Dr Melissa Farnham has been awarded a Carer’s Travel Scholarship by the NSW Cardiovascular Research Network (CVRN).
This Scholarship supported Dr Farnham in presenting her findings on mechanisms underlying intermittent hypoxia induced sympathoexcitation at the Therapeutic Intermittent Hypoxia Retreat in Gainesville, Florida, USA and the Experimental Biology conference in San Diego, California, USA.
As the mother of two children, aged one and three, as well as Unit Leader at HRI, Dr Farnham says, “It’s incredibly important that institutions recognise the family/work juggle primary carers have when they try to maintain a career trajectory. Conferences, particularly international conferences, are vital for building new collaborations and networking with leaders in the field – but when you have primary carer responsibilities, conferences are the first thing to be dropped.”
“This award is the difference between establishing myself as a leader in the medical research field or being a relative unknown, and I am grateful for the support that the CVRN is providing to women in STEM.”
The NSW CVRN Carer’s Travel Scholarship supports early and mid-career cardiovascular researchers in NSW who have had a poster presentation or abstract accepted for a national or international scientific meeting or conference, and who are also the primary caregiver of one or more children under the age of 16 years.
