Molly McDonnell Foundation Scholarship

The Molly McDonnell Foundation honours the memory of Molly McDonnell by raising funds for research into the treatment of epilepsy. Molly suffered from uncontrolled epilepsy with daily seizures requiring large doses of antiepileptic medication. Despite this she led an active and vital life. She graduated from the University of Sydney as a Social Worker, lived independently and travelled overseas alone. She was admired for her special understanding, kindness and wisdom by her family and friends. Molly died undergoing epilepsy surgery on 7th February 2004, a week after her 24th birthday.

The Foundation is offering funds, through the Epilepsy Society of Australia (ESA), for a Scholarship tenable at any Australian teaching hospital or University for a maximum of 12 months. The financial remuneration made available for the Scholarship will be AUD $60,000 for a one year period. The funds must be administered by the research institution in which the successful candidate is working.

Evaluation of candidates and research proposals will be performed by a the Educational committee of the ESA. The successful Fellow will be awarded the presentation at the Annual Scientific Meeting of the ESA.

To be eligible the applicant must:

Be a resident in Australia at the time of application.
Be 40 years of age or less at the time of taking up the Scholarship. This criterion may be waived at the discretion of the Selection Committee.
Be a member of the ESA.
Be a medical graduate who has completed advanced training in general medicine, neurology, paediatrics, clinical pharmacology or neuropharmacology

OR

Be postgraduate in another medical/health specialty relevant to epilepsy, or have a higher degree thesis in an area directly relevant to epileptology.
Have successfully demonstrated clinical excellence or the capacity to undertake a high quality of research.
Intend to continue a career in the epilepsy field in Australia.

The application must include:

An accompanying letter in support of the application from the principal supervisor or the institution where the applicant intends to carry out the research or training.
A curriculum vitae.
A 2-page summary of the research or training proposed
The names of two referees.

Please state on your application if you have applied for funding elsewhere. Candidates who obtain full time salary funding from another source will not be eligible for the scholarship and will be expected to inform the ESA. A candidate may obtain up to 50% of MMF scholarship amount from another source to top up a full time salary.

The closing date is 31 August 2009 and the recipient will be announced at the ESA Annual Scientific Meeting.

To read about past recipients of this scholarship and their projects, visit the Past Recipients section.

For more information about the Molly McDonnell Foundation, visit http://www.molly.org.au/.