Hudson Institute Emerging Leaders announced

Six Early Career Researchers have been chosen for the inaugural Hudson Institute Emerging Leaders program.

Awardees Dr Miranda Davies-Tuck, Dr Stacey Ellery, Dr Robert Galinsky, Dr Cristina Giogha, Dr Courtney McDonald and Dr Jun Yang have been selected to participate in the prestigious annual program, which aims to empower and support high-achieving Early Career Researchers, helping them towards the goal of becoming independent researchers.

Established by Hudson Institute’s Career Development Committee in collaboration with leadership trainers, WALT Institute, the tailored scheme focuses on preparing awardees for the responsibility of managing an independent research group, providing tools to cope with the pressure of a research career, and developing the confidence to create change in the scientific community.

The initiative will provide awardees with personalised and comprehensive leadership training and mentoring throughout 2020. The wider impact of the program includes Awardees sharing their knowledge and experiences with other Early Career Researchers, ensuring what they have learnt will help others.

Our congratulations goes to Dr Davies-Tuck, Dr Ellery, Dr Galinsky, Dr Giogha, Dr McDonald and Dr Yang for their selection into the program, which recognises their outstanding achievements thus far and demonstrated leadership potential, representing a promising future for Hudson Institute.

“Establishing a sustainable career in medical research is incredibly difficult; as a result, highly talented young scientists are too often lost to other careers. The program provides the Awardees with leadership skills and practical tools to bolster their resilience, ensuring they reach their potential as future leaders” commented Career Development Committee Chair, Dr Minni Anko.

Awardee, Dr McDonald said it was an incredible opportunity.

“I’m really excited to be selected as an Emerging Leader within the institute. I hope it will allow me to develop my leadership skills which will be crucial for establishing my own independent research career.”

Emerging Leaders program awardees

Dr Miranda Davies-Tuck from the Epidemiology and Clinical Trials Research Group at Hudson Institute

Dr Miranda Davies-Tuck

Dr Davies-Tuck is an NHMRC Early Career Research Fellow and Research Scientist in the Epidemiology and Clinical Trials group.

Her primary research areas include understanding ethnic differences in maternal and perinatal outcomes, improved antenatal detection of small babies, stillbirth, assessing the effectiveness of current antenatal and intrapartum interventions and home birth.

Dr Stacey Ellery, research scientists from the Maternal and Perinatal Medicine Research group at Hudson Institute

Dr Stacey Ellery

Dr Ellery is an NHMRC Peter Doherty Early Career Research Fellow and Postdoctoral Scientist in the Embryology and Placental Biology and Maternal and Perinatal Medicine groups.

She is currently investigating whether adjustments to maternal diet and creatine availability can improve outcomes in pregnancies complicated by fetal growth retardation, preeclampsia, preterm birth, and intrapartum asphyxia.

Dr Robert Galinsky from the Perinatal Transition Research Group at Hudson Institute

Dr Robert Galinsky

Dr Galinsky is an NHMRC CJ Martin Early Career Research Fellow and Research Scientist in the Perinatal Inflammation and Perinatal Transition groups.

His research primarily focuses on the pathogenesis, detection and treatment of perinatal brain injury to improve long-term outcomes after birth.

Dr Cristina Giogha

Dr Giogha is a Postdoctoral Scientist in the Innate Immune Responses to Infection group.

Her research involves studying a range of medically important bacteria that cause gastroenteritis, such as E. coli, Salmonella and Shigella. Cristina’s work focuses on understanding how bacterial proteins exert their activity, and using this information to develop more effective treatments and vaccines for gastrointestinal disease.

Dr Courtney McDonald

Dr McDonald is an NHMRC Cerebral Palsy Alliance Early Career Research Fellow and Research Scientist in the Neurodevelopment and Neuroprotection group.

Her research focuses on the use of umbilical cord blood (UCB) cells to treat perinatal brain injury. Her group hopes to identify key cells within UCB with immunosuppressive and neuroregenerative properties that can be used to protect the developing brain.

Dr Jun Yang from the Cardiovascular Endocrinology Research Group at Hudson Institute

Dr Jun Yang

Dr Yang is a Research Scientist within the Cardiovascular Endocrinology Group at Hudson Institute, a Consultant Endocrinologist at Monash Health and a Senior Postdoctoral Fellow in the School of Clinical Sciences at Monash University.

She is working to identify macrophage-specific mineralocorticoid receptor (MR) coregulators with the ultimate aim of developing a tissue-selective MR modulator that can alter the macrophage proinflammatory state without affecting epithelial MR activity. This would offer protection from cardiac fibrosis and failure without causing hyperkalemia.