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DIT Grant Report Library

To see the potential of a DIT Grant we encourage you to review the reports of our past recipients.

Reports cover recipients’ personal and professional challenges and offer a great resource for doctors considering further training.

Post graduate study

  • Dr Maeve Barlow - Diploma of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene
    Institution: University of Oxford
    Location: Oxford, UK
     
    The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine is a world leader in providing advanced training and interdisciplinary research for clinicians, future academics, policy makers and researchers worldwide. Dr Maeve Barlow spent three months studying a full-time intensive university course aimed at developing professional competence in not only tropical medicine, infectious diseases and public health, but also extended to equipping clinicians with the skills and knowledge to work effectively in lower and middle income countries and poorly resourced settings.

    Final Report

  • Dr Rebecca Kelly - Doctor of Philosophy in Population Health
    Institution: University of Oxford
    Location: Oxford, UK
     
    Dr Kelly is undertaking a Doctor of Philosophy in Population Health at the University of Oxford investigating the relationship between diet and CVD. Poor diet is now responsible for more deaths worldwide than tobacco. The largest proportion of diet-related deaths are from cardiovascular disease (CVD), which includes ischaemic heart disease and stroke. CVD remains a leading cause of death and disability in Australia, with poor diet attributed to 41.1% of all CVD. Despite advances in our understanding and treatment of CVD, there is still uncertainty regarding what constitutes the best diet to prevent these diseases.

    Preliminary Report

  • Dr Annabelle Enriquez – Master of Medicine (Developmental Biology)
    Institution: University of New South Wales
    Location: Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

    Dr Enriquez enrolled in a Master of Medicine degree through the University of New South Wales in 2015, with the aim of studying genetic defects that may affect the development of the heart and spine. Specifically, Dr Enriquez wanted to utilise the latest advances in gene technology in hopes of finding answers for the families she sees each day.

    Preliminary Report

    Final Report

  • Dr Freya Langham – East African Diploma in Tropical Medicine and Hygiene
    Institution: London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
    Location: Moshi, Tanzania and Kampala, Uganda
     
    In 2016, Dr Langham undertook the East African Diploma of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, looking at the unrecognised and growing epidemic of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in developing communities. NCDs are leading causes of death in Australia, and indeed around the world: of the 56 million deaths worldwide in 2012, 68% have been attributed to NCDs. Of these deaths, three-quarters occurred in low- and middle-income countries. So there is now a growing body of evidence that these diseases, classically attributed to Western lifestyles and excess, are an increasing problem in sub-Saharan Africa as well.

    Preliminary Report

    Final Report

  • Dr Millicent Osti – Master of Philosophy (Focus on scabies research)
    Institution: University of Melbourne
    Location: Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

    Dr Osti is based at the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute within the Tropical Diseases Group, undertaking research on the skin condition scabies. The Global Burden of Disease Study estimates that scabies affects 140 million people at any one time. Focussed in the Solomon Islands, her project aims to improve scabies diagnosis and treatment, but also create awareness and build capacity of local healthcare staff in skin examinations. In addition to experience in a very low resource setting, Dr Osti’s research enables the development of skills in research design, implementation, data management, leadership, writing for publications and presentation of research findings.

    Preliminary Report

  • Dr Natasha Pritchard – Doctor of Philosophy in Translational Obstetrics
    Institution: University of Melbourne
    Location: Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
     
    Pregnancy and childbirth is a time of great joy and excitement for most women.  Unfortunately, not every woman gets to experience the delight of taking home a healthy baby.  Dr Pritchard is completing a PhD through the University of Melbourne focussing on novel approaches to treat pregnancy complications, particularly preeclampsia.

    Preliminary Report
     

  • Dr Simone Sandler – Harvard Program in Global Surgery and Social Change
    Institution: Department of Global Health and Social Change, Harvard Medical School
    Location: Boston, USA, Coimbatore, India and Phnom Penh, Cambodia
     
    Dr Sandler has chosen to punctuate her clinical training in Australia as a Research Associate in the Harvard Program in Global Surgery and Social Change (PGSSC), in the Department of Global Health and Social Medicine at Harvard Medical School. The headquarters for the PGSSC are in Boston, but much of the research takes place in developing countries, where most of the population cannot access life-saving surgical care, including appendicectomy, caesarean section, open-fracture repair, neurosurgical burr-holes and burns treatment. This deficiency results in massive avoidable global disability and death. The PGSSC aims to improve surgical capacity in developing countries through research, advocacy and capacity building.

    Preliminary Report

    Final Report

  • Dr Janani Thillainadesan – Doctor of Philosophy focusing on older surgical patients
    Institution: University of Sydney
    Location: Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
     
    Dr Thillainadesan's passion for the care of older patients began as a medical student, sparked by clinical interactions with this resilient population who have borne life's hardships and so often shared with her their remarkable experiences.  Her PhD is exploring the care of older patients under the care of surgical teams and the role of geriatric medicine in optimising their care.

    Preliminary Report

  • Dr Henry Zhao – Doctor of Philosophy in Clinical Acute Stroke Medicine
    Institution: University of Melbourne and Melbourne Health
    Location: Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
     
    As part of Dr Zhao’s PhD, he is intimately involved as the clinical coordinator of Melbourne’s first Mobile Stroke Unit. This is a specialised ambulance fitted out with a portable CT scanner and carries a multidisciplinary team able to assess and immediately start treatment at the patient’s doorstep. When every minute counts in saving patients from a life of disability, starting treatment on board the Mobile Stroke Unit will buy precious time and minimise irreversible brain damage from stroke.

    Preliminary Report

    Final Report

Specialised fellowships

  • Dr Colby Hart - Ophthalmology Subspeciality Fellowship (Cornea Fellow)
    Organisation: London University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
    Location: Liverpool, United Kingdom

    Dr Colby is completing his cornea fellowship at Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. During his time so far, he already has gained a wealth of knowledge and experience in the field of corneal transplantation, including performing complex corneal transplant surgeries and managing anterior segment disease. Additionally, he has had the opportunity to collaborate and working alongside some of the world's leading anterior segment clinicians and engaging in cutting-edge research in ophthalmology.


    Preliminary Report

  • Dr Nick Barton - Clinical Fellow in Cardiothoracic Anaesthesia & Intensive Care
    Organisation: Royal Papworth Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
    Location: Cambridge, United Kingdom

    In February 2022 Dr Nick Barton commenced a 12-month clinical fellowship in Cardiothoracic Anaesthesia and Intensive Care at Royal Papworth Hospital NHS Foundation Trust in Cambridge, United Kingdom (UK).
     
    The 12-month fellowship at Papworth offered him an unrivalled opportunity to participate in the perioperative management of high-volume, complex cardiac and respiratory patients, both intra-operatively in theatres and cardiac catheter laboratories, and post-operatively in the ICU.

    Preliminary Report

  • Dr Kai'En Leong – Fellowship in Advanced Cardiac Imaging (CT/MRI)
    Organisation: Royal Brompton Hospital & Hammersmith Hospital
    Location: London, United Kingdom
     

    Dr Kai’En Leong is completing his Fellowship of Advanced Cardiac Imaging at Hammersmith Hospital in London. Dr Leong is undertaking cardiac MRI research looking at the clinical utility of a trial strain in the pulmonary hypertension, as well as the relationship between right ventricular exercise contractile reserve in pulmonary hypertension and diffuse myocardial fibroses quantified by native T1 parametric mapping.


    Preliminary Report

    Final Report

  • Dr Thomas Goodsall – Fellowship in Inflammatory Bowel Disease & Gastrointestinal Ultrasound
    Organisation: The Queen Elizabeth Hospital
    Location: Adelaide, South Australia
     
    Dr Thomas Goodsall completed a Fellowship in Inflammatory Bowel Disease & Gastrointestinal Ultrasound at The Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Adelaide, Australia. The skillset Dr Goodsall gained from the Fellowship allows him to offer high quality service to remote patients in Adelaide and Alice Springs and take these skills back to NSW where he will continue to perform intestinal ultrasound and train local specialists to ultimately enhance the experience of IBD patients.

    Final Report

  • Dr William Cranwell – Fellowship in Clinical Research
    Organisation: St John's Institute of Dermatology
    Location: London, United Kingdom
     
    St John’s Institute of Dermatology in London is a specialist tertiary dermatology service, receiving referrals from General Practitioners, medical and surgical specialists, and other renowned dermatology services throughout the whole UK. Dr William Cranwell has described the experience as ‘incredibly stimulating’ and has allowed him to see and manage many conditions that are extremely rare.

    Final Report

  • Dr Kartik Bhatia – Fellowship in Interventional Neuroradiology
    Organisation: University of Toronto, Toronto Western Hospital and Hospital for Sick Children
    Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
     
    Dr Bhatia’s training program provides significant exposure to both adult and paediatric neurovascular as well as spinal vascular disorders, including endovascular management of acute ischaemic stroke, cerebral aneurysms, dural arterio-venous fistulae, and arterio-venous malformations. In particular Dr Bhatia is learning about the management of Vein of Galen malformations, paediatric stroke, and Moya-Moya disease. In addition to working with renowned experts in this field, he is increasing his leadership training and research experience.

    Preliminary Report

  • Dr Matthew Cheng – Clinical Research Fellowship in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery
    Hospital: Princess Alexandra Hospital
    Location: Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
     
    Through his research, Dr Cheng is trying to establish a new method of breast reconstruction after breast cancer surgery using tissue engineering and regenerative medicine to stimulate the body to grow new breast tissue. Specifically, his team are using 3-dimensional printed breast scaffolds and implanting them after breast cancer surgery. They then fill them with fat from the patient and allow the fat to grow and populate the scaffold to regenerate breasts.

    Preliminary Report

    Final Report

  • Dr Sandra Concha Blamey – Neuroanaesthesia and Neurocritical Care Fellowship
    Hospital: National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, University College London
    Location: London, United Kingdom

    Through her fellowship at the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, Dr Concha Blamey has been exposed to a huge volume of practice, with a reported total caseload exceeding 5,400 cases in 2015. Unsurprisingly this has expanded Dr Concha Blamey’s logbook as she has had the opportunity to be involved in the perioperative management of many patients presenting for various neurosurgical procedures, including but not limited to transphenoidal surgery, neuro-oncology, transoral and skull base surgery, vascular neurosurgery, epilepsy surgery, surgery for Parkinson’s disease and other movement disorders, complex spine surgery, and interventional neuroradiology. Dr Concha Blamey has also been fortunate to be involved in the management of 10 awake craniotomy cases within just a three month period.

    Preliminary Report

    Final Report

  • Dr Lindsay McGrath – Fellowship in Ocular Oncology and Oculoplastics
    Hospital: Royal Hallamshire Hospital
    Location: Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England

    Commencing in 2017, Dr Lindsay McGrath's Fellowship in Ocular Oncology and Oculoplastics will provide her with extensive experience in all aspects of ophthalmic oncology including diagnosing and managing adult intraocular, ocular surface, periocular and orbital tumours. Originally inspired by the significant burden of ultraviolent-exposure related eye and adnexal disease in Queensland, Dr McGrath looks forward to bringing back knowledge to better utilise the radiation services in the state for the treatment of eye cancer.

    Preliminary Report

Placements with volunteer organisations

  • Dr Sam Brophy Williams – Paediatric Training Program
    Hospital: Hospital Nacional Guido Valadares
    Location: Dili, Timor-Leste

    In early 2018, Dr Brophy-Williams began a Paediatric Training Program at the Hospital Nacional Guido Valadares in Dili, Timor-Leste. With his time divided between a teaching position, and clinical work on the on-call paediatrician roster, he has found the hospital to be an international melting pot, with local Timorese staff the backbone.
     
    Preliminary Report

    Final Report

  • Dr Thomas Volkman – Neonatology Mission through Médecins Sans Frontières
    Company: Médecins Sans Frontières
    Location: Peshawar, Khyberpakthankwa, Frontier Region, Pakistan
     
    Dr Volkman undertook a neonatology mission at MSF’s Peshawar Women’s Hospital in 2016. Established in 2011, the hospital is responsible for the maternal and child health of the internally displaced people from tribal Pakistan and the 2.7 million Afghan refugees on this side of the ‘border’. It is a small operation and is only chipping away at a tiny piece of the problem.

    Preliminary Report

    Final Report

Research in a specific area of medicine

  • Dr Adele Storch – Visiting Research Associate at Section of Women's Health
    Hospital: Kings College
    Location: London, UK
     
    The Section of Women's Mental Health aims to conduct research into the gendered determinants of mental health problems, the needs of women with mental health problems using epidemiological and qualitative methods, and to develop and evaluate interventions to meet those needs and inform health policy. Dr Storch saw this as an incredible opportunity to network internationally, develop her knowledge and research skills and ultimately contribute to a career in women’s mental health.

    Preliminary Report

  • Dr Mark Dowling – Neurological complications in recipients of bone marrow transplants
    Hospital: Massachusetts General Hospital
    Location: Boston, Massachusetts, USA
     
    Neurological complications, such as seizures, encephalopathy, ischaemic and haemorrhagic strokes, intracranial infections, and peripheral neuropathies remain a devastating source of morbidity and mortality amongst bone marrow transplant patients. The focus of Dr Dowling’s research project is a retrospective review of all consecutive allogeneic transplants performed at MGH between 2000 and 2010. His role is to collect the relevant data from electronic medical records, analyse the data with the help of a statistician, and to write up the results for journal publication and conference presentation.

    Preliminary Report

    Final Report

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