Women’s Health Foundation
The RANZCOG Women’s Health Foundation supports the philanthropic initiatives of RANZCOG in the areas of First Nations and Māori women’s health, global women’s health and women’s health research.
What we do
The RANZCOG Women’s Health Foundation proudly supports fellows, trainees and scientists pursuing high quality, innovative research and training in women’s health.
Research scholarships, fellowships and travel grants are awarded annually across Australia and New Zealand to promising researchers committed to continuous improvement in the fields of obstetrics, gynaecology, and the reproductive sciences.
The Foundation strives to recognise researchers at different stages of their careers and in particular young researchers, to assist them as they progress their careers.
We support doctors pursuing international research opportunities in the world’s leading hospitals and institutions, as well as low-resource settings in developing countries.
Our award recipients
The RANZCOG Women’s Health Foundation wishes to thank all applicants.
Recipients commencing in 2024
The Foundation is pleased to announce that the following applicants have been offered research and travel awards commencing in 2024.
Arthur Wilson Memorial Scholarship
Recipient: Dr Teresa MacDonald
Institution: University of Melbourne
Project: Checkpoints of placental health during pregnancy to minimise stillbirth risk
Ella Macknight Memorial Scholarship
Recipient: Dr Katayoun Taghavi
Institution: International Agency for Research on Cancer
Project: DNA methylation testing and vaginal microbiome analysis for detection of cervical pre-cancer treatment failure among women living with HIV in Zimbabwe
Ferring Research Grant
Recipient: Dr Alina Roman
Institution: The Mercy Hospital for Women
Project: TNF-alpha inhibitors to rescue pathophysiological features of preeclampsia: Ex vivo biologic proof of principle in human gestational tissue.
Fotheringham Research Fellowship
Recipient: Dr Sean Carter
Institution: National University of Singapore – Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine
Project: Targeted analysis of maternal plasma cell-free RNA as a minimally invasive test for fetal lung maturation
Glyn White Research Fellowship
Recipient: Dr Roshan Selvaratnam
Institution: Monash University
Project: Perinatal events and childhood school outcomes
RANZCOG NSW State Committee Fellow Research Grant
Recipient: Dr James Brown
Institution: Westmead Hospital
Project: Developing a modular antenatal risk stratification algorithm to improve safety, cost effectiveness, and patient choice
Recipient: Dr Hillary Hu
Institution: Westmead Hospital
Project: eHealth interventions for Preeclampsia
RANZCOG NSW State Committee Trainee Research Grant
Recipient: Dr d’Arcy Baxter
Institution: Royal North Shore Hospital
Project: Every woman, right care, right place, every time.
Recipient: Dr Helena Obermair
Institution: Westmead Hospital
Project: The impact of epidemiological factors and patterns of care on outcomes in vulva cancer patients.
Robert Wrigley Pain Research Scholarship
Recipient: Dr Tarana Lucky
Institution: The Royal Women’s Hospital
Project: Profiling microbiota in women with endometriosis — a case control study
Jean Murray Jones Scholarship
Recipient: Dr Sebastian Leathersich
Institution: Dexeus Mujer Spain
Project: Biomarkers of poor ovarian response
NSW State Committee Travelling Scholarship
Recipient: Dr Kumar Praneel
Institution: Port Moresby General Hospital
Brown Craig Travelling Fellowship
Recipient: Dr Reema Kohli
Institution: Purohit General Hospital and Research Centre
Recipient: Dr Jenny Yang
Institution: Moi Teaching Referral Hospital
Recipients commencing in 2023
The Foundation is pleased to announce that the following applicants have been offered research and travel awards commencing in 2023.
RANZCOG NSW State Committee Trainee Research Grant
Recipient: Dr Fiona Li
Institution: University of New South Wales
Project: Discrete Choice Experiment: Determining Patient Decision-Making Factors in Management of Postmenopausal Vaginal Symptoms.
Brown Craig Travelling Fellowship
Recipient: Dr Tarana Lucky
Institution: IFEMENDO, Clinique Tivoli Ducos in Bordeaux, France
Project: Three-month clinical Fellowship
Recipients commencing in 2022
The following applicants were awarded research and travel awards commencing in 2022.
Arthur Wilson Memorial Scholarship
Recipient: Dr Janelle James-McAlpine
Institution: Griffith University
Project: Micronutrient supplementation and birth outcomes in Queensland women.
Ferring Research Grant
Recipient: Dr Mooska Raoofi
Institution: Epworth Freemasons and Royal Women’s Hospitals
Project: A comparison of the imaged preoperative versus the visualised intraoperative uterosacral ligament in women undergoing laparascopic uterosacral ligament suspension for the management of pelvic organ prolapse.
Recipient: Dr Evelyn Smith Romero
Institution: Liverpool and Campbelltown Hospitals
Project: Immediate post-partum contraception information and provision: the impact of consumer and health care provider education and training on uptake – a before and after study.
Fotheringham Research Fellowship
Recipient: Dr Louie Ye
Institution: University of Melbourne
Project: Genome-wide scale functional screen to identify microRNAs essential for human endometrial receptivity.
Norman Beischer Clinical Research Scholarship
Recipient: Dr Bassem Gerges
Institution: Nepean Hospital
Project: Diagnostic accuracy of transvaginal ultrasound, magnetic resonance imaging and positron emission tomography-computed tomography with 16α-[18F]fluoro-17β-estradiol for the diagnosis of rectosigmoid deep endometriosis.
RANZCOG NSW State Committee Trainee Research Grant
Recipient: Dr Komal Chohan
Institution: Royal North Shore Hospital
Project: The use of chorionicity specific growth charts to improve pregnancy outcomes.
Recipient: Dr Zanna Franks
Institution: John Hunter Hospital
Project: Investigating the associations between chronic disease and infertility – A window for change
Recipient: Dr Cansu Uzuner
Institution: Nepean Hospital
Project: Contrast Enhanced Ultrasound with Pulse Inversion Technology in Gynaecology.
NSW State Committee Traveling Scholarship
Recipient: Dr Philip Cellich
Institution: Port Moresby General Hospital, PNG
Project: Six-month clinical Fellowship working in general obstetrics and gynaecology in a low-resource setting.
Robert Wrigley Pain Research Scholarship
Recipient: Dr Supuni Kapurubandara
Institution: University of New South Wales
Project: Women with persistent pelvic pain a lived experience.
UroGynaecological Society of Australasia (UGSA) Research Scholarship
Recipient: Dr Ellen Yeung
Institution: Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital
Project: Histological analysis and Imaging of explanted pelvic mesh.
Recipients commencing in 2021
The following applicants were awarded research and travel awards commencing in 2021.
Brown Craig Travelling Fellowship
Recipient: Dr Alexander Chen
Institution: China Medical University Hospital, Taiwan
Project: Dr Chen will undertake a 12-month Fellowship at the China Medical University Hospital, Taiwan to increase his exposure to open, laparoscopic, and vaginal surgery under the mentorship of well-respected gynaecological oncology and urogynaecological surgeons.
Glyn White Research Fellowship
Recipient: Dr Teresa Macdonald
Institution: University of Melbourne
Project: Is increased fetal growth velocity during pregnancy associated with perinatal and neonatal indicators of pathological overgrowth?
Norman Beischer Clinical Research Scholarship
Recipient: Dr Tegan Triggs
Institution: Mater Mother’s Hospital
Project: Reducing emergency caesarean birth for fetal distress in women with small or poorly grown infants using Sildenafil Citrate – The RidStress 2 Randomised Controlled Trial.
RANZCOG NSW State Committee Fellow Research Grant
Recipient: Dr Supuni Kapurubandara
Institution: Westmead Hospital
Project: Improving the diagnostic workup of pelvic floor myofascial pain in women.
Recipient: Dr Amy Feng
Institution: Blacktown Hospital
Project: LigaSure Retractable L-Hook compared with Harmonic Ace +7 as a single instrument for total laparoscopic hysterectomy: Is bipolar energy superior to ultrasonic energy? A randomised controlled trial.
RANZCOG NSW State Committee Trainee Research Grant
Recipient: Dr Dave Listijono
Institution: University of New South Wales
Project: NAD (Nicotinamide Adenine Dinucleotide)-raising agent as novel treatment for endometriosis: A pilot study.
Recipient: Dr Rahul Chatterjee
Institution: Royal Prince Alfred Hospital
Project: Forces exerted on the pelvic floor and perineum during normal and instrumental vaginal delivery.
UroGynaecological Society of Australasia Research Scholarship
Recipient: Dr Victoria Buckley
Institution: Royal Prince Alfred Hospital
Project: Prolapse surgery and the overactive bladder.
Continuing projects
The following projects received continuing funding in 2021.
Arthur Wilson Memorial Scholarship
Recipient: Dr Claire Henry
Institution: University of Otago, Wellington
Project: Molecular profile of Endometrial Cancer in New Zealand women.
Fotheringham Research Fellowship
Recipient: Dr Tristan Hardy
Institution: SA Pathology
Project: Pregnancy Loss to Preimplantation Genetic Testing: Improving the pathway for couples affected by stillbirth, congenital abnormality or neonatal death.
Norman Beischer Clinical Research Scholarship
Recipient: Dr Manarangi De Silva, The University of Melbourne
Institution: The University of Melbourne
Project: Improving maternal health in the Asia-Pacific Region.
RANZCOG NSW Regional Committee Trainee Research Grant
Recipient: Dr Kelly McNamara, University of Sydney
Institution: University of Sydney
Project: Pregnancy Intention, Contraception and Obstetric Outcomes in Women Who Use Alcohol and Other Drugs in Pregnancy.
NSW Regional Committee Trainee Research Grant
Recipient: Dr Katherine Whitton, Royal Hospital for Women
Institution: Royal Hospital for Women
Project: Can markers in serum and follicular fluid be used to predict the outcome of in-vitro oocyte maturation?
Robert Wrigley Pain Research Scholarship
Recipient: Dr Karen Chan, Women’s Health and Research Institute of Australia
Institution: Women’s Health and Research Institute of Australia
Project: Randomised double-blinded cross-over trial assessing the efficacy of topical amitriptyline combined with estriol in the treatment of women with pudendal neuralgia or vulvodynia.
Beresford Buttery Travel Grant
Recipient: Dr Jennifer Pontré
Details: To support her travel to the University of Sao Paulo Medical School and Digimagem Diagnosticos Medicos, Sau Paulo, to undertake intensive training in transvaginal ultrasound for deeply infiltrating endometriosis.
Presentation ceremonies
2019 PRESENTATION CEREMONY
Past RANZCOG President, Dr Vijay Roach, at the November 2019 Presentation Ceremony with recipients of RANZCOG Honours and 2020 RANZCOG Women’s Health Foundation Scholarships.
2018 PRESENTATION CEREMONY
Scholarship recipients (from left to right) Dr Kata Kraljevic, Dr Daniella Susic, Dr Zhuoran Chen, Dr Chin Yong, Dr Rangi De Silva, Dr Roxanne Hastie and Dr Carole-Anne Whigham attended the 2018 RANZCOG Women’s Health Foundation Scholarship awards ceremony.
2017 PRESENTATION CEREMONY
Recipients (from left to right) Natasha Pritchard, Daniella Susic, Maya Reddy, Asha Short, Amanda Popreczny and (bottom left) Lauren Kite attend the 2017 RANZCOG Women’s Health Foundation Scholarship awards ceremony.
2016 PRESENTATION CEREMONY
Scholarship recipients Dr Kirsten Palmer, Dr Nirmala Kampan, Dr Rachael Rodgers, Dr Tanya Nippita, Dr Noor Lokman, Dr Sarika Gupta and Dr Jason Phung attended the 2016 RANZCOG Foundation Scholarship awards ceremony held at College House, Melbourne in November.
Contact
For further information please contact the Women’s Health Foundation coordinator:
Email: foundation@ranzcog.edu.au
Phone: +61 3 9412 2993