Sydney, Monday September 16, 2024
Grassroots social enterprise Franklin Women is proud to announce six new recipients of their 2024 Carer’s Scholarship, aimed at investing in the careers of individuals in the health and medical research sector who also manage unpaid caring responsibilities.
This innovative initiative, delivered in partnership with the Sydney Local Health District, awards funds to recipients that can be used flexibly to alleviate financial and logistical challenges associated with their caring roles, enabling them to participate in important career opportunities.
“What I am so proud about with this scholarship is how radically flexible it is’, says Dr Melina Georgousakis, Founder of Franklin Women.
‘Not only can applicants nominate how they will use the funds to best support their individual caring circumstances, but there are also no restrictions with respects to the professional opportunity that the scholarship is enabling them to participate in.”
The 2024 Round 2 recipients work across a wide range of health research areas, including maternal immunisation, neural psychological imaging, First Nations health, child protection system research, brain stimulation and youth mental health. They are utilising the scholarship to participate in diverse professional opportunities across these research areas, including presenting at conferences, participating in training programs and conducting research in remote communities.
Dr. Sonia McAlister, an early-career researcher specialising in maternal immunisation and the primary carer for her infant daughter, used the funds to bring her family to Prague while she presented at the International Bordetella Symposium in June 2024.
Dr. McAlister commented:
“I am very grateful for the support of Franklin Women to enable me to attend and garner these opportunities. My research was well received, I secured an external mentor, explored new collaborations, and connected with a Sydney-based collaborator to plan our next paper. “
Echo Mei Xu, a PhD candidate focused on non-invasive brain stimulation neural psychological imaging and the legal guardian of her sister, will use her scholarship to cover caregiving expenses while she participates in the Novel Clinical Trial Design in Translational Medicine online course starting in October. Ms. Xu expressed her gratitude, saying,
“I am deeply appreciative of Franklin Women’s generosity in offering this scholarship and supporting my career. The guidance and assistance I’ve received from FW have been invaluable in navigating my passion and future direction after completing my PhD thesis.”
The six recipients of the 2024 Round 2 Franklin Women Carer’s Scholarship are:
- Joanne Carpenter, The University of Sydney
- Dr. Vita Christie, Heart Research Institute
- Dr. Hannah Filmer, The University of Queensland
- Dr. Miriam Maclean, Australian Centre for Child Protection, University of South Australia
- Dr. Sonia McAlister, Kids Research Institute Australia and Wesfarmers Centre of Vaccines & Infectious Diseases
- Echo Mei Xu, UNSW and Black Dog Institute
The scholarship is a significant example of collective impact, supported by funds from Franklin Women memberships—10% of each membership fee is dedicated to the scholarship fund—and generous contributions from the Sydney Local Health District.
Previously offered annually, Franklin Women transitioned to a two-round model in 2024 to accommodate the increasing number of applications and to ensure that more carers in the sector can access critical career opportunities.
Applications for Round 1 of 2025 open September 16, 2024. Franklin Women encourages individuals across the health and medical research ecosystem, regardless of career stage or gender identity, who are primary caregivers to apply.
For more information on eligibility criteria and key dates, please visit https://franklinwomen.com.au/scholarship/.
Franklin Women
Franklin Women is Australia’s only professional community dedicated to supporting the careers of women working across the health and medical research ecosystem.
Learn more and become a member
Sydney Local Health District
Sydney Local District is responsible for the health and wellbeing of more than 740,000 people living, working or studying in the centre and inner west of Sydney, as well as many more from rural and remote parts of NSW and Australia.