Improving transplants

John Curtin School of Medical Research PhD candidate Fui Jiun Choong is completing the final six months of her PhD with the help of a top-up scholarship after being supported by the ANU PhD Scholarship and ANU Tuition Scholarship in her first three and a half years.

The John Curtin Medical Research Foundation, a named foundation within the Endowment for Excellence, helped Fui Jiun acquire the top-up scholarship from the John James Memorial Foundation.

Coming to ANU from a small town in West Malaysia, Fui Jiun depended on her Scholarships to help cover the living and studying expenses associated with being an international student. It gave her the freedom to focus on her research in transplant science in the Diabetes/Transplantation Immunobiology laboratory.

"The scholarships have substantially alleviated my financial burden, especially as an international student. I'm now able to fully focus on completing the remainder of my PhD work without worrying about financial problems"

The much needed top-up scholarship enabled Fui Jiun to continue research into how to improve the quality of isolated islets (cells from the pancreas which can be transplanted into another person to produce insulin) for transplants and to prevent transplant rejection. Her research could also improve the quality of life for those with Type 1 diabetes.

Fui Jiun is extremely grateful to the donors who made her scholarships possible.

"I am truly indebted to the honourable donors. With their help, I am now able to complete my studies. Not only has it helped me in completing my research but it has also had a beneficial impact on the transplantation community. I hope that I will be able to return the kindness by contributing back to the University after I graduate," she says.

The John James Memorial Foundation is a long-time supporter of ANU and also gives generously to PhD scholarships, medical research and mental health research at the University.