Sunderland Prize for Neuroscience

About

The Department of Anatomy and Physiology administers four Majors and has made available a prize to the top student in each. The Sunderland Prize is awarded to the highest achieveing student in the Neuroscience Major.

Benefits

One prize of $1000

_{Disclaimer: The benefit amount for this award is approximate. It will be confirmed at the time of awarding and determined by the committee according to the terms of the award.}

Eligibility

Awarded to the student completing a Neuroscience Major in any year who has the highest aggregate score in the two core subjects, NEUR30003 Principles of Neuroscience and NEUR30002 Neurophysiology, combined with the aggregate scores in the best two electives that contribute to the major.

Application

No application.
Selection based on results as per the eligibility criteria.

Outcome

Successful recipients will be notified writing in Semester One of the following year.

Enquiries

Please contact BiomedSci-AcademicServices@unimelb.edu.au

More information

Who was Sir Sydney Sunderland?

Born in Brisbane in 1910, he attended Brisbane High School from which he graduated as Dux before commencing a science degree at the University of Queensland. After one year he came to Melbourne to enter the medical course and, on December 9 1935, was admitted to the degrees of Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery at the University of Melbourne. Such was his distinction as an undergraduate he was appointed Senior Lecturer in Anatomy immediately.  Two years later he went to Oxford as a Demonstrator in Anatomy. He was appointed to the Chair of Anatomy and Histology at the University of Melbourne in March, 1940 at the age of 29.

The early years of the war were very difficult ones but his heavy teaching duties did not deter him from investigational work. From 1941-45 he was Visiting Consultant on Injuries of the Peripheral Nervous System at the General Hospital, Heidelberg. Throughout the years he maintained this interest and his many papers and articles and his major book Nerves and Nerve Injuries reflect his pre-eminence in this subject.

His appointment as Dean of the Faculty of Medicine in 1953 led him to the wider fields of medical administration and University government. During his years of service as Dean he saw his Faculty through eighteen years of growth and development, years of greater change and progress than ever before.

He was a popular chairman of Anatomy and had an enormous influence on the development of the Department and it was largely through his efforts that we occupy such a fine building today. He was strongly supportive of his staff and worked hard on behalf of the Department to see that it was well resourced.  He was an excellent teacher who had an ability to inspire his students through his lucid and informed presentations. His commitment to excellence was conveyed by example. Sir Syd, as he was affectionately known in the Department, died on 27 August 1993 at the age of 82. Further details of his life and considerable achievements can be found here.

Sir Sydney Sunderland

https://www.science.org.au/fellowship/fellows/biographical-memoirs/sydney-sunderland-1910-1993

Recipient

2023: Nicholas Howard
2022: Stone Ke and Lucinda Xiao
2021: Aayushi Khillan
2020: Emily Taylor-Brown
2019: Max Cassidy Ming Wang
2018: Lauren Dragovic
2017: Zhong Yan Gan
2016: Michael Yap
2015: Paige Dissanayake
2014: Timothy Phan