MJ Gething Gender Equity Award announced
Early career researchers are encouraged to apply for a new grant aimed at helping them to continue career momentum while also having significant caring responsibilities.
In a move to level the playing field between researchers with and without caring responsibilities, the School of Biomedical Sciences has announced the new MJ Gething Gender Equity Award in February 2019.
The award will provide grants of up to $5,000 each year to support early career researchers to build their profile and maintain research progression while also caring for immediate family members.
Recipients can use the grant to suit their individual needs, for example:
- Funding for a research assistant to complete an experiment while the researcher is on maternity or paternity leave; or
- A travel grant for a family member to accompany the researcher with an infant to an interstate or international conference.
Eligible staff in the School of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences must hold a continuing or fixed-term position and be research active. Applicants must have completed a PhD degree in their field three to ten years prior to application. This period may be extended for researchers who have had significant career interruption in the past due to caring responsibilities.
Applications are open to women and men from February to November each year. A panel will review each application within two weeks of receipt before providing advice to the applicant within four weeks.
Applications for 2019 close 30 November.
About MJ Gething
Professor Emeritus Mary-Jane H. Gething received her B.Sc. (Hons) and PhD degrees in Biochemistry from the University of Melbourne before dedicating two decades to research in protein chemistry and molecular biology in the UK and USA. She returned to the University in 1994 as Reader and later Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.
One of her biggest achievements is her work on producing a clone of a protein which breaks down blood clots, known as tissue plasminogen activator, which is saving lives.
As the first woman to become the Head of the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology in the School of Biomedical Sciences, a title which she held between 2000 and 2005, she remains a passionate advocate for women in biomedical sciences.
Married to Professor Joseph Sambrook, Professor Gething was the Founder of the Gething-Sambrook Family Foundation, which has made this award possible.