Fellowships and Scholarships
(Apply through ESA website)
ESA Ken Wynne Memorial Postdoctoral Research Award
ESA Postdoctoral Award
RACP ESA Research Establishment Fellowship in Endocrinology
ESA Research Higher Degree Scholarship
ESA Research Higher Degree Travel Scholarship
ESA Ken Wynne Memorial Postdoctoral Research Award
Application deadline: 31 October 2024
Dr Ken N. Wynne (1928–2011)
ESA foundation member (1958); ESA Life member (awarded 1982).
Ken Wynne was an inaugural member of the society and an outstanding steroid chemist.
After graduating with a BSc from the University of Sydney in 1948, Ken worked on steroid metabolism in relation to sheep reproduction for the CSIRO at a facility then located in Prospect, just outside of Sydney. Using his new-found skills as a steroid biochemist, Ken then moved to the Cancer Institute, NSW, and for the next 20 years studied steroid metabolism in humans, particularly in relation to breast cancer. In 1970, with the help of a windfall from the Opera House Lottery Commission, he moved to Cambridge, UK, to complete a PhD on steroid metabolism.
On returning to Australia in 1974, he worked at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Institute in Melbourne, continuing his research on breast cancer. In 1977 he moved to the Ewen Downie Metabolic Unit at the Alfred Hospital in a co-joint appointment between the Alfred and Prince Henry's Hospital with Jim Stockigt and John Funder as chief investigators. He continued to work on steroids and steroid metabolites particularly in relation to novel hypertensinogenic compounds, but expanded his interests to opiate activity of caffeic acids, metabolites of thyroxine as potential thyroid hormone antagonists and the role of free fatty acids in regulating hormone levels in serum.
He retired from active laboratory work in 1989.
Ken passed away in 2011, leaving a bequest to the ESA to support emerging researchers in endocrinology. To honour the wishes of the Kenneth Wynne Bequest, this award is offered in the area of lipid hormone function, lipid metabolism or the metabolic regulation of human endocrine disorders.
Conditions of award
The purpose of this Award is for research in endocrinology by post-doctoral scientists.
This award is offered in the area of lipid hormone function, lipid metabolism or the metabolic regulation of human endocrine disorders.
The award is for a period of one year only.
The Ken Wynne award is valued at $30,000. This will be used at the awardees’ discretion for either salary support or research expenses.
A final report will be required, due on the 31st of March the year following the award. The report must be emailed to the ESA Secretariat ijohnson@endocrinesociety.org.au.
Awardees must attend the ESA Annual Scientific Meeting in the year of tenure and present their current research findings. At the conclusion of the award, the recipient must submit their research findings for presentation at the Endocrine Society of Australia annual scientific meeting.
Eligibility
The applicant must:
- Have been a financial member of ESA for the past 12 months.
- Have their higher degree conferred before the year of the award.
- Be less than 10 years since graduating from a PhD or MD (academic transcript detailing date of PhD or MD completion must be provided), allowing for career disruption.
- Have ethics approval by the time of award commencement (evidence of ethics approval required)
Applicants can:
- Have either a clinical or science qualification.
- Only receive the Ken Wynne award once.
- Can apply for the Ken Wynne award and an ESA Fellowship in the same year, but will not be awarded more than one fellowship from ESA in the same calendar year
The research must be predominantly conducted in Australia.
Application
Applications are to be submitted online. These must include:
- A project plan (Max 2 pages, excluding references) - This must include project title, institution and department where the project will be conducted, hypothesis and aims, background, methods, expected outcomes and an itemised budget.
- A short CV (Max 4 pages) - This should include qualifications, positions/appointments, relevant research experience and skills, publications, conference presentations, awards, grants and/or achievements, extracurricular expertise, such as scientific membership, administrative expertise, work experience in research, and any other track record information relevant to the proposal. This information should refer to the last 5 years only (adjusted for career interruption where relevant).
- Career disruption, if relevant (Max 1 page)
- Copy of academic transcript detailing date of PhD or MD completion
- One referee report (approx. 1 page) from referees who can comment on the personal, clinical and scientific suitability of the candidate and proposed project. The referee must be external to the institution where the proposed project will be conducted. Referees cannot be co-investigators of the proposed project. These are to be uploaded as part of the application.
- Letter from the Head of the Department where the research will be conducted, indicating the availability of suitable facilities and scientific support.
- A letter from the relevant Ethics Committee confirming approval for the proposed project. The ethics approval may be pending at the time of application, but the scholarship will not be awarded until a certificate of ethics approval is provided to the ESA secretariat.
All documents to be uploaded in word (.doc or .docx) or PDF format.
Selection
Applications are assessed by a Selection Committee comprising at least 3 non-conflicted independent referees selected by ESA Council.
Applicants will be assessed on:
- Project proposal: assessed on scientific quality and clinical and scientific impact, relevance to Ken Wynne Award criteria (50% weighting).
- Track record including publications, abstracts, awards/achievements and contributions to ESA (40% weighting)
- Referee and head of department reports (10% weighting)
Administration of the Scholarship
The award recipient must be undertaking work within a hospital, university department, research institute or other approved institute. The financial administration of the award will be through the appropriate finance office of the institution.
Publications
Any publications (papers or conference abstracts) derived from the project must acknowledge the financial support of the Endocrine Society of Australia
Apply Online
Submit your Ken Wynne memorial award application online
Past Recipients
- 2023 - Renata Libianto
- 2022 - Kelly Short
- 2021 - Sarah Glastras
- 2020 - Aneta Stefandis
- 2019 - Ada Cheung
- 2018 - Kelly Walton
- 2017 - Frances Milat
- 2016 - Kirsty Walters
- 2015 - Jun Yang Report
- 2014 - Kristy Brown Report
- 2013 - Lisa Moran Report
ESA Postdoctoral Award
Application deadline: 31 October 2024
The purpose of the Award is for research in any area of endocrinology by recent post-doctoral scientists. This award is a one year stipend of $25,000 to be used at the awardee’s discretion for salary support or research expenses.
A final report is required, due on the 31st of March of the year following commencement of the grant. The report must be emailed to the ESA Secretariat ijohnson@endocrinesociety.org.au
At the conclusion of the recipient’s study, the recipient must submit their research findings for presentation at the Endocrine Society of Australia annual scientific meeting.
Eligibility
The applicant must:
- Have been a financial member of ESA for the past 12 months.
- Be 5 or less years since graduating from a PhD or MD (academic transcript detailing date of PhD or MD completion must be provided), allowing for career disruptions.
- Have ethics approval by the time of award commencement (evidence of ethics approval required)
Applicants can:
- Have either a clinical or science qualification.
- Apply for the Ken Wynne award and an ESA Fellowship, but will not be awarded more than one in the same calendar year.
- Only receive the ESA Post-doctoral award once
The research must be conducted in Australia.
Application
Applications are to be submitted online. These must include:
- A project plan (Max 2 pages, excluding references) - This must include project title, institution and department where the project will be conducted, hypothesis and aims, background, methods, expected outcomes and an itemised budget.
- A short CV (Max 4 pages) - This should include qualifications, positions/appointments, relevant research experience and skills, publications, conference presentations, awards, grants and/or achievements, extracurricular expertise, such as scientific membership, administrative expertise, work experience in research, and any other track record information relevant to the proposal. This information should refer to the last 5 years only (adjusted for career interruption where relevant).
- Career disruption, if relevant (Max 1 page)
- Copy of academic transcript detailing date of PhD or MD completion
- One referee reports (approx. 1 page) from referees who can comment on the personal, clinical and scientific suitability of the candidate and proposed project. The referee must be external to the institution where the proposed project will be conducted. Referees cannot be be co-investigators of the proposed project.
- Letter from the Head of the Department where the research will be conducted, indicating the availability of suitable facilities and scientific support.
- A letter from the relevant Ethics Committee confirming approval for the proposed project. The ethics approval may be pending at the time of application, but the scholarship will not be awarded until a certificate of ethics approval is provided to the ESA secretariat.
All documents to be uploaded in word (.doc or .docx) or PDF format.
Selection
Applications are assessed by a Selection Committee comprising at least 3 non-conflicted independent referees selected by ESA Council.
Applicants will be assessed on:
- Project proposal: assessed on scientific quality clinical/scientific impact, and relevance to field of endocrinology (50% weighting).
- Track record including publications, abstracts, awards/achievements and contributions to ESA (40% weighting)
- Referee and head of department reports (10% weighting)
Administration of the Award
The award recipient must be undertaking work within a hospital, university department, research institute or other approved institute. The financial administration of the award will be through the appropriate finance office of the institution.
Publications
Any publications (papers or conference abstracts) derived from the project must acknowledge the financial support of the Endocrine Society of Australia
Apply Online
Submit your ESA post-doctoral award application online
Past Recipients
- 2023 - Laura Porter
- 2022 - Sarah Catford
- 2021 - Sunita De Sousa
- 2020 - Emily Brooks [report]
- 2019 - Rajini Sreenivasan and Sarah Lockie [report]
- 2018 - Ada Cheung Report and Moe Thuzar
- 2017 - Luba Sominsky Report and Jean Winter
- 2016 - Ada Cheung and Jun Yang Report
- 2015 - Justin Chen Report and Stella Liong report
- 2014 - Lucia Gagliardi
- 2013 - Radhika Seimon
- 2012 - Kelly Walton
- 2009 - 2010 Sarah Spencer
- 2008 - 2009 Jeremy Smith
RACP ESA Research Establishment Fellowship in Endocrinology
Application deadline: 9 July 2024
Conditions of Award
The purpose of this award if to further medical research in endocrinology.
This Fellowship is made available by a grant from the Endocrine Society of Australia, matched with funds provided by Fellows of the RACP.
This award is valued up to $50,000 for a one year period.
Funding to be used to:
• provide stipend support; and/or
• other support such as laboratory set-up costs; and/or
• a short-term Research Assistant appointment.
A final report is required, due on the 31st of March of the year following commencement of the grant.
The final report needs to be submitted to the RACP Foundation.
Eligibility
Australian Fellows and advanced trainees of the RACP, its Divisions, Faculties and Chapters, who are members of the Endocrine Society of Australia:
• less than seven years from the award of their research higher degree; OR
• who have completed a research higher degree and are less than two years after return from a minimum one year overseas
- Be an Australian and New Zealand Fellow or Advanced Trainee of the RACP, its Divisions, Faculties and Chapters who are members of ESA
- Have been a financial member of ESA for the past 12 months.
The research must be conducted in Australia.
Application
Applications are to be submitted online through the RACP website.
https://www.racp.edu.au/about/foundation/research-awards-and-career-grants/research-establishment-fellowships
Selection
Applications are assessed by a non-conflicted assessor appointed by ESA council contributing to the overall selection process administered by the RACP. Selection Committee selected by ESA Council.
Applicants will be assessed on:
- Project proposal: assessed on scientific quality clinical/scientific impact, and relevance to field of endocrinology (50% weighting).
- Track record including publications, abstracts, awards/achievements and contributions to ESA (40% weighting)
- Referee and head of department reports (10% weighting)
Publications
Any publications (papers or conference abstracts) derived from the project must acknowledge the financial support of the RACP and Endocrine Society of Australia.
Past Recipients
- 2023 - Brendan Nolan
- 2022 - Brendan Nolan
- 2021 - Stephanie Johnson
- 2020 - Helen Barrett
- 2019 - Jasna Aleksova
- 2018 - Mark Ng Tang Fui
ESA Research Higher Degree Scholarship
Application deadline: 31 October 2024
Conditions of award
The purpose of the Scholarship is for research in any area of endocrinology.
This Research Higher Degree Scholarship is for a period of one year and valued at $29,000.
A final report is required, due on the 31st of March of the year following commencement of the grant. This report must include a submission from the Principal supervisor confirming student progress. The report must be emailed to the ESA Secretariat ijohnson@endocrinesociety.org.au
At the conclusion of the recipient’s study, the recipient must submit their research findings for presentation at the Endocrine Society of Australia annual scientific meeting.
Eligibility
The principal supervisor of the research higher degree student must:
- Have been a financial member of ESA for the past 12 months.
- Only submit one PhD or MD application per year.
The applicant must:
- Be a financial member of ESA or join before award acceptance.
- Have ethics approval by the time of award commencement (evidence of ethics approval required)
- Not be the recipient of another higher degree scholarship (e.g. NHMRC Postgraduate Award, Research Training Program Fellowship, Philanthropic Institution)
Applicants can:
- Have either a clinical or science qualification.
- Have already commenced their higher degree when applying. A copy of their academic transcript detailing date of enrolment must be provided.
- Reapply in subsequent years.
The research must be predominantly conducted in Australia.
Application
Applications are to be submitted online. These must include:
- A project plan (Max 2 pages) - This must include project title, institution and department where the project will be conducted, hypothesis and aims, background, methods, expected outcomes
- A short CV (Max 4 pages) - This should include qualifications, current and past positions/appointments, subjects studied and grades, relevant research experience and skills, publications, awards, grants and/or achievements, extracurricular expertise, such as scientific membership, administrative expertise and any other track record information relevant to the proposal.
- Copy of academic transcript detailing date of PhD or MD commencement (if relevant).
- Two referee reports (approx. 1 page each) from referees who can comment on the personal, clinical and scientific suitability of the candidate and proposed project. One referee must be the project supervisor, and the other an independent referee with expertise in the area of research.
- Letter from the Head of the Department where the research will be conducted, indicating the availability of suitable facilities and scientific support.
- A letter from the relevant Ethics Committee confirming approval for the proposed project. The ethics approval may be pending at the time of application, but the scholarship will not be awarded until a certificate of ethics approval is provided to the ESA secretariat.
All documents to be uploaded in word (.doc or .docx) or PDF format.
Selection
Applications are assessed by a Selection Committee comprising at least 3 non-conflicted independent referees selected by ESA Council.
Applicants will be assessed on:
- Project proposal: assessed on scientific quality including clinical, translation or scientific impact, relevance to endocrinology, and relevance to supervisor background (50% weighting)
- Track record (CV) including undergraduate record, publications or abstracts, awards and achievements (40% weighting)
- Referee reports (10% weighting)
Administration of the Award
The award recipient must be undertaking work within a hospital, university department, research institute or other approved institute. The financial administration of the award will be through the appropriate finance office of the institution.
Publications
Any publications (papers or conference abstracts) derived from the project must acknowledge the financial support of the Endocrine Society of Australia
Apply Online
Submit your Research Higher Degree Scholarship application online
Past recipients 
- 2024 - Eleanor White
- 2023 - Josie McCarthy
- 2022 - Ayanthi Wijewardene
- 2021 - Tian Nie (Report)
- 2020 - Amanda Seabrook
- 2019 - Monica Kanki
- 2018 - Angela Chen
- 2017 - Dilys Leung
- 2016 - Cherie Au and Dilys Leung
- 2015 - Dilys Leung Report
- 2014 - Carmela Caputu
- 2013 - Tilenka Thynne Report
- 2011 - Pui Shi (Tammy) Pang [Report]
- 2010 - Pui Shi (Tammy) Pang
- 2009 - Pui Shi (Tammy) Pang and Priya Sumithran [ Report]
- 2008 - Lucia Gagliardi [Report] and Priya Sumithran
- 2007 - Priya Sumithran
ESA Research Higher Degree Travel Scholarship
Application deadline: 31 October 2024
Conditions of Award
The purpose of this award is to provide stipend and travel costs associated with undertaking a component of a research higher degree in an overseas institution (hospital, university department, research institute or other approved facility). The planned overseas research project must be related to an area of endocrinology.
The candidate must defer any other scholarship or stipend support while receiving the ESA Research Higher Degree Travel Scholarship.
Within 6 months of completion of the scholarship, a full report is to be submitted to ESA via the ESA secretariat, with copies of any publications and abstracts included. This report will be reviewed by the Scientific Strengthening Committee of the Endocrine Society of Australia.
At the conclusion of the research higher degree, the recipient must submit their research findings as an abstract for presentation at the ESA annual scientific meeting. Any publications (papers or conference abstracts) derived from the overseas component of the research higher degree project must acknowledge the financial support of the ESA.
The scholarship award will total $AU30,000 for one year, and pro-rata if period of time overseas <12 months (but needs to be more than 6 months). A one-off travel allowance of $3000 will be included.
Eligibility
The principal supervisor of the research higher degree student must:
- Have been a financial member of ESA for the past 12 months.
- Only submit one PhD or MD application per year.
The applicant must:
- Be a financial member of ESA or join before award acceptance.
- Have completed a minimum of one year towards their research higher degree at the time they plan to undertake their overseas research project.
- Have ethics approval by the time of award commencement (evidence of ethics approval required)
A successful applicant cannot reapply for an ESA Research Higher Degree Travel Scholarship.
Application
Applications are to be submitted online. These must include:
- Supporting letter from principal Australian research higher degree supervisor.
- Supporting letter from overseas research supervisor and include details on availability of suitable facilities and scientific support to undertake the planned overseas project.
- Cover letter from applicant outlining the anticipated benefits of undertaking their proposed overseas research project, and demonstration of ability to complete
necessary overseas research component within timeframe of award.
- A project plan (Max 2 pages) - This must include project title, institution and department where the project will be conducted, hypothesis and aims, background, methods, expected outcomes
- A short CV (Max 4 pages) - This should include qualifications, current and past positions/appointments, subjects studied and grades, relevant research experience and skills, publications, awards, grants and/or achievements, extracurricular expertise, such as scientific membership, administrative expertise and any other track record information relevant to the proposal.
- Copy of academic transcript detailing date of PhD or MD commencement (if relevant).
- A letter from the relevant Ethics Committee confirming approval for the proposed project. The ethics approval may be pending at the time of application, but the scholarship will not be awarded until a certificate of ethics approval is provided to the ESA secretariat.
All documents to be uploaded in word (.doc or .docx) or PDF format.
Selection
Applications are assessed by a Selection Committee comprising at least 3 non-conflicted independent referees selected by ESA Council.
Applicants will be assessed on:
- Project proposal: assessed on scientific quality including clinical, translation or scientific impact, relevance to endocrinology and the candidate’s broader research higher degree work, and relevance to supervisor background (50% weighting)
- Track record (CV) including undergraduate record, publications or abstracts, awards and achievements (40% weighting)
- Supporting letter reports (10% weighting)
Tenure
Scholarship can be taken for a period of 6-12 months, award to be pro-rated based on length of time overseas.
It is the applicant’s responsibility to ensure all supporting letters are submitted to ESA by application deadline.
Administration of the Award
The award recipient must be undertaking work within a hospital, university department, research institute or other approved institute.
Publications
Any publications (papers or conference abstracts) derived from the project must acknowledge the financial support of the Endocrine Society of Australia
Apply online
ESA Research Higher Degree Travel Scholarship application form.
Past recipients
2023 - Not awarded
2022 - Elisabeth Ng
2019 - Sabashini Ramchand
