July 30, 2020

UOW students awarded Tynan Family and Molecular Horizons honours scholarships

Scholarships to fund a collaborative research on antimicrobial resistance

Four University of Wollongong (UOW) students have been awarded the Tynan Family Molecular Horizons Honours scholarships of $1000 each to support their research on antimicrobial resistance (AMR).

UOW received $30,000 from the Michael Tynan Memorial Challenge (MTMC) in 2019 for Molecular Horizons, UOW’s molecular life sciences facility (MH). The scholarship was established to fund a new collaborative project in the area of antimicrobial/microbiology research.

The MH facility at UOW has set up research themes to undertake studies and research at a molecular level. The donation from MTMC will support undergraduate student research in MH research groups. Some examples of research strengths within MH include motor neurone disease, Alzheimer's, cancer therapeutics, molecular neuroscience and protein aggregation related diseases. 

The $1000 honours scholarships have been awarded to:

• Jordan Nicholls, Bachelor of Medical Biotechnology (Honours)
• Callum O’ Flaherty, Bachelor of Medical Biotechnology (Honours)
• Jessica Semken, Bachelor of Medicinal Chemistry (Honours)
• Nutchaya Noradechanun, Bachelor of Science- Major in Biotechnology (Honours)

As part of the collaborative research, UOW researchers have also received grants of $4000 per group to support the project costs associated with the antimicrobial research.

The $4000 grants on collaborative research have been awarded to:

• Prof Paul Keller and Prof Stephen Pyne
• A/Prof Martina Sanderson-Smith and A/Prof Aaron Oakley
• Dr Andrew Robinson and Prof Michael Kelso
• Dr Gökhan Tolun

The four research projects will directly support the research being done by the student recipients of the scholarships and the grants will ensure the students get the highly specialised materials they need for research.

Tynan Motors Group Director, Madeline Tynan highlighted the importance of supporting the medical research in the Illawarra community and would continue to be associated with UOW's health and research facilities in the region. 

"As a family, we are passionate about giving back to the Illawarra community and as our business grows in the Illawarra region, we are delighted to support the development taking place in the medical research facilities at UOW," Ms Tynan said. 

The MH facility used $2,000 to support a Wollongong-based scientific symposium, Bugs by the Beach, which was held in November 2019. The symposium allowed researchers from across NSW and the ACT, including many students, to come together and discuss the latest developments in microbiology and AMR research.

The remaining $8,000 will be used to support student research projects that have been severely disrupted by the on-going COVID crisis.

UOW Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research and Innovation), Professor Jennifer L Martin AC, welcomed the scholarship announcement and thanked the Tynan family for their ongoing support.

“I am delighted to see the outstanding work being done by Antoine and his team and how they are supporting our students to realise their dreams,” Professor Martin said.

“UOW thanks the Tynan family for supporting our researchers and contributing to University’s success in AMR research.”