DECRA recipients announced for 2022

Congratulations to our four early-career researchers from the School of Biomedical Sciences.

The Australian Research Council’s ‘Discovery Early Career Researcher Award’ (DECRA) has been awarded to four early-career researchers from the School of Biomedical Sciences: Dr Carolien van de Sandt, Dr Hui-Fern Koay, Dr Justin Hardee and Dr Raissa Fonseca.

The Australian Research Council received a total of 997 applications for DECRA for funding commencing in 2022. Applicants were assessed on: capability to conduct high quality research and collaborate within Australia and Internationally, quality and innovation of their proposed research project, potential benefits resulting from their research, and the feasibility of their research. 196 applicants were successful, including the four early career researchers from the School of Biomedical Sciences here at The University of Melbourne. From 2022, each DECRA recipient will receive support for three consecutive years.

The DECRA scheme provides focused research support for early-career researchers, who have typically received their PhD in the last five years, with opportunities and resources to advance their research and build diverse career pathways. The DECRA scheme aims to enhance the scale and focus of research in Australian Government priority areas.

The DECRA scheme is awarded by the Australian Research Council as part of their Discovery funding schemes, which recognise the importance of fundamental research to Australian innovation, job creation, economic growth and enhanced quality life for the benefit of all Australians.

Please join us in congratulating the four early-career researchers who have received the award:

 

Dr Carolien van de Sandt, is an early-career researcher and Research Fellow in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology. Commencing in 2022, she will lead the DECRA research project: “Decoding the evolution of killer T cell immunity across human lifetime”.

 

Dr Hui-Fern Koay is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Godfrey Laboratory in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology (Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity). Commencing in 2022, she will lead the DECRA research project: “Elucidating the genesis of MAIT cell-mediated immunity”.

 

Dr Justin Hardee is a McKenzie Postdoctoral Fellow in the Centre for Muscle Research in the Department of Anatomy and Physiology. Commencing in 2022, he will lead the DECRA research project: “Interrogating the adaptive potential of skeletal muscle”.

 

Dr Raissa Fonseca, is an early-career researcher and Research Officer in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology with a research focus on resident T cell development. Commencing in 2022, she will lead the DECRA research project: “Engineering T cells to promote peripheral immunity”.

Congratulations to all of the successful applicants!

Find out more about the Discovery Early Career Researcher Award here.