Emma Betts' legacy will live on
17 May 2019
The inaugural recipient of the Emma Betts PhD Scholarship is Jordan Conway.
Jordan
“I’m the age Emma was when she passed away. It almost feels unfair, that she has to not be here for me to
JORDAN’S STORY
Jordan’s journey to his PhD wasn’t straightforward.
He always found biology fascinating, and after doing a nursing course in high school he decided that helping people was what he wanted to do. He did medical science at university aiming to continue on to medicine to become a doctor. But his curiosity got the better of him.
“During uni, I noticed that all the greatest leaps forward were because of research and I loved the idea
He applied to do an Honours project after his undergraduate degree finished. After a year of 48-hour stints in the lab and a 15,000-word thesis on cells in a
Jordan came on board at Melanoma Institute Australia in 2017 as a
“I became desperate to do more.”
When a position opened in MIA’s translational research group, Jordan jumped at the chance. He
Spending time in the unique, multidisciplinary team that is the translational research group, Jordan realised that the research at MIA was especially patient-focused
One person every five hours will die from melanoma in Australia. It is the most common cancer in young Australians aged
Over the past five years, the use of surgery, targeted therapies and immunotherapies have
Jordan’s research will look at mechanisms of resistance to immunotherapy, specifically in melanoma patients with liver metastases. Along with other members of the translational research group, he wants to know why the liver seems to be the gatekeeper of resistance. He aims to determine if it is the site of metastasis that creates a poor systemic response, or something within the biology of the tumour that causes the melanoma to metastasise to the liver and make it resistant to therapy. He
“I want to follow in their footsteps and utilise their knowledge and the resources they have available to ensure that the patients that aren’t responding get to spend more time with their families. It’s always about the patients, and I have had the honour of meeting so many of them.”
When applying for his PhD, Jordan realised that without a scholarship, he wouldn’t be able to give all of his time to his research. No stranger to hard work, Jordan thought about getting a night or weekend job to ensure he could pay for his day-to-day expenses
During her illness, Emma was an ardent supporter of Melanoma Institute Australia. She knew research was the key to saving lives from melanoma, and she selflessly devoted her time to raising awareness and encouraging Australians to support research. She started
Jordan, who followed Emma’s blog and had long heard of Emma’s dream for a cure for melanoma, is a fitting inaugural recipient of the Emma Betts PhD Scholarship.
“I’m so grateful to receive the inaugural Emma Betts PhD Scholarship. This scholarship means
It’s fitting that Emma’s legacy is allowing a young person much like her to fulfil their dreams.
“I’m the age Emma was when she passed away. It almost feels unfair, that she has to not be here for me to
Jordan will be
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