ASBMB Fellowships

Up to five ASBMB Fellowships are awarded annually to biochemists or molecular biologists, each of whom is at least in the second year of PhD training and not more than 2 years subsequent to the award of the PhD degree, and normally resident in Australia, in recognition of their outstanding work in the field of biochemistry or molecular biology. Applicants must be members of the Society with at least 1 year of membership immediately prior to the application, or should have taken out a 3 year membership in the year of the application. The fellowships provide funds to assist each recipient to attend an overseas conference in a field associated with biochemistry or molecular biology or to visit briefly research laboratories in Australia or overseas to learn new research techniques. Each recipient will receive complimentary registration (Collins Bursary) for the annual ASBMB conference, thus wherever possible, fellowship recipients shall attend the annual ASBMB conference where their fellowship will be awarded. Each recipient shall provide the Editor with a report of the overseas conference attended or the work accomplished, for publication in the Australian Biochemist. Funding for the fellowships is provided by ASBMB. In each year, one such ASBMB Fellowship, designated the Fred Collins Award, may be granted for exceptionally strong research work by an applicant. Please click here to read about Fred Collins 

To view a list of previous winners please click here.

Application Information
- All applicants should have been members of the ASBMB for a minimum of 1 year
- All applications should include at least 2 supporters who should have been members of the ASBMB for a minimum of 2 years
- Applicants should prepare an application document to include all information detailed on the ASBMB Fellowships Application Template.  This document should be saved as a single PDF file ready to be uploaded as part of the online application form.  
- Applicants should have a letter of reference for each of your 2 supporters saved ready to be uploaded as part of the online application form.
- Nominations close 31st October 2024.  

When you are ready to begin your application, please click the button below.

Sai Chitti - recipient of the Fred Collins Award

La Trobe Institute for Molecular Science, La Trobe University

Dr Sai V Chitti completed a Master of Science in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology in 2013 at Pondicherry University, India. He received two gold medals as the highest ranked student. After undertaking a Junior Fellowship at the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology, India, Sai moved to Australia in 2018 to pursue a PhD under the supervision of Professor Suresh Mathivanan in the La Trobe Institute for Molecular Science, La Trobe University. His PhD focused on the role of extracellular vesicles (EVs) in cancer-associated weight loss, known as cancer cachexia. His work showed that inhibiting EV secretion from tumours could attenuate cancer cachexia.

Upon completion of his PhD in 2022, Sai continued as postdoctoral researcher with Professor Mathivanan to investigate novel therapeutic avenues to treat cancer cachexia. In 2023, Sai won the Australia and New Zealand Society for Extracellular Vesicles ECR Award. In 2024, he secureda CASS Foundation Medicine/Science Grant as sole CI to investigate the novel treatment avenues for cancer cachexia. Sai has published 29 papers (eight first/co-first including articles in Nucleic Acids Research and Nature Communications, two senior author and 19 co-author) with 1233 citations and h-index 12. Sai is also the recipient of ASMR Best Poster Award, Research Centre for Extracellular Vesicles collaborative grant and multiple travel awards. He currently serves as a Guest Editor for a special issue in Cells: Extracellular Vesicles in Health and Diseases.

This ASBMB Fellowship will give Sai the opportunity to learn an advanced research technique from international specialists at PennState College of Medicine and to attend the 17th International Conference of the Society on Sarcopenia, Cachexia and Wasting Disorders in Washington, USA.

Abhimanu Pandey

Australian National University

Dr Abhimanu Pandey completed undergraduate studies in India in 2018. He came toAustralia to undertake his PhD at the John Curtin School of Medical Research (JCSMR) at the Australian National University (ANU). In 2022, Dr Pandey commenced a postdoctorate at the JCSMR in the lab of Professor Si Ming Man which studies the role of innate immunity in infection and cancer.

Abhimanu’s research investigates the role of the immune system in the development and progression of bowel cancer. During his PhD, Abhimanu identified several immune proteins that work like a surveillance system detecting damaged signals inside the cell and preventing the healthy cells from becoming cancer cells.

Abhimanu’s research achievements have been recognised by several awards, including the Royal Society of New South Wales Bicentennial Early Career Research and Service Citations Award (2023), Dewar-Milne Prize for Immunology for the most outstanding PhD thesis in the field ofImmunology submitted in JCSMR in 2022, the Australian Capital Territory Private Practice Fund Grant (2023) and two early-career grants from the Bootes Medical Research Foundation (2021 and 2022). He is a recipient of the ANU Early Career Researcher Travel Grant (2023) and the ANU Vice-Chancellor’s HDR Travel Grant (2022).

This ASBMB Fellowship will support Abhimanu’s travel to the annual meeting of the American Association of Immunologists, IMMUNOLOGY2024.

Yuliia Didan

University of Queensland

Yuliia completed her Bachelor of Science in Biology and Master of Science in Biochemistryat the Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv in Ukraine. She then went on to obtain a Master of Science degree in Molecular Mechanisms of Disease at the Radboud University in the Netherlands. During her studies in Europe, Yuliia performed multiple internships in research institutes and universities in Ukraine, the Netherlands, Germany, Sweden and Czechia. In 2019, Yuliia started her PhD study at the University of Queensland under the supervision of Associate Professor Dominic Ng. Her PhD project investigates how cells delineate different types of stress stimuli and form an appropriate response for each stimulus. Using optogenetics, she discovered that activity dynamics of c-Jun N-terminal Kinase (JNK) encode information about the types of the stress stimulus and its dose and define distinct cell fates. It was also discovered that changes in intracellular pH or protein network of the JNK pathway can modulate the dynamics of JNK activity.

Yuliia’s findings have been published in several well-regarded journals, including EMBO Journal and Molecular Systems Biology. Her research has also been recognised through multiple awards and scholarships, including travel grants from EMBL Australia and the Royal Society of Biology, Erasmus+ Grant, scholarships from the University of Queensland and the Radboud Scholarship Program, and awards for the best oral presentation at the Conference of Young Scientists in Kyiv.

This ASBMB Fellowship will allow Yuliia to present her latest findings at the FASEB Conference on Dynamics and Encoding in Cell Signaling in New York, USA.

Jascinta Santavanond

La Trobe Institute for Molecular Science, La Trobe University

Jascinta Santavanond completed her Bachelor of Biomedical Science in 2018 at La Trobe University, attaining First Class Honours under the supervision of Professor Ivan Poon. During this time, she worked to identify novel molecular regulators controlling the fragmentation of apoptotic cells into small membrane bound particles known as apoptotic bodies (ApoBDs) and the functional roles of ApoBDs in intercellular communication. Currently in the final year of her PhD, Jascinta has expanded on this work by developing novel murine and zebrafish models to explore the dynamic relationship between apoptosis, apoptotic cell disassembly and efferocytosis in various (patho)physiological settings. This work has resulted in several national and international collaborations with leading cell death and cell clearance researchers, as well as invitations to speak at international symposiums and special interest groups. She was also awarded highly competitive funding to travel to the University of Virginia to train in zebrafish research and has since established the zebrafish breeding and experimental program within the Poon laboratory at La Trobe University. Jascinta’s research has been recognised through several awards and scholarships including poster and oral prizes, travelling fellowships, the La Trobe Institute for Molecular Science Professional Development Award and the Australasian Cell Death Society Professional Development Award.

This ASBMB Fellowship will allow Jascinta to travel to Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat, France, to share her recent work at the EMBO Workshop on the Molecular and Cellular Basis of Regeneration and Tissue Repair.