02 9541 3500Encouragement Award Winners 2024
ATA Scientific would like to thank all those that participated in our September 2024 Encouragement Award promotion.
With the cost of university education continuing to rise and the effect of inflation adding to these costs, it is becoming unaffordable for many who are now more likely looking for careers based on qualifications from other sectors such as TAFE. Typically a University degree was considered to offer better career prospects and higher salary.
Our latest competition asked students whether they thought this may still be true and to discuss if they would consider a different career choice given what they know now, or if their passion for research was more important?
Students were also asked to address the use of AI in their work, research, or thesis and whether the use of AI resulted in any significant innovations or discoveries? What risks or benefits did they expect for their work or research and is there a danger that inaccurate, fake or unedited data could be gradually embedded undetected into a wide range of publications?
CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR 3 WINNERS!
Three entries were selected to receive our award– first prize at $1500 and 2 runners up at $750 each.
Congratulations to Kevin Winardi, scientific officer from the Laboratory of Ageing and Pharmacology, Kolling Institute, University of Sydney and Northern Sydney Local Health District. Under the supervision of Prof Sarah Hilmer, his work focuses on understanding the molecular mechanisms behind drug-related harms in older individuals and whether medication withdrawal offers any molecular reversibility benefits. Building upon the established preclinical murine model, Kevin employed multi-omics and systems biology approaches to study complex age-related drug-drug interactions across various different organs.
Kevin’s goal is to expand his research by integrating pharmacology, ageing biology, and systems biology to contribute to the development of precision medicine strategies that enhances the care of older people.
This fantastic award will support Kevin’s attendance at two bioinformatics conferences. In November, he will attend the Australian Bioinformatics and Computational Biology Society (ABACBS) 2024 conference in Sydney, followed by the Australian Mathematical Sciences Institute (AMSI) BioInfoSummer24 in Melbourne this December.
Attending these conferences will provide a valuable opportunity for Kevin to explore novel bioinformatics tool, connect with leading experts in the country, and develop computational biology skills useful for tackling this major geriatric challenge.
Congratulations to Ariel Jones. a second-year PhD student in chemistry at the University of Melbourne supervised by A/Prof Lars Goerigk.
Her research aims to improve methods in computational chemistry. More specifically, her project has investigated whether current state-of-the-art computational methods are able to accurately model excited-state non-covalent interactions. This investigation will guide the development of new and accurate quantum chemistry methods.
After her PhD, Ariel wishes to continue a career in chemistry as a postdoctoral researcher. Ariel is very grateful for the ATA Young Scientist Encouragement Award which will facilitate her travel to Japan in 2025 for the conference of the Asia Pacific Association of Theoretical and Computational Chemistry.
“Thank you again for this award. Especially post-pandemic it has been more challenging to secure funding for conference travel, so I am very grateful for this award and look forward to being able to participate in the APATCC-2025 conference”, said Ariel.
Congratulations to Temitope Esther Afolabi, PhD student at the University of Sydney, supervised by Prof Sarah Hilmer. Esther is studying at the Laboratory of Ageing and Pharmacology, Kolling Institute of Medical Research, Royal North Shore Hospital, Faculty of Medicine and Health.
Her research aims to optimise medication use in older people by codesigning an online patient decision support tool that assists older people with medication management. Committed to the provision of safe, evidence-based, cost-effective interventions and the quality use of medicines to promote optimal health outcomes for all Australians, her career aspirations are to develop and implement innovative solutions for older people that promote the quality use of medications and to build teams of forward-thinking and versatile health professional leaders, well equipped for the dynamic environment of the Australian healthcare system.
This award will go towards covering a portion of my conference registration fees for the Advanced Pharmacy Australia (former SHPA) Medicines Management 2024 Conference in Adelaide, South Australia, 15-16th November 2024. Here I will be giving an oral presentation showcasing the preliminary version of an online patient decision support for older people that my research team and I have developed in collaboration with a project stakeholder committee.
I am most grateful for the opportunity ATA scientific has given me through this award, to present my work, said Esther.
We would like to thank all those that participated. The next Encouragement Award will be posted on our website soon.
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