New Federation Fellowships return world-class researchers to Sydney

The University has been successful in securing two Australian Research Council Federation Fellowships in the most recent round of funding announced by the Minister for Education, Julie Bishop.

Professor Benedict Kiernan is currently the Whitney Griswold Professor of History, Director of the Genocide Studies Program, and founding Director of the Cambodian Genocide Program at Yale University.

Professor Kiernan is an international authority on the modern history of Cambodia and has an internationally acclaimed record of research into genocide and its history in Africa.

During his time at the University of Sydney, Professor Kiernan intends to produce a comprehensive history of the long-term interactions between the people of Cambodia, their land and their neighbours. His research will generate international access to newly emerging knowledge from various historical periods and draw on new perspectives from various disciplines, including archaeology, climatology and international criminal justice.

Dr Toni Shippenberg is Section Chief of the Integrative Neuroscience Section of the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) in the United States and the only scientist from NIDA to have been appointed to the Senior Biomedical Research service of the US Government.

Considered an international leader in addiction research, Dr Shippenberg has outstanding skills in behavioural neuroscience, neurochemistry and cellular neuroscience.

Dr Shippenberg will investigate the functional restructuring of brain circuits that occurs during compulsive drug use and leads to hedonic dysregulation, the cycle of spiralling dysregulation of brain reward systems that progressively increases in drug addiction.

The identification of neuroadaptations occurring in the brain of a drug user will improve the understanding of the neurobiology of the addiction. Her research will be essential for the development of effective strategies to prevent and treat addictions.

Both Prof Kiernan and Dr Shippenberg will take up their fellowships in 2007.

The University of Sydney now has a total of19 prestigious Australian Research Council Federation Fellowships, making it the most successful university in the country.


Contact: Jake O'Shaughnessy

Phone: Ph: +61 2 9351 4312 or M: 0421 617 861