Back row (from left): Kaya Fukushima; Joyce Guo; Matthew Moore; Shakeel Mohammed; Paddy Cheah
Front row (from left): Duncan Finlayson; Johanna Mathieson; Caryn Thomas; Justin Lee; William Pitts; Connor Leadley
Absent: Marcus Ground; Kato McDonald; Christina Grove.
A group of Otago Medical School student researchers were awarded scholarships this week, showing there's a bright future for medical research in New Zealand.
The University of Otago students are all in the process of completing their medical training through the Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MB ChB), but 14 have taken a year to add a research component to their education.
That research component – the Bachelor of Medical Science with Honours (BMedSc(Hons)) – involves a full-time year of research, including a thesis, in a field of medical science.
To gain entry to the programme students must show evidence of a robust research project with good supervisors. All domestic students admitted to the course have the year's fees paid for – approximately $10,000 each.
A maximum of 22 students can take the Honours course each year.
As well as having their fees paid, they also receive 'stipends' – monthly payments to assist with their living cost – over the course's 10-month duration. Those stipends are awarded as scholarships – the ones announced this week.
At the ceremony, Otago Medical School Dean Professor Rathan Subramaniam paid tribute to the scholarship endowments, which made the year a feasible option for students.
He also thanked the students for their hard work, dedication and their choice to commit to research, as well as their medical training. In fact, the work the students were doing was so vital the Otago Medical School planned to significantly increase the uptake of the year-long course, he said.
Several of each year's BMedSc(Hons) students continued on to PhD research, while 90 percent of them went on to a career in academia, Professor Subramaniam, said.
“One of the top strategic priorities of the Otago Medical School is to expand this programme, to double it over the next five years.”
The scholarships announced this week are worth more than $80,000 and are shared around all of this year's students. Combined with fee support, more than $220,000 will have been offered in financial support to the course's students this year. Research trusts given to the Otago Medical School for medical research have paid for these fees for more than 20 years.
• The Bachelor of Medical Science with Honours (BMedSc(Hons)) degree is available to students who have satisfactorily completed three or more years of study towards a Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MB ChB) degree. Most students enrol for the BMedSc(Hons) degree after their third year, but a few do so after their fifth year, prior to their trainee internship.
2020 Bachelor of Medicine with Honours (BMedScHons) Awards
Otago Medical School Scholarship – Value $5,000
Funds are provided from the General Research Trust held by the Otago Medical School from various donations to support research.
Paddy Chea
Project title: Diabetes induced changes in the M and Ca2+ clock proteins
Supervisors: Associate Professor Peter Jones and Dr Regis Lamberts, Physiology, School of Biomedical Sciences
Marcus Ground
Project title: Decellularised xenogenic tissue as a novel heart valve graft
Supervisors: Professor Rob Walker, Medicine, Otago Medical School Dunedin Campus, Professor Jillian Cornish, Green Lane Hospital Auckland, Dr Paget Milsom, Head Cardiothoracic Surgery, Auckland
Connor Leadley
Project title: The never-resting heart: a loss of circadian rhythm in the diabetic heart
Supervisors: Dr Carol Bussey and Dr Regis Lamberts, Physiology, School of Biomedical Sciences
Justin Lee
Project title: Familial immune thrombocytopenia
Supervisors: Professor Ian Morison and Dr Roberts Weeks, Pathology, Otago Medical School Dunedin Campus
Johanna Mathieson
Project title: Neuromodulation of microbiome in health and disease
Supervisor: Dr Yusuf Cakmak, Anatomy, School of Biomedical Sciences
Kato McDonald
Project title: Field testing a Māori/Pacific version of a Japanese iPad app to support culturally responsive goal setting in clinical rehabilitation: a qualitative study
Supervisors: Professor William Levack, Rehabilitation Teaching and Research Unit, University of Otago Wellington, Dr Tristram Ingham and Ms Bernadette Jones, Medicine, University of Otago Wellington
Shakeel Mohammed
Project title: The use of virtual reality simulations in assessing clinical situational awareness
Supervisors: Dr Steve Gallagher, Medical Education and Dr Phil Blyth, eLearning, Otago Medical School Dunedin Campus
Matthew Moore
Project title: Epicardial adipose tissue as a risk factor for cardiovascular events
Supervisor: Dr Sean Coffey, Medicine and Professor Greg Jones, Surgery, Otago Medical School Dunedin Campus
Marcus Fitchett & Reginal Medlicott Memorial Award – Value $5,000
This scholarship was established in 1997 in memory of the late Dr M A R Fitchett, BMedSc, MB ChB, BA, MSc, and his grandfather, the late Professor R W Medlicott, MB ChB, FRACP, FRANZCP, both graduates of the University of Otago Medical School. Its aim is to assist a student working for the Bachelor of Medical Science with Honours degree in the fields of Philosophy, Psychiatry, Psychology, cognitive science or a related field.
Christina Grove
Project title: Pride in Safe Learning. An analysis of educational safety among medical students in relation to sexual and gender minority curriculum in Otago Medical School
Supervisors: Associate Professor Rebecca Grainger, Medical Education, University of Otago Wellington, Professor Sunny Collings, Health Research Council
Phyllis Paykel Memorial Scholarship – Value $8,500
Established in 2016 by the Trustees of the Maurice and Phyllis Paykel Trust. The award is to assist students enrolled for the degrees of Bachelor of Medical Science (Hons).
Kaya Fukushima
Project title: How do mutations in FLNA perturb ossification of the human skeleton?
Supervisor: Professor Stephen Robertson and Dr Emma Wade, Women's and Children's Health, Otago Medical School Dunedin Campus
Caryn Thomas
Project title: The impact of short supply of a common contraceptive pill on pregnancy outcomes; a nationwide cohort study
Supervisors: Dr Helen Paterson, Women's and Children's Health and Professor Rhiannon Braund, Preventive and Social Medicine, Otago Medical School Dunedin Campus
Tassell Scholarship – Value $8,000
Established under the terms of the late Lindsay Beatrice Hesketh Tassell Bequest to assist students enrolled for the degree of BMedSc(Hons) undertaking cancer research.
Duncan Findlayson
Project title: The application of circulating tumour DNA to the management of gastrointestinal cancer
Supervisors: Professor Parry Guilford and Dr Donghui Zou, Biochemistry, School of Biomedical Sciences
A F J Mickle Scholarship – Value $600
The A F J Mickle Scholarship was established in 1935 by Mrs Mickle of Christchurch in memory of her husband; Dr A F J Mickle for research in Anatomy, Physiology, or Biochemistry fields.
Duncan Findlayson
Project title: The application of circulating tumour DNA to the management of gastrointestinal cancer
Supervisors: Professor Parry Guilford and Dr Donghui Zou, Biochemistry, School of Biomedical Sciences
LF Hall Scholarship – Value $5,000
Established in 2011 under the terms of the estate of the late Lorraine Francis Hall for the education of future medical professionals in the Neurological disciplines.
William Pitts
Project title: Effect of MDMA (3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine) and tinnitus matched sound therapy on perception of tinnitus and related distress: A proof-of-principle study
Supervisors: Professor Dirk de Ridder and Dr Divya Adhia, Surgery and Professor Paul Glue, Psychological Medicine. Otago Medical School Dunedin Campus, Professor Paul Smith and Associate Professor Yiwen Zheng, Pharmacology and Toxicology, School of Biomedical Sciences, Associate Professor Bruce Russell, School of Pharmacy
James Renfrew White Scholarship – Value $5,000
Established in 2017 in the memory of the late Mr James Renfrew White, a graduate of the Otago Medical School who was the Director of Orthopaedic Surgery for the Otago Hospital Board and Lecturer in Orthopaedic Surgery from 1920 to 1948. For research in a surgical discipline, with preference given to an Orthopaedic Surgery topic.
Shuchen Joyce Guo
Project title: Measuring proficiency in the operating theatre. Can simulation provide a valid surrogate for real world simulation?
Supervisor: Dr Phil Blyth, Anatomy, School of Biomedical Sciences