Congratulations to NCARD PhD student Alistair Nash, who is the recipient of the 2023 Douglas Peter Swift Top-Up scholarship.

The Douglas Peter Swift Top-Up Scholarship is offered by the Swift family trust in honour of Douglas Swift, who grew up in Wittenoom and died of mesothelioma at the age of 53. His legacy lives on through his eponymous scholarship, which supports PhD students researching mesothelioma. The scholarship is worth 27,000 AUD per annum, with a 15,000 AUD cash component and 12,000 AUD in consumables.

Alistair started his PhD in 2022, and is working under the supervision of Professor Bruce Robinson and Professor Jenette Creaney. His research topic considers “The role of BAP1 in mesothelioma treatment resistance.” Alistair is investigating how common genetic changes in mesothelioma might affect disease progression and response to the chemotherapies and immunotherapies in current clinical use. Alistair completed his Honours project with our team in 2021, and has since won a Charlies Foundation for Research grant to expand upon his Honours work and presented his work at the 2021 International Mesothelioma Interest Group conference.

In Alistair’s words, “Our history of asbestos use has left an awful legacy for Australians. I’m proud to work with an excellent team, towards something that helps those suffering from mesothelioma. I am very grateful that the Douglas Peter Swift scholarship will allow us to fund research that would not have been possible otherwise, and may make a real difference to patients.”