Scholars strengthen Vietnam link

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Tags: discovery, philanthropy, scholarships, Vietnam, winter-2009

Professor Paul Greenfield with (from left), Nguyen Thai Vinh, Truong Phuoc Nghia and Tran Thi Bich Trinh in Ho Chi Minh City

UQ is gaining five talented young Vietnamese researchers under a scholarship program that expands a relationship anchored in philanthropy.

The five winners of UQ’s Vietnam-Australia 35 Year Commemorative Research Higher Degree Scholarships will conduct PhD research in areas including cervical cancer, human brain activity and the development of safer pesticides.

Each scholarship is worth approximately $200,000 for four years of study, with each student based in a UQ institute.

Announcing the winners during a visit to Vietnam in April, Vice-Chancellor Professor Paul Greenfield said the program was launched in 2008 to mark 35 years of resumed diplomatic relations between Australia and Vietnam.

“The scholarships advance the spirit of a scheme that was founded on the generosity of The Atlantic Philanthropies, a global organisation that has been enormously supportive of initiatives in Vietnam and at UQ,” Professor Greenfield said.

Atlantic funded almost 300 Vietnamese students who completed coursework Masters and Doctoral Development programs at UQ between 2000 and 2007. It also provided essential funding for some institutes in which the scholars will study.

“The recipients of these scholarships will enhance links between Australia and Vietnam, build the global knowledge base in vital areas of human health and sustainability, and gain critical skills that they may share with their communities and their nation,” Professor Greenfield said.

The winners are:

•    Duong Minh Tam, who will be supervised by Professor Peter Koopman in the Institute for Molecular Bioscience

•    Nguyen Thai Vinh, who will be based in the Queensland Brain Institute with supervision by Dr Ross Cunnington

•    Nguyen Thi Mai Thanh, who will study at the Sustainable Minerals Institute under the supervision of Dr Claire Cote

•    Truong Phuoc Nghia, who will work alongside Professor Michael Monteiro in the Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (AIBN), and

•    Tran Thi Bich Trinh, whose supervisors in the AIBN will be Dr Steven Reid and Professor Lars Nielsen.

By Fiona Kennedy

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