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Two medical graduates from The University of Western Australia are among 10 students Australia-wide to be awarded this year's prestigious John Monash Scholarships.

They are Sam Brophy-Williams from North Fremantle, and Vinay Menon from Applecross.  Sam plans to undertake a Masters in Global Health Science and Vinay aims to complete a Masters in Public Health.  Both will study at elite universities overseas.

UWA Vice-Chancellor, Professor Alan Robson, said the fact that two out of the 10 students chosen were from UWA spoke volumes for the calibre of the Medical School, which is among the best in Australia.

"Our medical students receive an extensive grounding, including in rural and remote parts of the State, and the fact that Sam and Vinay hope to make a difference to whole communities is fantastic," Professor Robson said.

Sam said he was looking forward to learning how to make populations healthy.  "My background is in clinical medicine, and I would like to draw on my experience in that field to span the gap between individual patient-centred medicine and health from a population perspective," he said. "Further study in public health/global health science will give me that broader scope, and the knowledge and tools to make a difference on a large scale."

Vinay said the scholarship was an opportunity for him to study at a top global institution - from public health leaders who are making an enormous and genuine difference for children in the world's most vulnerable communities.  "My dream is to learn from them, and follow in their footsteps to influence Aboriginal health in Australia and community health in the developing world," he said.

The Scholarships are presented by the General Sir John Monash Foundation and recognise excellence and leadership.  Every year, 10 outstanding Australian graduates from Australian universities receive support in Masters or PhD study in their field.

Media references

Michael Sinclair-Jones (UWA Public Affairs)  (+61 8)  6488 3229  /  (+61 4) 00 700 783