What would you do with an AUD$40,000 scholarship to the United States? For David Waddington the award offers the chance to work at Harvard-MIT on ways to better track and label diseases in the body.
Mr Waddington is the recipient of the 2013 Fulbright Post-graduate Scholarship in Nuclear Science and Technology sponsored by the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO).
The Fulbright Program is the largest and one of the most prestigious educational scholarship programs in the world operating between the United States and over 155 countries offering junior to mid-career professionals and academics the opportunity to conduct studies at a university or research facility affiliated with a university in the United States.
For Waddington this year’s award fulfils a dream to be hosted by one of the world’s most respected facilities, the Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences & Technology, for research towards his PhD in physics.
“My project involves investigating the potential medical applications of quantum nanoscience,” Mr Waddington said.
“What I am aiming to do is to develop an entirely new bio-probe based on the detection and tracking of nontoxic nanoparticles in biological environments,” David said.
“Through manipulation of nuclear and electron spin states in nanodiamonds, this research aims to develop novel in-vivo imaging modalities based on Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI). This will enable nanoparticles to act as beacons within living tissues, allowing tracking and labelling of disease.”
The University of Sydney physics researcher is the third recipient of this ANSTO sponsored award since its establishment in 2010 and will receive a scholarship valued up to AUD$40,000, including (tax free in Australia) AUD$5,200 per month for a maximum period of 6 months and AUD$6,300 for return travel to the U.S.
ANSTO undertakes research that advances the application of nuclear science and technology in areas as diverse as materials, health, climate change, mining and engineering. It applies innovation in nuclear technology, for Australian industry and business, and also provides the international research community with access to landmark facilities for science.
Previous winners of the ANSTO sponsored Fulbright Professional or Senior Scholarship in Nuclear Science and Technology include Daniel Duke from Monash University who went to Argonne National Laboratory in Illinois to study sprays at an atomic level using pioneering Synchrotron X-ray techniques.
Published: 02/04/2013