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  • 2025 Metcalf Prizes for Stem Cell Research

    Important information about this form

    Before you begin this form, please carefully read the application instructions on the Foundation's website: www.stemcellfoundation.net.au/metcalf_prizes_for_stem_cell_research. 

    There you will find information about eligibility, selection criteria, conditions of the award and key dates.

    If you don't quite fit the criteria but wish to plead special circumstances, you can do this in your personal statement at the end of the form.

    We strongly recommend that you draft your application offline using the template available at: www.stemcellfoundation.net.au/metcalf_prizes.

    We will not accept applications in Word or PDF format. Your application must be made using this online form.

    You will be required to upload your CV with a full record of your employment history and full list of publications as part of submitting your application online.

    Your CV should be no more than five pages. You can submit your list of publications as a separate file. More information at: www.stemcellfoundation.net.au/frequently_asked_questions.

    Please note:

    • Only Australian citizens and Permanent Residents can apply.
    • Questions with an asterisk (*) must be answered.
    • Once you hit submit on your online application, that’s it—no further editing will be possible.
    • CV and publications list must be uploaded as part of your online application before you submit.
    • Applications close on Monday 11 August 2025 at 11:59pm AEST.
    • Applicants will be advised about the outcome of their application by late-September 2025.
    • For the Prize winners, the funds will be paid half in November 2025, and half in May 2026.

    Where possible, please speak directly to your research track record in stem cell biology - impactful, meaningful research that is either building foundational knowledge in stem cell biology or adapting and translating stem cell technologies to address pressing challenges in disease. This includes using stem cells for disease modelling, drug screening, or development of biomaterials for tissue engineering.

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  • Your details

  • 1. Applicant's details

  • 2. Gender

  • 3. Contact details

  • 4. Address

  • 5. Please enter the date(s) you received your PhD and/or MD

    If you have a clinical fellowship award and a PhD/MD, please state your award dates for each.

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  • 6. If the date of your PhD is NOT between August 2015 and August 2020, please briefly note why here.

    Allowance will be made for research career breaks, including maternity or family leave, periods of part-time work, or time spent on non-research related clinical work.

    Applicants can claim a career interruption for parental leave around the birth of a child of 1.5 years per child. This applies to parents of any gender.

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  • 7. You must be an Australian citizen or permanent resident.

  • 8. If you are not a citizen or permanent resident, please briefly note why here.

    You can explain your circumstances more fully in the personal statement at the end of this form.

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  • Education and research achievements

  • 9. Please list up to three qualifications and include where and when obtained.

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  • 10. List your top five significant publications published since the commencement of your PhD.

    Include the full authorship, title and reference, journal ranking, citation score and corresponding author. Also include your total number of publications (break down into types of publications, i.e. journal article, review, book chapter, publications pending), and indicate the proportion on which you are first or senior author.

    Also briefly describe the significance and impact of each publication.

    Note that you can include a full list of your career publications in the CV attachment. 

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  • 11. List up to five research grants

    Only include grants in which you are/were one of the named principal or contributing investigators. Include brief details of project, funding source and amount received, and your role.

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  • 12. List up to five top fellowships or scholarships you have been awarded.

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  • 13. List up to five awards or prizes you have received.

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  • 14. List up to three significant positions or training periods overseas, not including conferences.

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  • 15. List up to three invited conference presentations or seminars you have given.

    Do not include regular department seminars.

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  • 16. List up to three major research projects you have undertaken and/or are currently undertaking.

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  • 17. List up to three leadership roles you have held.

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  • 18. Record of employment

    Please give a simple list of relevant jobs with dates and responsibilities. Your full employment record should still be included in your CV, which you will upload before submitting this application form.

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  • Current and proposed research

  • The next three questions should briefly outline what you would do as a Metcalf Prize winner and how the $60,000 prize money would advance your research, your career, and the field of stem cell research.

    We want to support people who will have a lasting impact on the field. This is the place where we want to hear about your career ambitions and how the funds and recognition would help.

    We do not require a detailed project plan. Please just give some indication of how the prize money would be spent.

  • 19. In 500 words or fewer, outline your current and/or proposed research.

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  • 20. In 400 words or fewer, outline what you would do as a prize winner and how you would use the $60,000 prize money to further your research and career (no need to detail a budget).

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  • 21. In 200 words or fewer, outline how the Metcalf Prize would advance your career.

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  • Summary and personal statement

  • 22. Please write a paragraph addressing each of the four judging criteria in plain English.

     

    The judging will be based on the following criteria (weightings given as percentages). In fewer than 100 words each, show how your application meets each of the four criteria:

    • Intellectual merit, including academic record and publication record (35%)
    • Leadership potential, including: ability to plan and conduct research; ability to work as a team member or independently; ability to interpret and communicate research findings (35%). This looks beyond excellent research and leadership in your own team or institute (evaluated elsewhere) and towards your interest and ability to build Australia’s capabilities to develop and adopt stem cell technologies. This could include roles in scientific societies, informing government policy, and/or advocacy and public education.
    • Impact potential: potential to have a continuing impact in stem cell research in Australia (20%)
    • Professional esteem: national and international profile, invited presentations/reviews, and/or record as an ambassador for the field (10%).
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  • 23. Please summarise the key points of your application in plain English.

    In fewer than 100 words, make your case. Tell us what you have achieved so far in your career and what you're hoping to achieve in the future.

    This section is crucial to the success of your application. The judges will read this statement before they read the detailed information you've outlined already.

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  • 24. Personal statement

    This is your opportunity to explain any extenuating circumstances. If you do not quite fit the eligibility criteria or if you have personal circumstances you feel the jury should consider, please tell us briefly what they are.

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  • Find a referee to support your application

  • REQUIRED: letter from referee

    Applicants are asked to invite one colleague, peer or mentor to write a confidential referee's letter in support of their application. This letter should be emailed directly by the referee to the prize jury, via stemcells@scienceinpublic.com.au. Please ask your referee to write 'Metcalf Prize referee letter' in the email subject line. We will acknowledge receipt of the referee letter with both the applicant and the referee via email.

    A template for referee letters is online at www.stemcellfoundation.net.au/metcalf_prizes.

    Guidance:

    • Applicants should provide ONE reference from someone with the appropriate expertise who is aware of your work but sufficiently removed from it. The referee’s primary position should be outside your institution.
    • Referees need to establish if a Conflict of Interest (CoI) exists - such conflicts have the potential to lead to biased advice affecting objectivity and impartiality.
    • Referees must self-determine if a CoI exists. Use the NHMRC guidelines to determine the level of CoI.
    • If a HIGH CoI exists, the referee should excuse themselves from the process.
    • If a LOW CoI exists, the referee can provide the reference but should advise the Foundation of the nature of the LOW conflict when providing the reference.
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  • Upload your CV and list of publications

  • You are required to upload your CV with a full record of your employment history and full list of publications as part of your application.

    Your CV should be no more than five pages. You can submit your list of publications as a separate file.

    More information at: www.stemcellfoundation.net.au/frequently_asked_questions.

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  • Signoff

  • I submit this application for the 2025 National Stem Cell Foundation of Australia Metcalf Prizes for Stem Cell Research and confirm that the information on this form is true and accurate.

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