2019 RACGP Foundation Chris Silagy Research Scholarship

Submissions closed at 5:00PM 6 May 2019 (AEST).

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This scholarship is named in honor of Professor Christopher Allen Silagy, AO MBBS PhD FRACGP FAFPHM. At the age of 31 Chris was awarded a PhD by Monash University for his research into the prevention of cardiovascular disease in the elderly. The same year he received the Sir Robert Menzies Memorial Scholarship in Medicine; the first general practitioner to receive this prestigious award. Chris worked in the Department of Public Health & Primary Care at the University of Oxford for two years, during which time he became involved with the Cochrane Collaboration, dedicated to the development of evidence-based medicine.

At the age of 32, Chris was appointed as Foundation Professor of General Practice and Head of the Department of Evidence-Based Care and General Practice at Flinders University. He was also appointed inaugural Director of the Australasian Cochrane Centre and was chair if the International Steering Group of the Cochrane Collaboration from 1996 to 1998. He was subsequently appointed as Professor of Public Health and Foundation Director of the Monash Institute of Health Services Research, and as chair of the Board of the National Institute of Clinical Studies. In 1998 he received the Rose Hunt Medal from the RACGP for his exceptional contribution to Australian general practice.

In the 2000 Queen's Birthday honours list, at the age of 39, Chris was made an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) for service to medicine, particularly in the area of research and education, and in develpments in the field of international figure in the discipline of evidence-based medicine.

Award details

The Chris Silagy Research Scholarship is designed to support a 12-month research project into an aspect of evidence-based primary health care by a general practitioner researcher. The scholarship is to the value of $15,000 (excluding GST) which includes a return economy airfare for the recipient to either attend a meeting of the Cochrane Collaboration, or visit a Cochrane Research Centre during the year of the scholarship.

Eligibility

To be eligible for the Chris Silagy Research Scholarship, the principal investigator must be:

  • a general practitioner or general practice registrar; and
  • currently undertaking a higher degree (Masters, PhD, MD) or have completed such a course in the past five years.

Selection criteria

Applications will be assessed against the following criteria:

  • training potential for applicants 20%
  • scientific quality of the proposed research project 30%
  • significance to an aspect of evidence-based primary health and either originality or innovation 20%
  • feasibilty of carrying out and completing the research in a one-year timeframe 10%
  • value for money 10%
  • potential to build capacity in general practice research 10%

Applications

Applications for this research grant will close on Monday 6 May 2019. For more information email foundation@racgp.org.au.