{"id":2970,"date":"2019-09-09T16:45:14","date_gmt":"2019-09-09T06:45:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wimr.org.au\/?post_type=wimr_news&p=2970"},"modified":"2024-09-30T18:26:44","modified_gmt":"2024-09-30T08:26:44","slug":"wimr-student-receives-prestigious-scholarship-to-study-overseas","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/wimr.org.au\/news\/wimr-student-receives-prestigious-scholarship-to-study-overseas\/","title":{"rendered":"WIMR student receives prestigious scholarship to study overseas"},"content":{"rendered":"

Orion Tong from The Westmead Institute for Medical Research (WIMR) has received a Clarendon Scholarship to study at the University of Oxford.<\/p>\n

\n
\"\"
Orion Tong in the lab.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Orion Tong, a Research Assistant with WIMR\u2019s Centre for Virus Research, will be leaving us this year to complete a PhD in cancer research at the University of Oxford.<\/figure>\n

Orion received a Clarendon Scholarship from the University, a prestigious and highly sought-after scholarship that is awarded to the strongest international candidates.<\/p>\n

As he prepares to leave WIMR, Orion will also be preparing to make the transition from HIV research to cancer research.<\/p>\n

\u201cI completed my Honours years with the HIV Molecular Pathogenesis Laboratory, and since then I\u2019ve been a Research Assistant with the same lab,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cBoth HIV and cancer have pressing treatment and cure needs, and there are some fascinating parallels between the two. I feel fortunate that I will now have the opportunity to study in both fields.<\/p>\n

\u201cCancer research is very clinically focused, and is very patient driven. There\u2019s a huge intersection between clinical studies and immunology \u2013 as we\u2019ve seen here at Westmead with CAR T cell trials as a potential treatment for people with blood cancers. It makes cancer a very dynamic and exciting field that\u2019s full of new questions and research directions.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

\"\"
Dr Najla Nasr<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/figure>\n

Dr Najla Nasr from the HIV Molecular Pathogenesis Laboratory\u00a0said it was hard to say goodbye to a member of her team.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was an absolute pleasure to have Orion in our team. He is motivated, dedicated and always displayed initiative and diligence in his work,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cHis journey at WIMR was full of great achievements and memories. It\u2019s very hard to so goodbye.
\n\u201cBut, I know this opportunity will allow him to excel, largely due to his passion for science. I look forward to seeing him scale new heights, and hope that he will be back at WIMR after a couple of years.\u201d<\/p>\n

Likewise, Orion said that while he is excited to have the opportunity to study overseas, he will miss his lab at WIMR.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy Honours year was very intense, but also very rewarding. I\u2019ve also found being a Research Assistant a very rewarding experience.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe student environment at WIMR has been incredibly enjoyable, and has helped me get through some of the longer days of research.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt feels quite sad to be leaving both the lab and Sydney. I\u2019ll miss my friends and family.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut, studying at Oxford will definitely be a new experience and that\u2019s part of the fun of \u2013 to try new things!\u201d<\/p>\n

We wish Orion well in his future endeavours, and hope he returns to WIMR to share what he has learned. Well done, and good luck!<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Orion Tong from The Westmead Institute for Medical Research (WIMR) has received a Clarendon Scholarship to study at the University of Oxford. Orion Tong, a Research Assistant with WIMR\u2019s Centre for Virus Research, will be leaving us this year to complete a PhD in cancer research at the University of Oxford. Orion received a Clarendon […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":2972,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"default","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"default","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"set","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}}},"categories":[19],"class_list":["post-2970","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cat-news"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wimr.org.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/2970","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wimr.org.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wimr.org.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wimr.org.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2972"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wimr.org.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2970"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wimr.org.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2970"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}