The American Australian Association is delighted to announce the selection and award of the following scholarship recipients. Meet our scholars and find out more about their career aspirations below.
Isaac Tucker
School to: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
School from: The University of Queensland
Study: Biotechnology
Isaac Tucker is an upcoming PhD graduate from Glenn King’s lab at the Institute for Molecular Bioscience. In his PhD, he focused on developing spider-venom derived therapeutics for the treatment of stroke, heart attack and irritable bowel syndrome. During that time, he received a Fulbright Scholarship to MIT, where he developed formulations for long-term release of medicines under Associate Professor Giovanni Traverso resulting in a 40-fold increase in drug retention. During his post-doctoral studies, he will be expanding the platform he developed to include electronics and other therapeutics and will contribute his experience in drug development as a key member in a multi-disciplinary team while strengthening ties between Australia and the US.
Benjamin Biggs
School to: Johns Hopkins University
School from: n/a
Study: Biomedical Engineering
Benjamin’s studies focus on advancing global care for cancer patients through harnessing the innate power of the immune system to directly combat cancer. As a Johns Hopkins PhD student in the top-nationally-ranked Biomedical Engineering program, his research focuses on enhancing cancer care through adoptive T-cell therapy. Within the Schneck Laboratory, Benjamin’s work designs novel biomaterial platforms and new molecular strategies to enhance the efficacy and accessibility of immunotherapies. Drawing from a strong research background at Merck, Genentech, and Hopkins, and in collaboration with leading US researchers, he is dedicated to pioneering more effective, accessible, and personalized cancer therapies.
Kate Gaylard
School to: Columbia University
School from: Australian Catholic University
Study: Sustainability
Kate’s graduate studies at Columbia University will advance the climate, clean energy, and sustainability priorities between the United States and Australia. By tailoring the Master of Public Administration program towards sustainability finance and innovation, she shall develop the skills needed to lead cooperation across public, private, and philanthropic sectors. Her research at Columbia explores sustainable financing models for climate mitigation, adaptation, and clean energy, and through collaboration proposes to design new pathways to help mobilize green capital towards the U.S and Australia’s sustainability and energy transition goals.
Elizabeth Flatley
School to: University of Pennsylvania
School from: University of Melbourne
Study: Clean Energy – Policy
Elizabeth is Acting Director of the AUKUS Trilateral Legal Frameworks section in the International Law Branch at the Australian Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) and has five years’ professional experience working across the legal sector in Australia. She will research the interconnected issues presented by the climate transition, with a focus on leveraging technology and legal policy to progress Australia’s move to clean energy. She will develop cross-cutting solutions that draw upon legal, political and diplomatic frameworks to support Australia’s ambition in the sector, creating effective change possibilities in the contested policy space of climate change mitigation in Australia.
Patrick Walker
School to: Harvard University
School from: Monash University
Study: Public Health
Patrick is an Australian global health researcher and paediatric doctor passionate about health equity and improving health outcomes in priority populations. His principal and guiding long-term aim is to reduce inequities in neonatal mortality, primarily through effective healthcare-level interventions specifically designed and targeted at addressing gaps in neonatal care in Australia and globally. Patrick’s background in low-cost healthcare intervention research will be academically bolstered by Harvard’s Master of Public Health program, where he shall focus on global and maternal & child health. The coursework, practicum, and research opportunities a Harvard MPH provides will give him an ideal foundation to build from, allowing the skills, experience, and partnerships needed to pursue further neonatal healthcare intervention work in Australia.
Athena Stein
School to: The University of North Carolina
School from: The University of Queensland
Study: Neuroscience
Athena investigated the use of non-invasive brain stimulation (NIBS) to improve attention in children with acquired brain injury (ABI) during her PhD studies. She characterized structural and functional brain network changes following childhood ABI using traditional and exploratory techniques, then tested the efficacy of NIBS to improve attention in this population, including a mechanistic in-clinic study followed by the first clinical trial of at-home NIBS. She will relocate to the University of North Carolina to undertake a post-doctoral appointment where she will develop at-home, personalised NIBS care for use with young adults with manic depressive disorder.
Adam Lawrence
School to: The University of Illinois
School from: The University of Melbourne
Study: Computational Mechanics
Having recently achieved a Master of Engineering with Distinction from The University of Melbourne, Adam brings prior research experience in oceanic remote sensing and nonlinear fluid-structure interaction to his planned PhD with the University of Illinois. His academic interests revolve around computational hydraulics and their complex interaction with their surroundings, including wave-ship interaction, flooding, and fluvial geomorphology. He aims to develop parallel highly efficient models for complex real world environmental and civil systems, and ultimately aspires to leverage his expertise from the United States to better enhance education back in Australia, nurturing the future generations of Australian engineers.
William Turner
School to: Stanford University
School from: The University of Melbourne
Study: Cognitive Neuroscience
William is currently a Postdoctoral Associate at Queensland University of Technology, having completed his PhD in Cognitive Neuroscience at The University of Melbourne in 2021. His research explores how brains extract information from patterns of light and sound in order to achieve complex goals like catching a ball or understanding speech, through combining neural recordings, behavioral experiments, and computational modelling. At Stanford, he will lead a research project investigating the role of predictive neural mechanisms in speech comprehension using machine-learning-based analysis techniques. This will provide a unique window into the neural mechanisms underpinning speech comprehension, offering potential key insights for the development of novel targeted treatment for acquired or developmental language disorders.
Joel Raymond
School to: Rutgers
School from: The University of Sydney
Study: Behavioral Neuroscience
Joel recently completed his PhD at The University of Sydney in behavioral neuroscience investigating the interplay between sleep and social behavior/neurobiology. His postdoctoral research will be centered at the James’ Lab at Rutgers University, and Joel’s research aims to characterize this relatively under-explored interface between sleep and eating disorders by using translational animal models. Through his investigation he aims to better understand how sleep and eating influence each other both biologically and behaviorally, with the ambition to develop novel treatments that can improve the lives of those with eating disorders and sleep problems.
Maria Pia Campagna
School to: The University of California San Francisco
School from: Monash University
Study: Neuroscience
Pia is currently a postdoctoral scientist at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia, having completed her doctoral studies in November 2023. Her research aims to understand the drivers of long-term outcomes in multiple sclerosis – a disease that primarily affects women of reproductive age – using genomic data and bioinformatic analysis techniques. At the University of California San Fransico, she wishes to improve our understanding of the human female brain, especially the role of sex hormones on brain health and disease. She aims to enhance bioinformatics expertise and upon returning to Australia in 2027 establish her own research group to further contribute to this field.
Justine Landis-Hanley
School to: Columbia University
School from: University of Sydney
Study: Investigative Data Journalism
Justine is a New York Times-published journalist and award-winning podcaster, currently reporting on federal politics from the Australian press gallery. Her work has appeared in the Guardian, Sydney Morning Herald, and The Saturday Paper, and in 2022 she co-hosted the Spotify-exclusive youth political podcast ‘Left Right Out’, which was the #1 news show in Australia throughout the federal election. At Columbia University, she will undertake a Master of Science (Journalism) program, specializing in investigative data journalism with the goal to help pioneer new ways that journalists can tell data-driven political investigations to expose corruption and hold governments to account.
Joel Maamary
School to: Mount Sinai
School from: The University of Notre Dame
Study: Neurology
Dr Joel Maamary is a neurologist and PhD Candidate at the St Vincent’s Hospital in Sydney. He completed his neurology training at The Royal Prince Alfred and St Vincent’s Hospitals in Sydney before undertaking a movement disorders fellowship under A/Prof Stephen Tisch at St Vincent’s Hospital Sydney. He holds both clinical and research appointments across the St Vincent’s campus in addition to a VMO appointment at the Sydney and Sydney Eye, and Wagga Wagga Base Hospitals. Joel has been the recipient of multiple scholarships and research grants. He is completing his PhD on the use of MRI guided focused ultrasound thalamotomy for individuals with focal hand dystonia and has an interest in translational research, novel therapeutics, neuro-ophthalmology, functional neurosurgery and the clinical utility of machine-based learning capabilities.
Australia to USA Veteran Scholars
Tamar Jamieson
School to: Florida Institute of Technology
School from: Flinders University
Study: Biofouling
Dr. Tamar Jamieson is a postdoctoral scientist at Flinders University with her research focusing on understanding biofouling dynamics on materials. During her PhD, Dr. Jamieson tackled industry challenges concerning biofouling management across maritime platforms. She co-authored research papers investigating biofouling drivers in seawater reverse osmosis desalination plants and is driven by a passion for advancing knowledge in biofouling dynamics and its implications for defence industries. Her goal is to contribute to the development of sustainable solutions that mitigate biofouling impacts on marine infrastructure while fostering interdisciplinary collaboration and driving positive change in the defence maritime sector.
Darcy Smith
School to: Yale University
School from: The University of Adelaide
Study: Defence Technology
Darcy’s area of expertise lies in the physics of multimode optical fibers, where he has authored peer-reviewed papers in multimode optical fiber sensing and is currently performing research into a novel method of nonlinear effect suppression in multimode fiber lasers using wavefront shaping. His research visit to Yale University, facilitated by the South Australia Defence Space & Cyber Scholarship, aims to strengthen the collaboration between the University of Adelaide, University of South Australia, and Yale University. This collaboration, co-funded by the US Air Force Office of Scientific Research, focuses on a novel method of power scaling and nonlinear effect suppression in high power fiber lasers through wavefront shaping. The visit will unify current modeling efforts between Adelaide and Yale, accelerate research progress, and strengthen international research relations.
Australia to USA Veteran Scholars
William Ranson-Smith
School from: Australian National University
Study: MBA
William joined the Australian Army immediately after year 12 as an enlisted soldier in both a full-time and reserve capacity until 2020. He then completed his studies at the Australian National University and became an investment banker at J.P. Morgan, Melbourne, until 2023. He then moved to London to begin his current role in the pension risk transfer industry with Rothesay. William will pursue study in the form of a Master of Business Administration program at a US business school, with the idea of a future managerial or leadership position in the field.
Grace Manahan
School to: Georgetown University
School from: Griffith University
Study: Technology – Data and National Security
Grace is a commercial lawyer specializing in international technology and data law, with a focus on critical infrastructure regulation and international cyber risk response frameworks. She is interested in the nexus of Australia’s defence and security policy, strategy, and modern military cooperation in the Indo-Pacific. As a 2024 Fulbright Scholar, Grace will complete an LLM to build specialized skills relating to emerging security threats in the Indo-Pacific. She will also complete a dissertation analyzing Indo-Pacific states’ cyber response policies to critical infrastructure interference, to enhance Australian-US policymaking on this topic. Grace is also an Army Reservist, having first enlisted in 2015.
Annabel Newland
School to: The Julliard School
Study: Master of Music – Voice
Uruguayan-Australian soprano Natasha Isabella Gesto is a first year Master of Music (Voice) student and Kovner Fellow at The Juilliard School, studying under Darrell Babidge, and holds a Bachelor of Music and Graduate Diploma in Music from the Sydney Conservatorium. Natasha is also currently a member in Santa Fe Opera’s 2024 season as an apprentice artist, creating the role of Diedre from Gregory Spears’ The Righteous (world premiere). Previous roles include Nedda (Pagliacci), Ruth Baldwin (Later the Same Evening), La Contessa (Le nozze di Figaro), Pamina (Die Zauberflöte), Dame Nellie Melba (Percy). Performances include Brahm’s German Requiem (2023), Poulenc’s Gloria (2021), Mozart’s Requiem Dmin (2020).
Tess Overmyer
School to: The Manhattan School of Music
Study: Master of Music – Jazz
Tess Overmyer has established herself as one of the most exciting, dynamic saxophone players in the Australian jazz scene, rapidly gaining her recognition for a maturity that appears well beyond her years. Her skill and unique voice have been recognized in the form of a nomination for the prestigious Freedman Jazz Fellowship, a commission from ABC Jazz, and selection as the 2023 Sydney Improvised Music Association’s Sonic Futures artist. She will study the Master of Music in Jazz Alto Saxophone degree at the Manhattan School of Music in New York under esteemed saxophonists Nicole Glover and Donny McCaslin, along with award-winning composer Darcy James Argue.
Jane Pankhurst
School to: University of Southern California
Study: Classical Clarinet
Jane Pankhurst is a classically trained clarinetist from Perth, Western Australia, graduating in 2022 with a Bachelor of Philosophy (First Class Honors) from the University of Western Australia. She is actively involved within the Australian music performance industry, performing regularly with the West Australian Symphony Orchestra, Perth Symphony Orchestra, Australian Youth Orchestra and West Australian Youth Orchestra. Jane is mentor for young West Australian clarinetists, working within the music education community as clarinet tutor at Methodist Ladies College.
Sophie Seyd
School to: Tisch School of the Arts
Study: Screen Writing & Film Direction
Sophie Seyd was born in Hong Kong to an Iraqi-Jewish mother and English father, and raised in Melbourne, Australia. The multiplicity in her experience of identity and layered sense of self is foundational to her interest in exploring her studies as an emerging artist/filmmaker. She wrote and co-directed an eight-part audio documentary ‘The Invisible Hand’ which looked at the rhino poaching crisis and violent conflict that has consequently ensued across the border of South Africa and Mozambique, and is currently undertaking Tisch’s MFA in Screen Writing & Film Direction with the ambition to continue to make films that have the capacity to create real and lasting social impact.
Sophie Smyth
School to: The CineStory Foundation
Study: Screenwriting
Sophie Smyth is a neurodivergent writer, singer, and actor. She creates inclusive autobiographical work about disability access and inclusion and has several awards including the Lesley Hall Award; Green Room Award for Best Writing in a Cabaret; and was runner-up in Australian Writer’s Guild Monte Miller Award. She will undertake a CineStory Foundation retreat, where she shall be paired with industry professionals for one-on-one feedback and mentoring sessions; experience professional writers rooms run by experienced mentors; and attend specialized panel discussions about the craft and business of writing for the screen.
Isobel Waters
School to: The Pilchuck Glass School
Study: Glass Art
Isobel Waters is a South Australian emerging artist currently studying a Bachelor of Visual Arts at the Australian National University (ANU) in Canberra. Isobel works with a variety of glass fabrication techniques including glass blowing, kiln forming, flameworking, cold working, and assemblage. Inspired by her experience working as an acute care Physiotherapist in Australian hospitals, Isobel uses her fabrication skills to create visceral anthropomorphic pieces which explore both personal and socio-political concepts regarding the human body and health in an interactive viewing experience.
Ashly Zhang
School to: The New England Conservatory
Study: Collaborative Piano
Ashly Zhang has quickly garnered a reputation as one of Australia’s most exciting young pianists. She graduated earlier this year with the Master of Music in Collaborative Piano from the Sydney Conservatorium under the tutelage of Dr Theresa Leung and will undertake further studies at the New England Conservatory in Boston. In 2023 she attended the Aspen Music Festival on full scholarship and has collaborated with artists including Alexandra Osborne (Sydney Symphony), Rachel Siu (AOBO) and Jeanell Carrigan (Sydney Conservatorium), and Tahlia Petrosian (Gewandhaus Orch).
John Harvey
School to: Boston University
Specialization: Writer, Director, Producer
John is a writer, director and producer across theatre and film, the Creative Director of Brown Cabs and a board director for Bangarra Dance. His theatre writing credits include: ‘The Return’ (2023 Winner Victorian Premier’s Literary Award for Drama, 2023 AWG AWGIE Award nominee); ‘Heart is a Wasteland’; ‘Black Ties’; film writing/directing credits include: ‘Still We Rise’ (2023 AIDC Best Documentary / Factual Single, 2023 ADG Award for Best Direction); ‘Off Country’ (2022 ADG Award Best Direction, MIFF); Katele (2023 Best Australian Short Film, Flickerfest & MIFF); ‘Water’; ‘Out of Range’. He produced Spear (TIFF) and Sand for The Turning (Berlinale).
Leon Zhan
School to: Pratt Institute
School from: Melbourne Institute of Technology
Study: Fine Art
Leon was born and raised in Noosa to Chinese immigrant parents and was immersed in cultural traditions, superstitions and generational conversations. His bi-cultural upbringing has heavily influenced his practice, and central to his work is the search for balance and harmony within the fluidity of cross-cultural hybridity. Through painting and sculpture, he addresses the subtleties and nuances inherent in the dance between Orient and Occident – finding solace in the grey-area of perpetual in-betweenness.
Mitchell Seljanovski
School to: The American Film Institute
School from: Bond University
Study: Screenwriting
Mitchell attended Bond University where he studied Bachelor of Film and Television and following graduation has worked in the industry across multiple roles and in various capacities. He began as a note-taker in writers’ rooms, then moved into the production as runner and additional AD. Last year Mitchell was invited into his first brainstorming session as a writer, and as a result was offered a script coordinator position on BBC’s Return to Paradise. Following completion of the program at AFI his goal is to return to Australia and build his career as both a writer and producer.
Aruna D’Souza
School from: New York University
Specialization: Art Journalism
Aruna has been a full-time freelance arts writer since 2016, contributing to a range of publications including the New York Time and 4Columns. Her writing is especially focused on artists of color and on the lesson that art holds for us in imagining new and more just forms of life in an increasingly precarious world. Aruna was invited to give a keynote talk at the Art Association of Australia and New Zealand annual conference in December 2023 and hopes to connect with similar writers during her sojourn with the aim to deepen her ability to think globally about both her work and art.
Aruna D’Souza
School from: New York University
Specialization: Art Journalism
Aruna has been a full-time freelance arts writer since 2016, contributing to a range of publications including the New York Time and 4Columns. Her writing is especially focused on artists of color and on the lesson that art holds for us in imagining new and more just forms of life in an increasingly precarious world. Aruna was invited to give a keynote talk at the Art Association of Australia and New Zealand annual conference in December 2023 and hopes to connect with similar writers during her sojourn with the aim to deepen her ability to think globally about both her work and art.
Alex Enticknap
School from: University of Technology Sydney
Development: Fashion & Textiles
Alex is a recent graduate with First Class Honors in Fashion Design from University of Technology Sydney. He has worked on several high-profile events including the 2022 Sydney Fashion Week and was awarded the 2023 Australia Fashion Foundation Award for his graduate collection. He is interested in sustainable fashion and integration of technology into design + production, specializing in integrating artificial intelligence in the fashion and textile specialist field.
Sean McCallum
School from: RMIT
Development: Fashion Design
Sean McCallum holds a degree from the Bachelor of Fashion Design program at RMIT University, graduating in 2023 as a recipient of the Grath Elms prize. His practice revolves around pushing the boundaries of textile manipulation and challenging conventional tailoring and dressmaking techniques through innovative form-making. He operates his own sustainable fashion company, creating upcycled capsule collections with a basis in a customized approach from concept to product.
Blake Sutherland
School from: Whitehouse Institute of Design
Development: Creative Direction & Storytelling
Blake Sutherland is a Creative Director and Stylist based in Sydney, Australia. With a childhood obsession with textiles, illustration and dolls he began his career training as a fashion designer before moving into editorial fashion styling. During his studies he won the first DISSH LGBT scholarship and was awarded a coveted scholarship from the Australian Fashion Foundation in New York. He utilizes his multi-disciplinary experiences to approach design with a 360 point of view, and his editorial work has been featured in Paper Magazine, Russh and Vogue Australia, with content creation for brands such as Celine and Valentino.