ANZ Endocrine Surgeons Research Scholarship
Value: $10,000
Awarded to: Dr William MacFaul (New South Wales)
Specialty: General Surgery
Research topic: Developing a comprehensive question bank for assessment of Surgical Fellows in Endocrine Surgery Training in Australia and New Zealand. The objective of this research is to create a validated resource to ensure reliable evaluation across 4 key domains: thyroid, parathyroid, adrenal and neuroendocrine surgery.

ANZ Endocrine Surgeons Research Scholarship
Value: $10,000
Awarded to: Dr Joel Petit (New South Wales)
Specialty: General Surgery
Research topic: Evaluating the feasibility and accuracy of Raman Spectroscopy (RS) for thyroid cancer diagnosis - ASPECT Trial. The aim of this research is to develop an RS based machine learning predictive model that can differentiate between benign thyroid nodules and thyroid cancers utilising fine needle aspiration material from thyroid nodules.

Brendan Dooley & Gordon Trinca Trauma Research Scholarship
Value: $11,000
Awarded to: Dr Jineel Raythatha (New South Wales)
Specialty: General Surgery
Research topic: From imaging to action: AI-driven predictions in Trauma and Acute Care Surgery. The aim of this research is to develop an artificial intelligence driven clinical decision support software tool that improves the detection of bowel injury on CT.

Catherine Marie Enright Kelly Memorial Research Scholarship
Value: $80,000Awarded to: Dr Thomas Warburton (New South Wales)
Specialty: Vascular Surgery
Research topic: The aim of this research is to investigate the clinical and health-economic benefit of duplex ultrasound surveillance after endovascular therapy for peripheral arterial disease, with comparison to clinical surveillance.

Francis & Phyllis Thornell-Shore Research Scholarship
Value: $40,000
Awarded to: Dr Charles Risbey (New South Wales)
Specialty: General Surgery
Research topic: Using machine perfusion to optimise outcomes following liver transplantation. The objective of this research is to evaluate the clinical and economic advantages of a novel, low-cost Hypothermic Oxygenated Machine Perfusion (HOPE) system developed at the Centre for Organ Assessment, Repair and Optimisation.

Foundation for Surgery Research Scholarship
Value: $80,000
Awarded to: Dr Eve Hopping (New South Wales)
Specialty: General Surgery
Research topic: Circulating biomarkers in colorectal cancer with liver metastasis. The aim of this research is to identify prognostic extracellular vesicle proteomic biomarkers in serum of patients with colorectal cancer with liver metastasis (CRLM) to determine if there are significant differences in the extracellular vesicle proteome associated with response to treatment and overall survival in CRLM.

Herbert & Gloria Kees Research Scholarship
Value: $80,000
Awarded to: Dr Su Kah Goh (Canada)
Specialty: General Surgery
Research topic: Unlocking the organ viability code – mtDNA, FMN, and EVs in normothermic perfusion. The objective of this research is to improve liver graft selection by measuring cell-free mitochondrial DNA, flavin mononucleotide and extracellular vesicle biomarkers to assess their association with standard viability metrics, such as lactate clearance, and bile production, as well as longer-term clinical outcomes including graft loss and biliary complications.

Ian & Ruth Gough Surgical Education Scholarship
Value: $15,000
Awarded to: Dr Marc Seifman (Victoria)
Specialty: Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery
Research activity: Optimising surgical curricula for those at the coalface: trainees and trainers. The objective of this research is to examine and document expert perspectives on surgical curriculum renewal processes through direct engagement with international centres of excellence in health professions education, with a specific focus on specialty medical and surgical education.

John Mitchell Crouch Fellowship
Value: $130,000
Awarded to: Dr Kilian Brown (New South Wales)
Specialty: General Surgery
Research topic: Novel biomarkers for disease recurrence and personalising neoadjuvant therapy in locally recurrent rectal cancer (LRRC): establishing a biobank of tissue and liquid biopsies at a specialist exenteration centre. The primary aim of this research is to investigate the association between ctDNA and disease recurrence following multimodal treatment of LRRC.

Lumley Surgical Research Scholarship
Value: $63,000
Awarded to: Dr Jacques Eastment (United Kingdom)
Specialty: General Surgery
Research topic: Novel immune biomarkers and therapeutic targets in acute liver injury. The aim of this research is to determine the precise contribution of the immune system to severe acute liver injury.

Professor Philip Walker Vascular Research Scholarship
Value: $18,000
Awarded to: Dr Kay Hon (Victoria)
Specialty: Vascular Surgery
Research topic: Evaluating musculoskeletal effects in diabetes-related foot disease. The objective of this research is to identify musculoskeletal factors associated with poor clinical outcomes in patients with diabetes related foot disease, and to also evaluate methods to improve outcomes for patients with diabetes related foot disease.

Senior Lecturer Scholarship
Value: $160,000
Awarded to: Dr Geraldine Ooi (Victoria)
Specialty: General Surgery
Research topic: This scholarship combines both research and teaching. While undertaking senior lecturer duties the recipient will be investigating the safety, acceptability and efficacy of intentional preoperative weight loss for patients with obesity and gastrointestinal cancer.

Small Project Grant
Value: $10,000
Awarded to: Associate Professor Sina Babazadeh (Victoria)
Specialty: Orthopaedic Surgery
Research topic: Orthopaedic Devices Infection Network – A prosthetic joint infection registry. The objective of this research is to perform ongoing analyses of global data from a comprehensive global prosthetic joint infection registry for total hip and knee joint replacements and allow expansion of the registry.

Small Project Grant
Value: $10,000
Awarded to: Dr Mina Sarofim (New South Wales)
Specialty: General Surgery
Research topic: Developing AI algorithms to predict survival outcomes based on microsatellite instability and BRAF status in colorectal cancer. The objective of this research is to develop a precise AI algorithm with "Abrevio" to accurately extract mismatch repair deficiency and BRAF mutation status in colorectal cancer using NSW Cancer Registry data registry data from 2010 to present and evaluate prognostic information.

Tour de Cure Cancer Research Scholarship
Value: $125,000
Awarded to: Dr Edward White (Western Australia)
Specialty: Neurosurgery
Research topic: A phase 1b/2 study to assess the safety and efficacy of neoadjuvant Trametinib and Pembrolizumab in patients with newly diagnosed glioblastoma.

ASC Award
Value: $5000
Awarded to: Cooper Hill (New South Wales)
Specialty: Medical student
Activity: Attending the RACS Annual Scientific Congress.

ASC Award
Value: $5000
Awarded to: Dr Meg Beaumont (Aotearoa New Zealand)
Specialty: Junior Doctor
Activity: Attending the RACS Annual Scientific Congress.

ASC Award
Value: $5000
Awarded to: Dr Keaton Buhagiar (New South Wales)
Specialty: Junior Doctor
Activity: Attending the RACS Annual Scientific Congress.

ASC Peer Support Award
Value: $5000
Awarded to: Dr Julia Tairua-Doyle (Aotearoa New Zealand)
Specialty: Junior Doctor
Activity: Attending the RACS Annual Scientific Congress.

Anwar and Myrtha Girgis SIMG Grant
Value: $7000
Awarded to: Dr Sheshang Kamath (Northern Territory)
Specialty: Urology
Activity: Funding of Fellowship exam fees and RoboSET Basic Robotic Simulation Skills Course in Melbourne.

Aziz Hamza Rural Surgery Grant
Value: $1200
Awarded to: Dr Christopher Shean (Queensland)
Specialty: General Surgery
Activity: Attending the 5th World Congress on Surgery, Surgeons and Anaesthesia in Paris, France.

Bongiorno National Network Younger Fellows Travel Grant
Value: $10,000
Awarded to: Dr Marnique Basto (New South Wales)
Specialty: Urology
Activity: International observership at Urokul Hospital in Pune, India to learn male and female pelvic reconstructive surgeries.

Bongiorno National Network Younger Fellows Travel Grant
Value: $10,000
Awarded to: Dr Michael Stuart (Queensland)
Specialty: Neurosurgery
Activity: Endovascular Neurosurgery Fellowship at the University of Buffalo (Gates Vascular Institute) in the United States of America.

Career Enhancement Junior Doctors
Value: $5000
Awarded to: Dr Sara Lai (New South Wales)
Specialty: Junior Doctor
Activity: Advanced Paediatric Life Support and Advanced Trauma Life Support surgical courses.

Career Enhancement Junior Doctors
Value: $5000
Awarded to: Dr Meg Beaumont (Aotearoa New Zealand)
Specialty: Junior Doctor
Activity: Te Hauora Putautau Tariwai I Māori o Aotearoa – A Kaupapa Māori review of the vascular health of Māori in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Career Enhancement Junior Doctors
Value: $5000
Awarded to: Dr Julia Tairua-Doyle (Aotearoa New Zealand)
Specialty: Junior Doctor
Activity: Sitting the General Surgical Science Examination.

Davison Family Grant
Value: $3500 pa (2 years)
Awarded to: Dr Maccalla Fenn (Australian Capital Territory)
Specialty: Junior Doctor
Activity: Completing Masters of Child and Adolescent Health at the University of Sydney.

Hugh Johnston Travel Grant
Value: $8000
Awarded to: Dr Jonathan Sivakumar (Victoria)
Specialty: General
Activity: International conference presentation and collaboration on ‘Advancing Research in Neural Engineering for Post-Oesophagectomy Care’ at The International Society for Diseases of the Esophagus in Kyoto, Japan.

Hugh Johnston Travel Grant
Value: $8000
Awarded to: Dr Nuwan Dharmawardana (New South Wales)
Specialty: Otolaryngology Head & Neck
Activity: Head and Neck Surgical Oncology Fellowship at the University of Toronto in Canada.

Hugh Johnston ANZ Chapter of ACS Travel Grant
Value: $8000
Awarded to: Dr Darius Ashrafi (Australian Capital Territory)
Specialty: Urology
Activity: Attending the American College of Surgeons Clinical Congress in USA.

John Buckingham Travel Grant
Value: $4000
Awarded to: Dr Ernest Cheng (New South Wales)
Specialty: General Surgery
Activity: Attending the American College of Surgeons Clinical Congress in USA.

Johnson and Johnson MedTech Scholarship
Value: $10,000
Awarded to: Dr Ellas Imber-Ireland (Western Australia)
Specialty: Junior Doctor
Activity: Master of Medicine in Skin Cancer at the University of Queensland.

Margorie Hooper Travel Scholarship
Value: $85,000
Awarded to: Dr Megan Cain (South Australia)
Specialty: Orthopaedic Surgery
Activity: Paediatric Orthopaedic Subspecialty Fellowship focusing on the upper-extremity and cerebral palsy at the BC Children’s Hospital Vancouver, Canada.

Medtronic Younger Fellows Travel Grant
Value: $7500
Awarded to: Dr Richard Shaw (New South Wales)
Specialty: Neurosurgery
Activity: Clinical Fellowship in skull base surgery, neuro-oncology and open cerebrovascular surgery at UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, Texas, USA.

Medtronic Younger Fellows Travel Grant
Value: $7500
Awarded to: Dr Luke O’Neil (Western Australia)
Specialty: Otolaryngology Head & Neck
Activity: Neurorhinology and Advanced Sinus Surgery Fellowship at the University of Washington, USA.

Morgan Travel Fellowship
Value: $10,000
Awarded to: Dr Tavis Read (Queensland)
Specialty: Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery
Activity: Conference presentation on pelvic exenteration at the 2026 Plastic Surgery The Meeting in Houston, USA.

Morgan Travel Fellowship
Value: $10,000
Awarded to: Dr Lisa Brown (Victoria)
Specialty: General Surgery
Activity: Attending and promoting New Zealand Space Health Research Network at International Astronomical Congress in Antalya, Turkey.

Murray & Unity Pheils Travel Grant
Value: $15,000
Awarded to: Dr Nagendra Dudi-Venkata (Victoria)
Specialty: General Surgery
Activity: Cleveland Clinic Colorectal Surgery Fellowship in Ohio, USA.

Ngarra Grant
Value: $2700
Awarded to: Dr Sara Lai (New South Wales)
Specialty: Junior Doctor
Activity: Australian Indigenous Doctors Association Presentation: Exploring the disproportionate rates that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander patients leave hospital before medical treatment compared to non-Indigenous patients in a regional Emergency Departments.

Poate Family Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Travel Grant
Value: $2800
Awarded to: Dr Nicola Fleming (Victoria)
Specialty: Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery
Activity: Attending the Congress of the World Society of Reconstructive Microsurgery Conference in Barcelona, Spain.

Queensland Younger Fellows Grant
Value: $2500
Awarded to: Dr Amanda Nikolic (Queensland)
Specialty: General Surgery
Activity: Robotic and Advanced Colorectal Cancer Fellowship at Nottingham University Hospital in the United Kingdom.

Rural Junior Doctors Surgical Skills Course Grant
Value: $1500
Awarded to: Dr Jenny Tran (Northern Territory)
Specialty: Junior Doctor
Activity: Early Management of Severe Trauma course in Adelaide.

Rural Surgery Fellowship for Provincial Surgeons
Value: $5000
Awarded to: Dr Lauren Daneel (New South Wales)
Specialty: General Surgery
Activity: Advanced Breast Surgery Fellowship at Sengkang General Hospital in Singapore.

Stuart Morson Neurosurgery Grant
Value: $30,000
Awarded to: Dr Barry Kweh (Western Australia)
Specialty: Neurosurgery
Activity: The recipient will undertake research at the National Trauma Research Institute in Melbourne, entitled: Spine Trauma Classification Systems - Assessment of Functional Outcomes after Thoracolumbar Burst Fractures.

Williams Family Grant
Value: $20,000
Awarded to: Dr Justin Cain (New South Wales)
Specialty: Vascular Surgery
Activity: Fellowship preparation courses and Fellowship exam.

Younger Fellows Leadership Exchange Grant
Value: $5000
Awarded to: Dr Sally Ng (Victoria)
Specialty: Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery
Activity: Attending the Association for Academic Surgery Congress in USA.

Demographic breakdown for the 2026 Learning and Development Program applications, applicants and recipients.

* Some recipients received more than 1 grant.