The I. Peter Farrell SpinalCure Fellowship

SpinalCure is proud to offer

The I. Peter Farrell
SpinalCure Fellowship

This prestigious award will support an outstanding early/mid-career researcher undertaking innovative research which takes steps towards the goal of a cure for spinal cord injury.

Provides $1.5million (AUD) over 5 years

Open for researchers 3–10 years post PhD

Applications open 1st February 2024

Applications close 31st July 2024

This Fellowship is offered in honour of the late I. Peter Farrell.

Peter was a successful computer scientist and led a very active life until a car accident in his 60s rendered him a tetraplegic. Not to be deterred by this turn of events, Peter returned to work and lived life to the full, accommodating his disability. He lived the balance of his life, determined that people such as him should not only derive the maximum quality of life but continue to contribute to society—a worthy goal for all of us.

The objectives

The objectives of the Fellowship are to support outstanding early career researchers to:

undertake innovative research which takes steps towards the goal of a cure for spinal cord injury

develop their skills and advance their careers in Australia

Eligible applications will investigate novel ways to restore and/or protect communication between brain and body after a spinal cord injury, or to enhance our understanding of the spinal cord, thereby advancing the field of cure-related research. Basic science and pre-clinical projects are particularly encouraged.

Candidate eligibility

Candidates are eligible to apply for the Fellowship if they satisfy the following requirements:

  • At the time of submitting their application, the candidate must be an early career, postdoctoral researcher with between three and ten years of research experience, relative to opportunity, since the awarding of their PhD (that is, the date on which their PhD was approved by the board of graduate studies).
  • At the time of acceptance and for the duration of the Fellowship, candidates must either be an Australian citizen, a permanent resident of Australia, or hold an appropriate visa enabling employment in Australia for the term of the Fellowship.
  • Candidates must not have tenure or equivalent.
  • If successful, the candidate shall spend a minimum of 80% of their FTE time on research relating to the fellowship application.
  • Candidates must submit an ORCID (Open Researcher and Contributor ID) identifier with their application
  • Former recipients of the Fellowship are not eligible.

Host institution eligibility

Eligible Host institutions are defined to be those approved as National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Approved Administering Organisations.

Candidates must nominate a single Host institution to be responsible for the management of the grant.  A Funding agreement will be made between SpinalCure Australia and the nominated Host institution of the successful candidate.

Key dates

1st February 2024 — Applications open
31st July 2024, 5.00pm AEST — Applications close
September 2024 — Winning applicant notified
January 2025 — Fellowship term begins

Applications