- About
- Higher Degree Research
- Honours students
- Student awards
Garvan is collaborating with UNSW Sydney to provide support to more than 100 Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Master of Research, and Honours students who are conducting research for their respective degrees.
A team of Garvan researchers, highly skilled in their fields, act as supervisors and guide the students. These researchers also hold a conjoint appointment with UNSW Sydney.
Research at the Garvan Institute, including our student projects, aims to comprehend the impact of genes, molecular and cellular processes on health and disease. This understanding serves as the foundation for developing preventive measures, treatments, and cures in the future.
Our research students have access to Garvan’s state-of-the-art sequencing technology and facilities to pursue their research questions. Additionally, they have access to the abundant resources provided by our partner institution UNSW Sydney www.unsw.edu.au.
Our goal is to attract student candidates who exhibit initiative and original thinking, and who aspire to a student experience characterized by superior research and teamwork.
Contact
study@garvan.org.auThe Garvan Institute is an affiliate of UNSW. Students at Garvan are enrolled through UNSW Sydney and are approved to conduct research at the Institute, under the guidance of a panel of supervisors who have been approved by both UNSW and Garvan.
As a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) candidate, you’ll complete a substantial program of independent and original research in your chosen field of study. The duration of the degree is 3–4 years (full time).
As a Master by Research candidate, you will complete a shorter 1.5 - 2 years of full time study focused on the completion of independent and original research.
Why choose Garvan?
- Garvan welcomes students as valuable members of its research community, with a vital role to play in the intellectual growth of the Institute.
- Garvan is committed to fostering independent thought, critical analysis and the acquisition of expert knowledge among students.
- Student research projects draw upon Garvan’s state-of-the-art research facilities, which incorporate a range of cutting-edge equipment and expertise.
- Each student is assigned a research expert who also serves as a knowledgeable supervisor specialising in higher degree research.
- Students actively engage in daily research training by immersing themselves in their supervisor's research lab environment.
- Research projects are collaborative and students are encouraged to draw upon staff expertise across Garvan.
- Students are encouraged to gain insight in to how their research fits within an international context and students are supported to attend conferences.
- The Institute helps prospective candidates apply for Australian Government, UNSW, and other relevant scholarships schemes prior to starting their studies and once enrolled, provides an Institute-funded top-up allowance to eligible scholarship holders.
Explore your options
Finding a supervisor with compatible research interests is critical to your success as a higher-degree research candidate.
You can explore the research profiles on our website and reach out to the staff members whose research interests align with yours. By contacting them, you can inquire about the possibility of them taking on a higher degree candidate.
In addition, browse the research projects advertised below and submit an expression of interest.
PhD projects available at Garvan
Garvan will contact the applicants who have been shortlisted and provide assistance in submitting their application for admission to UNSW through the UNSW online platform.
Closing date for expression of interest
- (for those who wish to start their studies in Term 1 2024).
Before expressing an interest in our available projects, you should first ensure you meet UNSW eligibility criteria for admission to a PhD. Application requirements can be found at Research Higher Degree Programs, including the UNSW English Language Requirements
Honours students at Garvan receive first class research training and access to our state-of-the-art facilities.
Garvan researchers supervise Honours students through either the School of Biomedical Sciences (SBMS) or the School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Science (BABS) at UNSW Sydney.
Students who wish to undertake Honours at Garvan are invited to contact in the first instance a supervisor from the list below to discuss available projects.
Immunology supervisors
- Etienne FarquharSenior Research Officer
Bone biology supervisors
Genomics and epigenetics supervisors
Diabetes and metabolism supervisors
Dean's Award
The Dean's Award formally recognises the high-quality PhD theses produced at UNSW. To receive this award, candidates must produce a thesis that in the opinion of both examiners is in the top 10% of PhD theses examined.
2022 Garvan recipients
Name | Thesis Title |
|---|---|
Ohannes Mazigi | Molecular engineering of antibody and superantigen interactions |
Samuel Ross | Canonical and non-canonical DNA methylome dynamics during vertebrate development |
Marija Simic | Wnt-Targeted Therapy to Treat Myeloma-Induced Bone Loss and Prevent Disease Relapse |
Lisa Worley | Molecular and Cellular Regulation of Human TH9 Cell Differentiation |
Clara Young | "Rogue" B cells: An investigation into B cells that break tolerance in autoimmune disease |
2021 Garvan recipients
Name | Thesis Title |
|---|---|
Oliver Skinner | New insights into the link between protein prenylation and inflammation using models of mevalonate kinase deficiency (MKD) |
Anthony Lau | An investigation into the impact of dysregulated PI3Kδ signalling on B cell development and autoimmunity |
Andre Martins Reis | The development of reference standards for genomics |
Sunny Wu | Elucidating the functional diversity of stromal cells in breast tumours using single-cell and spatial transcriptomics |
Ghamdan Al-Eryani | Development and implementation of multimodal single cell technologies for human immune profiling |
2019-2020 Garvan recipients
Name | Thesis Title |
|---|---|
Deborah Burnett | Investigation into immune tolerance |
Keeming Chia | Targeting the androgen receptor in breast cancer |
Qian Du | DNA replication timing: impact on the cancer genome and epigenome |
Katherine Giles | BRG1 ATP-Dependent Chromatin Remodelling in Prostate Cancer: Epigenetic Consequences |
Simon Hardwick | Designing synthetic spike-in controls for next-generation sequencing and beyond |
Yolanda Colino Sanguino | Dissecting the role of histone variant H2A.Z acetylation in transcription regulation |
Stuart Furler Travel Awards
Stuart Furler was a long serving and highly respected scientist in Garvan’s Diabetes and Metabolism Division who died of pancreatic cancer in 2007. His family established the Travel Award in his memory, as a way of nurturing early career scientists.
Third year PhD students are eligible to apply for the Stuart Furler Travel Award, with winners receiving $5,000 to attend a major international conference relevant to their field of research, as well as to visit labs of potential collaborators.
Recipients
2022 Allegra Angeloni and Abigail Grootveld
2021 Alex Corr and Cecilia Chambers
2020 Marija Simic and Michael Papanicolaou
2019 Andrew Law and Oliver Skinner
2018 Etienne Masle-Farquhar and Ghamdan Al Eryani
2017 Deborah Burnett and Simon Hardwick
2016 Claire Vennin and Ira Deveson
2015 Qian Du and Robert Shearer
2014 Jackie Lau and Louise Cottle
Garvan Thesis Prize
The Garvan Thesis prize formally recognizes one PhD graduate for their high quality PhD thesis and their research achievements during candidature.
Recipients
2022 Oguzhan Begik and Clara Young
2021 Sunny Wu
2020 Jordan Hastings
2019 Deborah Burnett
2018 Imogen Moran
2017 Claire Vennin
2016 Christoph Jandl
2015 Elisabeth Malle
2014 Saul Bert