Posted 28 October 2024

More than 150 friends of SVI attended the annual SVI Scholarship dinner at Kooyong Tennis Club.
“Your support helps us to raise funds to provide a Top-up Scholarship of $5,500 per year over three years to our PhD student’s stipends. At a time when many of their peers are entering the workforce, our PhD students engage upon 3-4 years of further study.
“They do this supported by a relatively meagre wage, which has been put under even more pressure with the increases in the costs of living we have seen over the past few years,” said SVI Director, Professor Tom Kay.
Over the years, the Support Group’s fundraising efforts have supported more than 120 scholars researching some of Australia’s most challenging diseases, including multiple myeloma, pulmonary fibrosis, and Fanconi anaemia.
SVI Student Coordinator, Dr Tom Brodnicki announced the inaugural Claire O’Callaghan Award.
“Claire’s unwavering commitment has not only supported countless individuals achieve their goals but has also helped foster a culture of collaboration and innovation within our organisation,” said Tom.
Claire presented the award to international PhD student, Dr Saghar Mehrban, working in Associate Professor Stuart Mannering’s Human Immunology lab.
The evening’s main speaker was PhD student Kezia Gitareja, who is supervised by Associate Professor Elaine Sanij in the DNA Damage and Cancer Lab.
The 2024 recipients of the Top-Up scholarship are: Saghar Mehrban, Geoff Zhang, Elissah Granger, Elahe Hajimiri, Xiaozhuo Yuan, Liyunhe Qian, Vita Sukonthamarn, and Li Li.
The SVI Support Group’s first event was held at The Regent Hotel on the 18th of August 1989, organised by Christine Martin and Claire O’Callaghan. This means that the Support Group has been raising funds for SVI students for more than half of the Institute’s lifetime.
VIP guests included Chair of the SVI Board Tony Reeves, and Margaret, Board Member Michael Burn, and Fiona; John Ralph AC, our esteemed Foundation Co-Patron and Barbara; and Foundation Board member Christine Tarascio AM, Chair of the SVI Discovery Fund and Foundation Board member along with Bernadette Dennis OAM who is also a Foundation Board Member.
SVI extends its gratitude to the Support Group Committee Members: Claire O’Callaghan OAM (Chair), Angela Griss, Bernadette Dennis, Colleen Bolton, Genny Nunan, Jo Lonergan, Margaret Batrouney, Margaret Reeves, Pam Batrouney, Paula Gurry, and Robyn Brasher.
Top-up Scholarships for PhD students