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Amgen Scholars Program

Amgen Scholars Program

World-class lab experience for undergraduates, fully funded.

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The Amgen Scholars Program is an international program that gives undergraduate students hands-on lab experience, working for 2 months.

You’ll get the chance to research full-time on a project, meet like-minded students, and experience the wealth of scientific opportunity Melbourne offers. All costs are covered, including travel and accommodation, and Scholars receive a stipend to support them during their experience.

You will also get the opportunity to travel to Asia and join scholars from the University of Tokyo, Kyoto University, National University of Singapore and Tsinghua University for the Amgen Scholars Program Asia Symposium in August.

The University of Melbourne is proud to be the only university in Oceania to host the program.

Why Amgen Scholars?

The Amgen Scholars Program is a unique program, combining research experience with travel and an international community. Through the generous support of the Amgen Foundation, we’ve designed a program that provides a platform where you can explore your research interests and expand your skills, preparing you for a career in scientific research.

What are our alumni are saying

About the Program

Receive mentoring and support

Throughout the program, we provide personalised support in your lab, at college, and beyond. You’ll work closely with a mentor in your lab on a day-to-day basis. There’s also seminars, where you’ll hear from industry and academic leaders and alumni of the program, as well as tours and excursions.

Present at the Symposium

The Program concludes with the Symposium event, where Scholars present their research to the cohort and wider University of Melbourne community, and the research they have conducted. This includes a poster and a short presentation, preparing students for research conferences in their future careers.

Live at University College

You will be staying at the historic University College, on campus, free of charge. This includes all meals. Living at University College with your fellow Scholars means that you’ll be able to form a strong community both socially and intellectually.

Meet leading industry professionals

In addition to your research experience, you will have the opportunity to meet with leading industry professionals, attend seminars delivered by world-class researchers, and explore the wonderful city of Melbourne.

Meet Program Coordinator, Kapisha Patel

Kapisha has worked in the education sector for over 15 years, across Australia and New Zealand. She has been coordinating the Amgen Scholars Program since 2023 and provides a passionate, supportive and personalised approach to her work.

Email Kapisha

News

• 
  Young scientists achieve remarkable results with summer scholarships

  Ten of the brightest young scientists from Australia and New Zealand recently completed the annual Amgen Scholars Program at the University of Melbourne, which nurtures new leaders and innovators in biomedicine and biotechnology.

  
  26 Feb 2025 News
  
• 
  Young scholars grow a global network of passionate scientists

  Seven weeks after the launch of the 2024 Melbourne Amgen Scholars Program, ten scholars have presented the findings of their research projects in a final symposium on 21 February.

  
  27 Feb 2024 News
  
• 
  Combining Math with Biology on a Research Path

  For Noa Levi, the Amgen Scholars Program was the first time she saw scientific research in a way that “didn’t look like the stock photos of someone in a white lab coat holding a pipette and a test-tube.”

  
  01 Jun 2023 News
  
• 
  Bridging Science and People for Aboriginal Australia

  Sidney Ruthven spends a lot of time thinking about names. A name carries with it a history, a story, a place. For scientists, a name allows a species to be studied and understood far from where it was discovered.

  
  10 Jun 2020 News
  
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Got questions?
Please get in touch if you have questions about the Amgen Scholars Program.

Email amgen-scholars@unimelb.edu.au

Applications have now closed for the Amgen Scholars Program 2026.
To stay informed about our next program, please sign up to our mailing list.

Sign up!

Important Dates

• 2026 program dates: 
  • ASP - Australia: 4 January - 20 February 2026
  • ASP - Asia Symposium: 4-6 August 2026
• Applications opened: 1 August 2025
• Q&A information session: Tuesday 12 August at 12.00pm (AEST)
• Applications closed: 31 August 2025

Check your eligibility

To be eligible for the Amgen Scholars Program in Australia, you must:

• Be an undergraduate student enrolled in an accredited college or university from across Oceania – Australia, New Zealand or the Pacific.
• Have completed two years of an equivalent Australian Bachelor degree in a scientific field before the summer program begins, and at the end of the program have at least two semesters left of your undergraduate degree (i.e. to be eligible for the ASP 2026, you will have finished your second year at the end of 2025 and expect to graduate at the end of 2026).

You must also have:

• A weighted average mark (WAM) equivalent to 75% (GPA 3.2) or above in relevant 1st and 2nd year subjects; and
• Demonstrate academic excellence and leadership; and
• Have interest and enthusiasm for a research higher degree in a scientific field;
• OR, you are Indigenous and have a weighted average mark (WAM) equivalent to 55% or above in relevant 1st and 2nd year subjects.

Applicants experiencing financial or personal hardship are encouraged to apply. Students from linguistically diverse, rural, international or Indigenous backgrounds are also encouraged to apply. Such factors are taken into account when evaluating applications.

To apply, you will need the following information

• Current weighted average mark (WAM) or GPA.
• ID
  • Passport (if an international student).
  • Driver's licence (if a domestic student).
• Official academic transcript (in English).
• Referee recommendation.

• Application statement (limited to 500 words).
• Challenges you have encountered during your university education that may have impacted your ability to achieve high results/complete extracurricular experiences (optional statement).
• Your preferred top three research lab placements.

Frequently asked questions

• 
  1. What is the application deadline for the Australia Program in 2026?
  

  Applications have now closed for our 2026 program.

  To stay informed about our next program, please sign up to our mailing list.

  
  
• 
  2. How do I apply?
  

  The application process is outlined here.

  
  
• 
  3. What research projects are available?
  

  Research projects are listed on our website 1-2  weeks before applications open for any given year. Please see here for research projects examples.

  Please note, projects are subject to change. Research projects are available in a variety of fields, and change on a yearly basis depending on what is available.

  
  
• 
  4. Can I apply for the Amgen Scholars Program if I've already finished my undergraduate degree?
  

  No. Amgen Scholars must have at least one year left of their degree. If you have any questions about your eligibility, please contact amgen-scholars@unimelb.edu.au

  
  
• 
  5. Do I need to have previously attended the University of Melbourne to apply to the Amgen Scholars Program?
  

  No, you don’t need to be from the University of Melbourne, but to be eligible, you must be enrolled as a student at an accredited college or university from across Oceania – Australia, New Zealand or the Pacific. Foreign nationals need to have work and study rights in Australia to participate in this program.

  
  
• 
  6. What about housing, food and travel expenses to and from the summer program in Australia?
  

  Financial support is available to all students accepted to the Amgen Scholars Program. Financial support will cover travel, accommodation and associated costs and will be confirmed once successfully admitted to the program.

  Amgen Scholars receive the following benefits:

  • Stipend paid in two sums, up to $3600;
  • All accommodation and meals provided at University College;
  • Travel Costs including flights and public transport to and from campus;
  • Additional Benefits include access to some athletic and recreational facilities, on campus activities, excursions to other scientific facilities, and a fortnightly seminar series.
  
  
• 
  7. Can I apply to participate in the Amgen Scholars Program in Australia if I am not a science or engineering major?
  

  Yes. Students in any major may apply, although it is expected that most of the Amgen Scholars will have science, life science or engineering majors. Students are expected to have experience in a discipline appropriate to the research project they participate in, with approval from their research lab.

  
  
• 
  8. Do I need to have research experience prior to being admitted to the Program?
  

  No. The Amgen Scholars Program encourages applications from both students experienced in research and newcomers to the field. We encourage applications from students attending universities where research opportunities are not available.

  
  
• 
  9. I've experienced personal or financial difficulties that mean my study/grades have been affected. Will I be able to share this in my application?
  

  Yes, we encourage applications from students who may come from difficult circumstances. This will be taken into consideration.

  
  
• 
  10. Can I participate as an Amgen Scholar for more than one summer?
  

  No. Students are invited to participate as an Amgen Scholar for one summer only. This ensures that the largest possible number of students get to experience the program.

  
  

Accommodation, pastoral care, dining and extracurricular activities are provided for the duration of the program at University College, located on College Crescent next to the University of Melbourne.

University College is one of Melbourne University’s more modern colleges, with large, bright and airy rooms, many with ensuite bathrooms, looking out to lush courtyards and gardens. There are also music rooms, a well-equipped library, tutorial rooms, and a grand dining hall. Scholars are provided with a private room for the duration of the program.

The College is perfectly located, a quick tram ride away from the centre of Melbourne and a few minutes’ walk from the popular restaurants and shops of Lygon Street, Carlton.

Learn more about University College

Throughout the program, Amgen Scholars Program participants can use the wonderful facilities University College has to offer while being close to their research laboratory. Fortnightly seminars are run throughout the program, facilitated at University College.

• University College Exterior Gardens and Lawn, Giblin Courtyard.
• University College formal reception.
• University College formal dinner.
• University College exterior, detail.
• University College signage.

Got questions about accommodation?

Please email your questions about accommodation and the facilities provided through University College to:

amgen-scholars@unimelb.edu.au

Research opportunities
Explore 2026 research projects below to see the types of projects you might be working on.

In your online application , you will need to indicate the project you are applying for and why.

For general queries about the program, please email amgen-scholars@unimelb.edu.au

Project 1: Fungal genetics

• Genomic approaches to identifying and characterising genes important for infection.
• Dissecting the molecular and cellular aspects of host-pathogen interactions.
• Molecular genetic characterisation of transcriptional factors, and their circuits, controlling development.

Specific projects in these broad areas can be discussed to develop the final project.

Lab head

Professor Alex Andrianopoulos
Andrianopoulos Laboratory – Fungal Genetics
alex.a@unimelb.edu.au

Project 2: A first step to save our precious frogs species: Developing methodologies to assess sperm quality in frogs

Our research group focuses on exploring amphibian disease and conservation - specifically exploring how disease impacts amphibian reproduction. We are interested in developing methodology to improve amphibian reproduction research and using that methodology to understand why some species can survive with the devastating fungal skin disease chytridiomycosis.

During this 8-week research program, the scholar will help design and execute an independent research project, which will be part of a larger research scheme. They will be working with the mentor (Dr Brannelly) as well as several PhD students in the lab. While there is scope to expand the research project based on the scholar’s interests, we envision that the scholar will test methods of measuring frog sperm viability and morphology.

Amphibian sperm quality is understudied and typically we must adapt methods that were developed for analysing mammalian sperm. In this project, we will be trialling the efficiency of several different assays to measure sperm quality and determining which are the best methodologies for different amphibian species. A key goal at the end of this research project is to have the Scholar contribute to a publication as co-author.

Lab head

Dr. Laura Brannelly
Brannelly Laboratory – Amphibian Disease and Conservation Research
laura.brannelly@unimelb.edu.au

Project 3: Gene-environment interactions modulating brain function and dysfunction

We have discovered altered brain-body interactions, including the first evidence of gut dysbiosis (dysregulated microbiota) in Huntington’s disease, and a preclinical model of schizophrenia. Ongoing studies are exploring the gut microbiome as a therapeutic target and the possibility that specific environmental factors may modulate brain function via microbiota-gut-brain interactions.

In a parallel program of research, we have been exploring epigenetic inheritance via the paternal lineage. We have discovered the transgenerational effects of various paternal environmental exposures. We are investigating the relevance of these discoveries in mice to human transgenerational epigenetics and associated ‘epigenopathy’.

We use a variety of behavioural tools, including automated touchscreen tests of cognition, that are translatable to clinical tests. Cellular level of understanding is linked, in turn, to molecular mechanisms, including epigenetics, transcriptomics and proteomics.

The Amgen Scholar will have the opportunity to become involved in one of our preclinical research projects.  As the largest brain research centre in the Southern Hemisphere, the Florey offers unique access to cutting-edge technologies and world-class expertise at the forefront of international neuroscience.   The Scholar will be embedded in a team of talented neuroscientists and will experience the excitement of being involved in novel neuroscience research that is innovative and impactful.

Lab head

Professor Anthony Hannan
Hannan Laboratory – Epigenetics and Neural Plasticity
anthony.hannan@florey.edu.au

Project 4: genetic and histopathological analysis of an adult epilepsy surgery cohort

The role of germline and somatic genetic variation is well established for malignancies, but not for non-malignant neurological diseases. We are searching for causative germline and somatic variations in a cohort of over 150 individuals with focal epilepsies associated with malformations of cortical development (FE-MCD) or other lesions (FE-OL).

In this Amgen studentship, genetic analysis will be performed to confirm pathogenic low-frequency somatic variants in brain lesion tissue identified by exome or gene panel sequencing. This will involve optimisation of droplet digital PCR (ddPCR) assays or sanger sequencing for independent validation. This validation will be combined with histopathological analysis to quantify mTOR or Ras/Raf/MAPK pathway hyperactivation. A genetic diagnosis is critical for patients with focal epilepsy because it (i) ends the long diagnostic odyssey and can relieve parental guilt, (ii) informs on disease prognosis and recurrence risk in relatives, and (iii) provides eligibility for new therapeutic clinical trials.

Hypothesis

Somatic mutagenesis plays an important role in causation of focal epilepsies associated with brain lesions.

Aim 1

To validate somatic mutations in focal epilepsies by analysing brain lesion tissue.

Aim 2

To characterise the impact of somatic mutation on mTOR or Ras/Raf/MAPK pathway signalling activity in brain tissue specimens.

Lab head

Professor Michael Hildebrand
Translational Neurogenetics Laboratory
michael.hildebrand@unimelb.edu.au

Project 5: Metal-organic frameworks as chiral fluorescence sensors

Research in the Hua Group focuses on the design and synthesis of novel materials for the next generation of technological devices and chemical sensors for detection of disease biomarkers. Our expertise lies in supramolecular inorganic chemistry for the synthesis of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs). These MOFs are designed as fluorescent chemical sensors for the facile detection of chiral molecules. Chirality is intrinsic in biological systems and abnormal enantiomeric ratios of chiral metabolic molecules (e.g. amino acids and sugars) are promising biomarkers for disease diagnosis and prognosis. Currently, quantitative detection of these chiral molecules remains elusive. In our lab, we aim to apply our expertise in the synthesis of MOFs to create functional chemical sensors for facile detection of disease.

The Amgen Scholar will be directly involved in the chemical synthesis of new metal-organic frameworks and receive comprehensive training in characterisation techniques including NMR, fluorescence spectroscopy, thermal gravimetric analysis, circular dichroism spectroscopy, powder X-ray diffraction and single-crystal X-ray diffraction.

This project will commence with a synthetic laboratory component, where the Amgen Scholar will develop skills in air-free Schlenk line techniques. They will then characterise their MOFs and investigate their enantioselectivity. The Amgen Scholar will have the opportunity to perform single-crystal X-ray diffraction experiments at the Australian Synchrotron.

Lab head

Dr. Carol Hua
Hua Laboratory – Exciton Science

Lab supervisor

Dr. Vivian Shang
vivian.shang@unimelb.edu.au

Project 6: Development of a multi-layer electrospun scaffold for tissue regeneration

The project introduces the scholar to advanced scaffold design for regenerative medicine. The student will work on the fabrication and characterization of a multilayer electrospun membrane made of gelatin, and collagen for cellular support. This model serves as a platform for general soft tissue regeneration, with potential applications in oral, dermal, and musculoskeletal contexts.

Scholar’s role and learning outcomes

The scholar will be trained in scaffold fabrication using electrospinning, polymer handling, and experimental design. They will perform key laboratory tasks including:

• Preparation of polymer solutions.
• Electrospinning of individual and combined layers.
• Structural characterisation using SEM.
• Basic biocompatibility assay.
• Data analysis and presentation of findings.

By the end of the program, the scholar will have contributed to our ongoing efforts to engineer customizable, functional scaffolds and will have developed practical skills applicable to biomaterials, tissue engineering, and broader regenerative research. Their work will provide valuable baseline data for future scaffold optimisation studies and potential in vivo applications. This project provides a rich, hands-on research experience within a supportive, translationally focused environment, making it an excellent fit for an ambitious undergraduate scholar.

Lab head

Associate Professor Roy Judge
Repair, Rehabilitation, and Regeneration

Lab supervisor

Dr. Mohammed Al-baadani
mohammed.albaadani@unimelb.edu.au

Project 7: Benchmarking integrative analysis pipelines for the omix3 multi-omics platform

The Lê Cao Lab develops cutting-edge statistical methods implemented in the open-source mixOmics toolkit to decipher high-dimension omics data. Our work bridges mathematics, computer science and biology, producing methods now used by more than 26,000 researchers each year. We partner closely with wet-lab and clinical groups to ensure that our statistical methods translate into practical biomedical insight.
This project is in collaboration with OMIX3, the University of Melbourne’s platform for high-throughput, clinically accredited multi-omics. OMIX3 is generating the first integrated pilot datasets from 150 healthy adults, including proteomics, metabolomics, lipidomics, metagenomics and transcriptomics.

The selected Amgen scholar will benchmark our integrative analysis pipelines, applying advanced supervised and unsupervised methods to uncover biological structure and variation in the data and establish robust analytical workflows. This work will shape future large-scale studies generated by OMIX3. The ideal candidate will have strong R programming skills and a keen interest in collaborative, open-source science.

The work of the scholar will help safeguard data quality and accelerate the discovery of biomarkers for healthy ageing, infectious disease prognosis, and rare-disease diagnostics for OMIX3. This aligns with Amgen’s mission to nurture future scientists who can translate big data analytics into tangible health benefits.

Lab head

Professor Kim-Anh Lê Cao
Lê Cao Laboratory – Computational Statistics and Biology
kimanh.lecao@unimelb.edu.au

Project 8: Amazing enzyme for sustainable future

We conduct multidisciplinary research to understand the complex relationships between protein structure, function, and modulation. Our goal is to utilise the knowledge that we generate to help solve some of the world’s most urgent challenges. Our broad research themes are:

Metabolic regulation of protein functions: We study how posttranslational modifications and metabolites affect the structure, activity and function of enzymes. These allow us to understand how different biochemical pathways signal and interact with one another to maintain stability in response to stress conditions.

Enzyme technology for bioremediation: We study how we could harness the incredible catalytic prowess of enzymes as green biocatalysts to degrade environmental pollutants.

Inhibitor discovery strategies and applications: We specialise in the application of biophysical techniques for ligand screening and to study protein-ligand interactions and enzyme inhibition.

Amgen Scholars will work closely with a senior PhD student or postdoctoral researcher in our laboratory on a real project aligned with one of our three research themes. They will gain valuable skills in biological chemistry research and make meaningful contributions to the project. Amgen Scholars will also take part in our regular group meetings, which will give them exposure to research discussions and experience in presenting and critiquing data. Many of our past summer scholars have made significant contributions to our work and have gone on to be credited as co-authors in peer-reviewed publications.

Lab head

Dr. Ivanhoe Leung
The Amazing Enzyme Lab
ivanhoe.leung@unimelb.edu.au

Project 9: Modelling the polar oceans using the sea-ice-wind-wave interaction facility

The project will be based in the innovative Michell Hydrodynamics Laboratory, which has world-class experimental facilities and instrumentation. The laboratory houses the world’s largest wind-wave tank, the Extreme Air–Sea Interaction facility, along with the only sea-ice–wind-wave interaction (SIWWI) facility in the world, which will be used during the project.

The unique SIWWI facility is designed specifically to study how wind, wave, and sea ice interact. It consists of a temperature-controlled wind-wave tank housed in an insulated room, where waves are generated by a mechanical wavemaker, wind is created by fans, and ice grows as the temperature is lowered below freezing, allowing researchers to recreate and control real-world Antarctic conditions in the lab. The facility has full optical access that, combined with the world-class suite of equipment available at the Michell Laboratory, will empower the Scholar to make non-intrusive measurements concentrating on the key properties that regulate how water and ice interact.

We propose that the Scholar will begin by learning how to use the wavemaker in the SIWWI facility to create incoming waves of target properties and how to measure them. They will then learn how to create “model ice’’, namely a lab-grown ice specially formulated to mimic the strength and structure of natural sea ice.

This is a current gap in the facility’s capabilities, and the Scholar will have the opportunity to make a meaningful contribution by helping develop and refine this technique. The project will conclude with a pilot study of some aspect of wave–ice interactions, which we plan to be the breakup of the ice cover due to incoming waves, but may be some other process that the Scholar become interested in during the initial phases of their project.

Lab head

Professor Jason Monty
Michell Hydrodynamics Laboratory – Thermally Stratified Sea-Ice-Wind-Wave Interaction Facility

Lab supervisors

Professor Alessandro Toffoli
Professor Luke Bennetts
alessandro.toffoli@unimelb.edu.au
luke.bennetts@unimelb.edu.au

Project 10: Measuring regional age-related changes in bone’s osteocyte network

Our laboratory at St Vincent’s Institute (SVI) seeks to discovering mechanisms underlying bone diseases like osteoporosis. A major current focus of our laboratory is to understand whether older people produce bone of poor quality, particularly whether their cellular network (the osteocyte lacunocanalicular network) is unable to provide normal responses to mechanical stress through the tiny channels (canaliculi) that connect these cells together. This project uses a unique forensic archive held at The University of Melbourne Dental School, The Melbourne Femur Research Collection, and builds on previous work demonstrating that newly formed osteons in older women have less canalicular connectivity compared to younger women.
The Scholar will use a custom python code on high-resolution confocal laser scanning microscopy-derived images of the network to map and quantify canalicular density and spatial organisation. They will assess osteons of varying maturity stages in both young and aged women in region of bone that shows less bone loss with ageing.

This will test our hypothesis that the bone loss doesn’t occur here because the pattern of cellular connectivity is maintained compared to our previously analysed samples. These analyses will advance our understanding of how skeletal aging compromises bone quality.

Lab head

Professor Natalie Sims
Bone Cell Biology and Disease

Lab supervisor

Dr. Haniyeh Hemmatian
haniyeh.hemmatian@svi.edu.au

Our alumni

• 
  The Huong (Kevin) Chau
  

  Macquarie University

• 
  Yohaann Ghosh
  

  Sydney University

• 
  Thomas (Phu Minh Triet) Nguyen
  

  The University of Adelaide

• 
  Inoli Wadumesthrige Don
  

  University of Canterbury

• 
  Lavi Singh
  

  University of the South Pacific

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