Staff and students of Bond University were beaming with pride last week after four of its PhD research students were awarded scholarships courtesy of the Queensland State Government’s 2010 Smart Futures PhD Scholarships program.
At an official ceremony in the Health Sciences and Medicine Faculty, Treasurer and Minister for Employment and Economic Development, the Honourable Andrew Fraser formally congratulated the recipients Liz Scott, Christian Moro, Michael Kakanis and Brookes Folmli on their fine achievement while also commending the University for achieving a 100 per cent success rate in its first year of entering the Scholarships program.
“This is the first time the Government has received applications from Bond University and to have four successful recipients is a great result and a credit to the students and the academic staff,” he said.
Of the 17 PhD scholarships awarded across the state, Bond’s PhD students will receive $24,000 out of the $408,000 pool of funding to assist them in their investigative endeavours over the next three years.
Of the four recipients, three hail from within the host Faculty, adding a further sense of accomplishment to the occasion. Mr Moro, under of the guidance of Professor Russ Chess-Williams, will investigate bladder function to assist in the development of drugs that may alleviate the symptoms of incontinence experienced by 60 per cent of Australian women at some stage in their lives.
Professor Bulent Turman will assist Mr Folmli to examine how different muscles respond to non-invasive or magnetic stimulation of the brain and whether this treatment may have a positive effect on patients with neurological movement disorders such as stroke victims.
Mr Kakanis, supported by Dr Sonya Marshall, hopes his research will aid elite Queensland athletes and their coaches to better monitor the intensity and duration of their workouts to help reduce the risk of getting sick.
Meanwhile, Ms Scott, representing the Humanities and Social Sciences Faculty, will collaborate with Dr Mark Edwards, Chair of Psychology, to examine clinical anxiety in children aged between six and 12 years.
Since 2006, the State Government has awarded 80 Smart State and Smart Futures PhD Scholarships valued at more than $1.6M.
For further information on Bond University’s PhD researchers or the State Government’s Smart Futures PhD Scholarship program, please contact Ms Diane McDonald, Senior Projects Officer and Quality Assurance Representative, in the Office of Research Services .