Catchlove Sylvan Mid-Career Researcher Fellowship 2025

The Charles Perkins Centre has awarded three Fellowships, valued up to $100,000 each, to support its mid-career researchers. The new program – the Charles Perkins Centre Catchlove Sylvan Mid-Career Researcher Fellowship – is generously funded by the Centre’s long-time friends and supporters Dr Barry Catchlove and Professor Louise Sylvan. The Fellowship supports the Centre’s outstanding independent mid-career researchers to continue their important work. 

The Fellowship program was developed to support mid-career researchers, a traditionally under-funded group facing vulnerabilities due to the increasingly unpredictable research funding landscape, limited administrative support and escalating responsibilities, both professional and domestic. 

“This combination exposes high-potential MCRs to an increased risk of leaving academia, a real risk that has become exacerbated recently due to the seismic shifts in the global political climate,” said Professor David James, Joint Interim Academic Director, Charles Perkins Centre.

“This competitive scheme, designed by the leadership at the Charles Perkins Centre, meets the strategic needs of high-quality MCRs, augmented by mentoring and support from senior Centre researchers,” said Professor Natasha Nassar, Joint Interim Academic Director, Charles Perkins Centre

Eligible MCRs (of less than 15 years post-Phd standing, relative to opportunity) were co-nominated by both their Head of School and a senior Charles Perkins Centre researcher in order to be considered for the scheme.

“We received nine eligible applications, all of exceptional quality. The applications were assessed, and we are delighted to have awarded Fellowships to Dr Alexis Diaz-Vegas, Associate Professor Melkam Kebede and Associate Professor James Wilmott,” said Professor Nassar.

“All three recipients are exceptional mid-career researchers whose work is very much enabled by and central to the research program of the Charles Perkins Centre. Congratulations!” said Professor James.

Charles Perkins Centre Catchlove Sylvan Mid-Career Researcher Fellowship | 2025 Recipients

Dr Alexis Diaz-Vegas

Dr Alexis Diaz-Vegas is seven years post-PhD. He is establishing a program of research in the field of mitochondrial disease and metabolism in the School of Life and Environmental Sciences. He is emerging as a world-leader in the field and has developed a unique mouse model of muscle-specific mitochondrial disease. Alexis will use this model to explore age-related declines in muscle function and metabolism. He has an impressive track record with over 33 peer-reviewed publications, with a Field Weighted Citation Impact of 3.44 in mitochondrial research. 

Alexis joined the Charles Perkins Centre in 2019 and has been an engaged member and collaborator since then as a member of the Biology Domain in supervision: he's currently supervising three PhD students.

Alexis’s research has been supported by small grants from Diabetes Australia and Mito Foundation, and he will use this funding to prepare and apply for an NHMRC Investigator Grant.

Associate Professor Melkam Kebede

Associate Professor Melkam Kebede is 14 years post-PhD and was a strategic recruit to the Centre in 2015. She is currently an Associate Professor at the School of Medical Sciences. She leads an independent, externally funded research group. Her research program, based in the Charles Perkins Centre, has been previously supported by the NHMRC, Diabetes Australia and the American Diabetes Association. Melkam has made significant scientific contributions to our understanding of insulin granule biology, an emerging frontier in diabetes research. Her Lab’s focus on insulin granule biogenesis, storage, and degradation addresses a critical gap in current diabetes therapeutics, which predominantly target the distal insulin secretion pathway. Her work exemplifies the kind of discovery-driven science that, with the right support, has great translational potential. 

Melkam has played a crucial role in shaping the Charles Perkins Centre by being a super-collaborator and deeply engaged with strategy. She currently serves as the Chair of the Centre's Diversity and Inclusion Committee and has recently been appointed to the Executive Committee. She previously chaired the Level 5 West Research Advisory Group. She is also a member of the Cente's Type 1 Diabetes node and the Biology Domain. For the past seven years, she has successfully directed the Charles Perkins Centre–University of Bath Placement Program, fostering meaningful international research collaborations and student training opportunities. In addition, she has been actively involved in Charles Perkins Centre-led philanthropic activities in support of the University’s Advancement Portfolio, helping to advance the Centre’s mission and visibility. 

Melkam will use this fellowship to employ a post-doctoral researcher in her lab, to generate data for future external grant funding applications to support her lab’s research program. 

Associate Professor James Wilmott

Associate Professor James Wilmott is 12 years post-PhD and an Associate Professor in the School of Medical Sciences based at the Melanoma Institute of Australia (MIA). His research focuses on three main areas – precision use of immunotherapies, immunogenomic interactions, and spatial immunology. James is an international leader in genomics, transcriptomics and spatial omics with a stellar track record, with 49 peer-reviewed publications in prestigious journals such as Nature, Cancer Cell, Nature Communications and Nature Medicine, and has held prestigious fellowships such as the NHMRC Investigator Grant, and Cancer Institute NSW Early Career Fellowship. 

James has been an active member of the Charles Perkins Centre community since 2017, serving as a member of project nodes such as the Single Cell and Spatial Biology Node, and collaborating with several researchers across the Centre. Additionally, he serves on the Charles Perkins Centre Equipment Advisory Committee and has led multiple successful grant applications for equipment based at the Centre currently used by members of Charles Perkins Centre and University communities.

James will use this funding to bridge to an externally funded competitive fellowship, with matched funding from MIA.