Maddie Riewoldt’s Vision Announces 2026 Grant Round Fellowship Recipients

16 July 2026

Maddie’s Vision is proud to announce the Fellowship recipients of its 2026 Grant Round. This year’s Grant Round has awarded two General Fellowships and one Fiona Riewoldt Nursing and Allied Health Fellowship to support innovative research and clinical projects that will improve understanding, diagnosis and care for people living with Bone Marrow Failure Syndromes.

The 2026 Grant Round attracted an exceptional calibre of applications, reflecting the strength of Australia’s Bone Marrow Failure Syndrome research and clinical community. Following a comprehensive review process by the Maddie’s Vision Scientific Advisory Committee, three projects were selected for funding across the areas of genetic discovery, gene-editing therapies and patient and family-centred models of care.

Dr Parvathy Venugopal awarded General Fellowship 

Dr Parvathy Venugopal has been awarded a three-year General Fellowship for her research project, Harnessing Somatic Genetic Rescue for Gene Discovery and Novel Avenues of Therapy in Inherited Bone Marrow Failure.

Administered through Adelaide University, this Fellowship will investigate how naturally occurring genetic changes in blood cells may help uncover new causes of inherited bone marrow failure syndromes and inform future therapeutic approaches.

Dr Venugopal’s Fellowship will focus on a phenomenon known as somatic genetic rescue. This occurs when blood cells spontaneously correct or compensate for an inherited genetic change. In some people with inherited Bone Marrow Failure Syndromes, these corrected blood cells may gain a survival advantage, helping to partially restore blood cell production and potentially leading to milder symptoms or delayed disease onset.

By analysing large genomic datasets, including blood and bone marrow data, the project aims to identify patterns of genetic rescue that may point to previously undetected disease-causing variants. Candidate variants will then be tested in blood stem cell models to understand how they affect blood cell development, survival and function.

Dr Ashley Yang awarded General Fellowship

Dr Ashley Yang has been awarded a three-year General Fellowship for her research project, From Genetic Diagnosis to Gene Editing Therapy for Telomerase RNA–Related Bone Marrow Failure.

Administered through the Children’s Medical Research Institute in Sydney, this Fellowship will investigate how advanced gene-editing approaches could help improve diagnosis and lay the foundation for future treatment options for people affected by telomere-related bone marrow failure.

Dr Yang’s Fellowship will focus on a key telomere-related gene called TERC. Using a highly efficient CRISPR-based gene-editing approach, Dr Yang will model patient-specific TERC mutations in human blood-forming stem cells.

By studying these changes in a disease-relevant cell model, the project aims to determine which TERC variants disrupt telomere function and contribute to disease. This could help improve interpretation of genetic test results and support clearer clinical decision-making for Australian families affected by telomere-related bone marrow failure.

Maddie Gilsenan awarded Fiona Riewoldt Nursing and Allied Health Fellowship

Maddie Gilsenan has been awarded a three-year Fiona Riewoldt Nursing and Allied Health Fellowship for her project, Marrow Matters: Developing and evaluating a Nurse Practitioner led model of care to improve clinical outcomes and patient and family-centred care for Severe Aplastic Anaemia.

Administered through Murdoch Children’s Research Institute and delivered in partnership with the Children’s Cancer Centre at The Royal Children’s Hospital Melbourne, this Fellowship will support the development and evaluation of a Nurse Practitioner-led model of care for children with Severe Aplastic Anaemia and their families.

At present, there are no standardised national guidelines in Australia for paediatric Severe Aplastic Anaemia. This can lead to variation in treatment decision-making, supportive care, monitoring and follow-up. Maddie’s project aims to address this gap by developing a coordinated Nurse Practitioner-led model of care at The Royal Children’s Hospital Melbourne. The model will be integrated within a new bone marrow transplant clinic co-led by Dr Lorna McLeman and Dr David Hughes.

The project will focus on improving the clinical pathway for children with Severe Aplastic Anaemia, while also strengthening family-centred care, psychosocial support and long-term follow-up.

The project will include the development of a standardised, evidence-based clinical practice guideline for paediatric Severe Aplastic Anaemia and the establishment of a joint medical and Nurse Practitioner-led bone marrow failure clinic. The Fellowship will also support the development of education and capacity-building resources for families, nurses and regional clinicians to improve confidence, communication and care coordination across both metropolitan and regional settings.

The addition of these three Fellowship projects brings the Centre of Research Excellence in Bone Marrow Biology research portfolio to a total of 40 projects nationally & internationally.

Maddie’s Vision is committed to investing in groundbreaking research and clinical innovation that improves the understanding, diagnosis, treatment and care of people living with Bone Marrow Failure Syndromes. These projects represent an important step towards better outcomes for patients and families while strengthening Australia’s leadership in Bone Marrow Failure Syndrome research.

We would like to sincerely thank the Australian Government for their support of these projects and their commitment to improving outcomes for patients with Bone Marrow Failure Syndromes and their families.