CPC Summer Research Scholarships 2024: Recipients announced
The prestigious Charles Perkins Centre Summer Research Scholarship program 2024 has awarded 19 scholarships after an impressive 54 applications.
This year’s cohort reflects the multidisciplinary focus of the Charles Perkins Centre, with students coming from five faculties – Arts and Social Sciences, Engineering, Medicine and Health, Science and School of Business. The students will collaborate with 37 supervisors from 14 schools.
Charles Perkins Centre Academic Director Professor Stephen J Simpson AC expressed that he is impressed with the quality and diversity of research topics proposed by the students.
“This year, projects cover an impressive breadth of topics, from investigating the associations between heart rate variability and sleep; to analysing physical activity in older adults; the impact of green space on health outcomes, and the importance of storytelling for health education, constructing a pedagogical framework through the analysis of Greta Gerwig’s films,” said Professor Simpson.
“For some of these students, the program marks the beginning of a long involvement with the Charles Perkins Centre. Many past recipients have pursued higher research degrees and fellowships at our Centre,” he said.
The impressive research program has awarded over 170 scholarships since its launch 13 years ago. It is open to both undergraduate and postgraduate coursework students from all areas of study and with any level of research experience.
Guided by Charles Perkin Centre’s leading academics, the scholars are required to design and conduct their own research that supports the mission of the Charles Perkins Centre. The program fosters collaboration, innovation and interdisciplinary research.
A number of projects in this cohort explore the world of machine learning and artificial intelligence. One project focuses on optimising chatbot performance for delivering health information on cardiovascular prevention and treatment while another explores the use of multi-omics and AI to predict triglyceride levels and biomarkers in human liver disease.
“In its thirteenth year, the competitive scholarship program continues to be supported by the Nicholas Catchlove Early Career Researcher Development Fund, offering a minimum of 10 scholarships each year to outstanding students. University of Sydney alumnus Dr Barry Catchlove AM and his wife Professor Louise Sylvan AM provide ongoing support for the initiative in memory of Barry’s son, Nicholas.” said Professor Simpson.
“This year we had a high number of strong applications by students enthusiastic to partake in the research program at our Centre. I extend my congratulations to the 19 successful Summer Research Scholars 2024 and look forward to seeing the students present the outcomes of their research in February – a fine beginning to the year!"
Charles Perkins Centre Summer Research Scholars 2024
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L-R Ahmed Abid, Andy Chen, Ariel Czajkowski, Diah Kurniawati, George Annas, Gihansa Kottasha Vidhanelage, Hannah Parker, Joy Zuo, Leyi You, Pranav Lokhande, Rachael Hayward, Salma Azzahra, Sean Chang, Shalu Choudhary, Simran Kamal, Somerset Wu, Vu Minh Khue Huynh, Yitong Yao, Ziyao Geng
Program
Doctor of Medicine
Faculty
Medicine and Health
Project
The development and types of severe obesity in greater western Sydney
Supervisors
Dr Kathryn Williams
Professor Natasha Nassar
Program
Bachelor of Science / Bachelor of Advanced Studies (Medical Science)
Faculty
Science
Project
Understanding the impact of environmental factors on adolescents’ sleeping patterns in the Pacific Islands
Supervisors
Professor Corinne Caillaud
Associate Professor Svetlana Postnova
Program
Master of Public Health
Faculty
Medicine and Health
Project
Physical activity among older adults: does green space matter? An ecological study in Sydney
Supervisors
Professor Anne Tiedemann
Professor Jeanette Thom
Program
Bachelor of Science (Medical Science)
Faculty
Medicine and Health
Project
Precision therapeutic targeting for Parkinson’s disease
Supervisors
Dr Asheeta Prasad
Dr Lipin Loo
Program
Master of Business Administration
Faculty
Sydney Business School
Project
Scoping review of how perceived nutritional benefits influence snack selection in Australian pregnant women during the second trimester
Supervisors
Professor David Raubenheimer
Professor Ralph Nanan
Program
Bachelor of Science / Bachelor of Advanced Studies
Faculty
Science
Project
Investigating the molecular connections between diabetes and Alzheimer’s disease through single cell and spatial transcriptomics
Supervisors
Professor Greg Sutherland
Professor Stephen Twigg
Program
Bachelor of Science (Medical Science)
Faculty
Medicine and Health
Project
Elucidating the mechanisms of anti-thrombogenicity by plasma coatings for use in medical devices
Supervisors
Associate Professor Anna Waterhouse
Professor Marcela Bilek
Program
Bachelor of Science and Doctor of Medicine
Faculty
Science
Project
Multi-omics integration and explainable AI for predicting triglyceride levels and biomarkers in human liver diseases
Supervisors
Professor David James
Associate Professor Melkam Kebede
Program
Doctor of Medicine
Faculty
Medicine and Health
Project
Identification of biomarkers that predict failure to achieve normoglycemia after a very low energy diet in prediabetic adults
Supervisors
Professor Luigi Fontana
Professor Stephen Fuller
Program
Bachelor of Psychology
Faculty
Science
Project
Exercise during chemotherapy infusion: Understanding healthcare professionals’ perspectives
Supervisors
Dr Jasmine Yee
Sarah Ratcliffe
Program
Bachelor of Engineering (Honours)
Faculty
Engineering
Project
Exploring the impact of school sport participation on academic outcomes in Australian youth: A longitudinal analysis
Supervisors
Dr Katherine Owen
Associate Professor Louise Peralta
Program
Bachelor of Science and Doctor of Medicine
Faculty
Science
Project
Elucidating the impact of physical activity on the onset and progression of heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF): A multidimensional analysis on cardiac structure and function
Supervisors
Professor John O’Sullivan
Professor Emmanuel Stamatakis
Program
Master of Public Health
Faculty
Medicine and Health
Project
Optimizing chatbot performance for delivering health information on cardiovascular pain prevention and treatment: Analysing platform type, NLP (natural language processing) complexity, and response metrics
Supervisors
Associate Professor Christina Abdel Shaheed
Dr Jonathan Kummerfield
Program
Bachelor of Engineering, Software Engineering (Honours)
Faculty
Engineering
Project
Scripting and machine learning-guided optimisation of mass spectrometry-based ligand discovery workflows
Supervisors
Dr Michael Gotsbacher
Dr Lake-Ee Quek
Program
Bachelor of Science (Honours)
Faculty
Medicine and Health
Project
Exploring the impact of in utero saccharide exposure on offspring cardiac health
Supervisors
Dr Yen Chin Koay
Dr Sophie Lucic Fisher
Program
Bachelor of Science
Faculty
Science
Project
Racialisation in gut microbiome research: A multidisciplinary approach
Supervisors
Professor Warwick Anderson
Professor Ralph Nanan
Program
Bachelor of Commerce
Faculty
Sydney Business School
Project
Health economics modelling of a blood-based biomarker for graft loss prediction
Supervisors
Professor Jean Yang
Professor Germaine Wong
Program
Bachelor of Education
Faculty
Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
Project
Storytelling for health education: Constructing a pedagogical framework through the analysis of Greta Gerwig's films
Supervisors
Professor Lina Markauskaite
Professor Matilda Mroz
Program
Bachelor of Engineering
Faculty
Engineering
Project
Exploring heart rate variability as an early indicator of autonomic dysfunction in diabetic and obstructive sleep apnea patients using signal processing and machine learning
Supervisors
Professor Wei Chen
Mr Dexiao (Shawn) Kong