In an effort to assist Greek researchers during the economic crisis, the University of Melbourne has set up the first Greek Australian fellowship.
The initiative, led by Professors Christos Pantelis and Dennis Velakoulis from the Melbourne Neuropsychiatry Centre, will give up to two candidates the opportunity to venture Down Under and train under the professors at Melbourne University.
“We’ve managed to secure a fellowship to support a young Greek psychiatric researcher to come and be trained by us.
“It’s only a small amount at this point, but we’re hoping to have two of these fellowships and to increase the amount,” Professor Pantelis told Neos Kosmos.
The initiative was inspired by the Professor’s recent trip to Greece, where he took part in the World Federation of Societies of Biological Psychiatry in Athens.
There he had the opportunity to meet with bright young Greek researchers with innovative ideas, but who were facing a lack of resources and training.
“There’s a lot of young talent in Greece, and we want to nurture their careers,” he said.
The collaboration with the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens has secured its initial support of $25,000 thanks to senior product manager of Servier Laboratories Australia, Bill Hadjakis.
“He managed to allocate funding both from Australia and Servier in Europe, jointly funded by the two,” said Mr Pantelis, adding that they hope to be able to increase the amount to $50,000.
There are currently two candidates that have been put forward for the fellowship position, with interviews expected to take place later this month.
The initiative will be launched at a forthcoming lecture on 26 November, scheduled to be delivered by Professor of Psychiatry Nikos Stefanis of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, and his wife, journalist Rika Vagianni.
The pair will present on the psychological impact of the economic crisis on the Greek population, a subject on which Professor Stefanis’ colleagues have recently published work.
The lecture will take place on Thursday 26 November from 6.00 pm-7.00 pm at the Auditorium, Kenneth Myer Building. RSVP by Wednesday 18 November via email at barbaras@unimelb.edu.au or by phone (03) 9035 8628. To learn more about the fellowship, contact Professor Christos Pantelis at cpant@unimelb.edu.au