Travel grant winners announced

Published

Thursday, December 11, 2025 - 9:00 AM

Congratulations to our 2025 round two travel grant recipients. CFAR is proud to support emerging and early mid-career food allergy researchers to present their work to the world.

Associate Professor Debbie Palmer of the CFAR3 Travel Grant Committee said:

“Congratulations to each of you on earning these travel grants. Your dedication to advancing our understanding of food allergies is already making a meaningful impact, and presenting your work on the national and international stage is a well-deserved milestone," she said.

"We are incredibly proud of your accomplishments and excited for the collaborations and discoveries ahead.”

• Sasha Odoi: Population Adherence to Australian Infant Food Introduction Guidelines,  AAAAI Annual Meeting 2026, Philadelphia (poster accepted)
• Daniela Ciciulla: Avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID) in children with and without food allergy, International Conference on Eating Disorders 2026 (abstract submitted)
• Dr Rhiannon Grant: Early plasma metabolite signatures and growth impairment with food allergy, 20th World Immune Regulation Meeting, Switzerland (abstract submitted)
• Dr Vicki McWilliam: The TreEat Study:  a randomised controlled trial investigating the efficacy and safety of early introduction of tree nuts on the prevention of tree nut allergy in infants with peanut allergy,  AAAAI Annual Meeting 2026, Philadelphia (poster accepted)
• Emily Jerry (above): Thermal stress alters the allergen and proteome profile of the redclaw crayfish (Cherax quadicarinatus), EAACI Congress 2026, Türkiye (abstract not yet submitted*)
• Dr Merryn Netting: Reported timing of introduction to solid foods in Australian infants. Moving closer to around six months, EAACI Congress 2026, Türkiye (abstract not yet submitted*)
• Sahel Heidari: Allergic Sensitization in the Tropics: Unravelling Co-Sensitization Between Crustacean and Mites, EAACI Congress 2026, Türkiye (abstract not yet submitted*)
• Dr Melanie Lloyd: Confirmatory peanut oral food challenges in very young children are cost-effective, EAACI Congress 2026, Türkiye (abstract not yet submitted*)
• Alice (Rong) Zeng: Associations between neonatal vitamin D and longitudinal peanut and egg allergy phenotypes up to 10 years of age, EAACI Congress 2026, Türkiye (abstract not yet submitted*)

*Travel grant provision is contingent on abstract acceptance

The next round of Travel Grants will open in February 2026!

To be eligible you must be:

• Enrolled in or employed by an Australian University as a PhD or Masters’ student (100 per cent research) or level A-C academic within 15 years of your PhD being awarded
• Managed or supervised by at least one CFAR3 Chief or Associate Investigator
• An Australian citizen or an Australian permanent resident. International students / researchers based in Australia are also eligible
• Presenting an oral or poster presentation at a conference that aligns with the CFAR3 vision and mission
• A current CFAR member

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