We are thrilled to announce that researchers Dr Chamikara Liyanage and Kristen Needham are recipients of the 2025 Harold Mitchell Foundation Travel Fellowship.
This prestigious award supports the next generation of scientists by providing them with the opportunity to attend key international conferences and visit leading laboratories worldwide.
Dr Chamikara Liyanage will travel to the USA to attend the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer Annual Meeting and visit one of his team’s collaborators at Rutgers University.
Kristen Needham will travel to the USA to attend the International Conference on Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics, and visit three colon cancer laboratories in New York to present her work and build collaborative connections with highly experienced researchers in the field that will add value to her future research.
Dr Liyanage, who is an early-career researcher in the Cancer Single Cell Genomics Laboratory led by Dr Bhupinder Pal, said:
“I am particularly excited to share my work through the Rutgers Seminar Series, gain hands-on experience with cutting-edge multi-omic techniques, and engage with ongoing clinical trials.
This will be an excellent platform for knowledge exchange and networking, while also strengthening our joint research pipeline, already generating collaborative publications and grant proposals.
Ultimately, this scientific exchange will accelerate our efforts at OJNCRI to develop effective cancer therapies, positioning the institute as a future leader in ageing and cancer biology research.”
Kristen Needham, who is a PhD student in the Oncogenic Transcription Laboratory led by Professor John Mariadason, said:
“This fellowship provides an invaluable opportunity for me to present my novel findings arising from the body of research I have undertaken during my PhD at an international conference, and to gain rigorous feedback from an international scientific audience.
The opportunity to also visit three laboratories in New York which specialise in a range of aspects of colorectal cancer will enable me to discuss my research at more depth with experts in the field, building potential collaborative relationships and strengthening my research for future publication.”
Thank you to the Harold Mitchell Foundation for making these enriching experiences possible and for the ongoing commitment to the education of the next generation of cancer experts through the Harold Mitchell Travel Fellowship.