship Paediatric Respiratory unit and Imperial College. Emily has a strong interest in medical education and will additionally be working alongside the University of Auckland as an honorary member of the Paediatric Department.

Outside of medicine, she is a director of her family farm—Rangitapu Station—in Hawkes Bay and enjoys skiing, cooking, and literature.

Emily would like to thank the Advanced Trainees and Consultants at Starship who assisted her in preparation for the examinations, and the Paediatric team at Whangarei Hospital for fostering her initial passion in this pathway. She would also like to thank her family and friends for their unwavering support.

Dr Helena Hurst | 2024 recipient

Dr Helena Hurst graduated from the University of Aberdeen in 2014 and after working in Glasgow as a junior doctor, she moved to Australia in 2017. After working in emergency and intensive care medicine, she started in occupational and environmental medicine in 2019 and joined the training program in 2020.

Helena currently works at Resile and enjoys all aspects of occupational and environmental medicine, particularly risk consulting, independent assessments, and overseeing health monitoring for exposure to workplace hazards.

Now she has finished her exams she is enjoying more free time to see friends. After not being back to the UK for 3 years, she has plans for a long holiday to catch up with family and friends! As well as getting back into her hobbies of baking, cooking and walking her dog Dennis, she is also keen to get back into sewing and trying new sports e.g. gymnastics!

Dr Adelaide Morgan | 2024 recipient

Adelaide is a public health physician at Maari Ma Health Aboriginal Corporation in far western NSW. 

Adelaide completed her medical training at UNSW, undertaking a combined Bachelor of Arts/Doctor of Medicine. She completed her AFPHM training in 2024, with placements at the National Centre for Immunisation Research and Surveillance, the NSW Ministry of Health and Maari Ma. 

She wants to say a big thank you to her amazing study group, family, supervisors, mentor and the many colleagues who supported her through exam prep - it was definitely a team effort. 

Dr Bradley Smiley | 2024 recipient

Dr Bradley Smiley is a final year Rehabilitation Medicine Advanced Trainee currently working in the Illawarra region. Brad graduated from the University of Wollongong with a Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery, with distinction, and completed his medical training across various hospitals within the Illawarra Shoalhaven Local Health District. Prior to this, he obtained a Bachelor of Physiotherapy from the University of Queensland and gained several valuable years of experience in the rehabilitation field, working in both Australia and Canada. Brad enjoys all aspects of rehabilitation medicine and is grateful for the opportunity to provide comprehensive care to his patients. He considers himself fortunate to have the support of his family, friends, and colleagues, and is thankful to them for this.

Dr Kate Middleton | 2024 recipient

Dr Kate Middleton is dual training in paediatric rehabilitation medicine and community paediatrics.  She currently works in Victoria at the Royal Children's Hospital and has worked with the Victorian Paediatric Rehabilitation Service over the last 2 years of her training.  She has a Bachelor of Surgery/Bachelor of Medicine from Deakin University, and a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) from the University of Melbourne.  She is completing a Masters in Bioethics at Monash University.

She has a strong interest in helping young people living with disability achieve their individual goals and supporting their participation and quality of life.  She enjoys the teamwork involved in rehabilitation medicine.  She has research interests in medical ethics and brain injury, and volunteers as an editor for a paediatric rehabilitation journal.

Kate would like to thank her husband, daughter, colleagues, study/survival group and friends for their support throughout the exam preparation.  Like most things in paediatric rehab, it was a multidisciplinary team effort.