PhD Scholarship – Neonatal brain injury and neurodevelopmental follow-up

Job No.: 667482

Location: Department of Paediatrics, Monash University and Monash Newborn, Monash Children’s Hospital

Employment Type: Full-time or Part-time

Duration: 3-year fixed-term appointment (or part-time equivalent for study duration)

Remuneration: The successful applicant will receive a tax-free stipend, at the current value of $35,013 per annum 2024 full-time rate, as per the Monash Research Training Program (RTP) Stipend www.monash.edu/study/fees-scholarships/scholarships/find-a-scholarship/research-training-program-scholarship#scholarship-details

• Amplify your impact at a world top 50 University
• Join our inclusive, collaborative community
• Be surrounded by extraordinary ideas - and the people who discover them

The Opportunity

Preterm birth is associated with long-term socio-cognitive dysfunction, for which early detection during infancy is difficult. This PhD program aims at using state-of-the art multi-channel near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) to assess the functional brain response of infants born preterm in long-term follow-up. The project utilises social-visual stimuli (social videos of people interactions), and aims to detect socio-cognitive disorders early in preterm infants. The program will focus on correlations between neurovascular physiology, neuroimaging and neurodevelopmental assessments. This is an exciting opportunity to be involved in clinical follow-up of preterm infants and to assess their neurovascular physiology during infancy.

The program is supported by a NHMRC Leadership Investigator Grant (F Wong). Applicants are also encouraged to apply for government and university-funded scholarships, and priority will be given to the awardees. There is potential to also be involved in experimental/animal studies of neurovascular research, to broaden research scope and skills.

This PhD program would suit applicants with background/training in clinical neonatology or follow-up of high-risk infants.

Monash Newborn, Monash Children’s Hospital

The successful candidate will be part of a multidisciplinary cohort of clinicians and researchers based at Monash Newborn and Department of Paediatrics. The Monash Newborn research group also has a close link with the Ritchie Centre at The Hudson Institute of Medical Research, which conducts world-class basic research in perinatal medicine. For more information about the important research work at Monash Newborn and the Ritchie Centre, please visit www.monashchildrenshospital.org/monash-newborn, and www.hudson.org.au/research-centre/the-ritchie-centre.

Supervisory Team

The principal supervisor will be Associate Professor Flora Wong. Co-supervisor will be Dr Robin Laycock – vision neuroscientist at RMIT University. Other co-supervisors will depend on the project focus, and may include supervisors externally.

Associate Professor Flora Wong is a consultant neonatologist and a clinician-scientist with research expertise in neonatal brain development, brain injury and neuroprotection. She is Australia’s foremost expert in understanding neonatal cerebral circulation using NIRS.

Eligibility Requirements

Candidates will need to fulfil the Monash University minimum requirements for admission to a PhD detailed here: www.monash.edu/admissions/entry-requirements/minimum

To Apply

For general instructions on how to apply for roles at Monash, please refer to 'How to apply for Monash Jobs'.

To express your interest in this scholarship and PhD research opportunity, we request candidates provide:

• A cover letter describing your research interests and why you would like to undertake a PhD (maximum one page)
• A CV including qualifications, academic achievements, list of publications, work history and references
• A copy of your academic transcript(s)

Enquiries: Associate Professor Flora Wong, flora.wong@monash.edu

Applications Close: Saturday 30 November 2024, 11:55pm AEDT