Academic Governance

Dr Leon Wescombe Honours Scholarship in Cystic Fibrosis (Rule 134)

Dr Leon Wescombe made the most of every moment, whether that be through his love for adventure and travel or his passion for medical research.

Leon Wescombe was from Devonport, a former student of the Don College and an alumnus of UTAS achieving first class Honours in microbiology and biochemistry in 2005. Leon’s Honours research into the production of the toxin cyanide by bacteria that live in the lung of people affected by cystic fibrosis represented the first description of cyanide production in the human lung disease setting and was published in the prestigious European Respiratory Journal.

After completing his Honours, the natural progression for Leon was to undertake a PhD, which he did at the University of Sydney where he investigated thyroid glands and Graves’ disease. His research into these diseases lead to the discovery of a particular protein in both the thyroid gland and eye which was published in Clinical Endocrinology and Orbit. In recognition of this work, Leon was awarded a Best Emerging Researcher award in 2007.

Sadly Leon lost his life in 2010, at the age of 29, while kayaking on the Consumnes River in California.

To recognise the value of his work, the University of Sydney posthumously awarded him a PhD for his doctoral research on gene expression in Graves’ disease.

To honour Leon and his considerable talents, Dr Wescombe’s family and friends established the Dr Leon Wescombe Memorial Fund with the UTAS Foundation to raise donations to provide a scholarship in cystic fibrosis research at UTAS.

These are the rules of the scholarship.

Rules

1.  Donations to the Dr Leon Wescombe Memorial Fund, together with a matching contribution from the UTAS Foundation, additional funds donated by family and friends, and any interest from time to time forms the endowment of a scholarship to be called the “Dr Leon Wescombe Honours Scholarship in Cystic Fibrosis”.

2. The Scholarship is to be awarded to an Honours student undertaking a cystic fibrosis research project at the Menzies Research Institute Tasmania.

3.  The scholarship will be awarded by a Selection Committee comprising:

(a) Two members of the Wescombe family while they wish to be involved;

(b) The Director of the Menzies Research Institute Tasmania or nominee; and

(c) A UTAS nominee.

4.  The Selection Committee will set the selection criteria for the scholarship.

5.  The scholarship is tenable for one year, provided that:

• the student studies full-time or to an extent that the Selection Committee deems equivalent to full-time;
• the student’s progress is considered by the Selection Committee to be satisfactory; and
• the student is not in receipt of another scholarship from UTAS.

6.  If, at any time, the Selection Committee considers the progress of the student it has selected to be unsatisfactory, it may terminate the scholarship.

7.  All other matters concerning the scholarship, including the frequency of awards offered, the value of each award, advertising, application procedures, and the method and time of payment will be determined by the UTAS Foundation and the Wescombe family, while the family wishes to be involved.

Made by Academic Senate on 23 September 2011