Success at the Perinatal Society's Annual Congress in Canberra

(from left): Jonathon Morris, President of PSANZ, with award recipients Erin McGillick, Azu Azhan, Aidan Kashyap and Fiona Stenning.

Researchers and students from The Ritchie Centre attended the 21st Annual Congress of the Perinatal Society of Australia and New Zealand this week in Canberra.

Our staff gave invited presentations, ran workshops and practical skills sessions, and presented their research in both oral and poster presentations, covering a variety of topics related to the theme of 'a healthy start to life'.

A number of students and early career researchers received presentation and travel awards.

All gave great presentations, including MBBS/ PhD student Aidan Kashyap, pictured above, who had to step in and give his supervisor's invited presentation after Qantas cancelled the Monday early morning flight!

Aidan won the PSANZ President's New Investigator Award for best overall oral presentation for his talk titled Establishing an ovine model of congenital diaphragmatic hernia to evaluate neonatal transition at birth.

Fiona Stenning, who is also completing a MBBS/PhD, was awarded the PSANZ Best Oral Basic Science Award for her presentation on The timing of maternal oxytocin administration during physiologic-based cord clamping.

Third-year PhD student Azu Aminath won The Ritchie Centre award for Translational Research,

Post-doctoral researcher Dr Erin McGillick was awarded the PSANZ David Henderson-Smart Scholarship, worth $10,000 over two years, to undertake clinical research project focussed on improving the cardiorespiratory transition and respiratory outcomes in preterm babies in collaboration with A/Prof Arjan te Pas at the Leiden University Medical Centre in The Netherlands.

In addition to their presentation awards, Aidan and Azu were also awarded travel grants.

Congratulations to all!

Full list of awards:

PSANZ Best Oral Basic Science
Fiona Stenning

PSANZ President's New Investigator Award for best overall oral presentation
Aidan Kashyap

PSANZ Ritchie Centre Award for Translational Research
Azu Azhan

PSANZ David Henderson-Smart Scholarship
Dr Erin McGillick
$10,000 over 2 years
To undertake clinical research project focussed on improving the cardiorespiratory transition and respiratory outcomes in preterm babies in collaboration with A/Prof Arjan te Pas at the Leiden University Medical Centre in The Netherlands

Travel awards
Azu Azhan
Aidan Kashyap