Learn more about the Lions John Cockayne Memorial Fellowship Trust Fund
About us
Origin
The Lions John Cockayne Memorial Fellowship Trust Fund was established in 1996 with donations from the Oakleigh Lions Club Elderly Peoples Home Inc. and Monash Health.
Aim
To support the clinician-driven research pertaining to the health, care and treatment of elderly persons by Monash Health Aged and Rehabilitation Services, Community Rehabilitation, and staff from SACS Specialist Clinics, Residential Care and Aged Persons’ Mental Health.
The Lions John Cockayne Memorial Fellowship Trust Fund Committee
Membership
- Dr Maddi Howard, Program Medical Director, General Medicine, Aged, Rehabilitation and Community; Chair from July 2026.
- Ms Rosemary Barker, Lions Club Representative
- Dr Sumi Bhaskaran, Deputy Program Medical Director, General Medicine, Aged, Rehabilitation and Community & Consultant Geriatrician
- Dr Kate Bristow, Lions Club Representative
- Mr Anthony Burton, Business Manager, Monash Health
- Dr Rosa Gualano, Monash Ageing Research Centre (MONARC) Manager (Administrator)
- Ms Jill Jukes, Operations Director / Director of Nursing, Kingston and Aged Care Services
- Dr Michelle Kaminski, Allied Health Research Lead
- Dr Sarah Milne, Clinical Research Lead, Physiotherapy and Exercise Physiology
- Ms Sue Viney, Community Representative
- Professor Barbara Workman, Community Representative; Acting Chair until July 2026.
Meetings
The Lions Trust Committee meets four times per year, usually near the end of February, May, August and November.
What we fund
The Lions Trust Fund is now accepting applications for its mid-year Conference Grant Round. These small grants are for eligible* staff to attend a conference, workshop or study tour to present their work and acquire new knowledge and skills. Applications will close on Friday 5th June at 5.00 pm.
* Eligibility for travel grants is restricted to Monash Health Aged & Rehabilitation Services, Aged Persons’ Mental Health, SACS Specialist Clinics, Aged Care and Community Rehabilitation nursing, allied health or junior medical staff.
The online application form requires:
- completion of eligibility and demographic questions,
- details of the proposed travel and
- upload of quotes (or other supporting documents) and the separate Budgets and Approvals form.
Application forms
Lions John Cockayne Memorial Fellowship Trust Fund 2026 Conference Grant application form: via Microsoft Forms.
You can preview this form as a PDF.
Budget and Approvals form: via Microsoft Word.
Applicants are asked to note these important points:
- All applications will require manager’s approval of the travel and a supporting statement. Managers are asked to make a reasonable co-contribution to budgets for proposed travel.
- The Trust Fund Committee is required by its Terms of Reference to fund projects which improve the health and care of elderly persons, along with the skills of staff who care for elderly persons.
Proposals which do not focus on elderly persons will not be considered. - Eligible staff may apply for funding to attend a conference, or to attend a workshop or study tour to acquire new knowledge and skills.
- In line with the Trust’s governance document, priority will be given to (a) staff who are presenting their work at a conference, although staff not presenting their work may apply, and (b) staff who have not previously received funding from the Trust.
- Reviewers will assess the following criteria, along with their overall impression of the merit and value for money of the proposal:
- Appropriateness of the proposed travel for the individual applicant, his/her Department and Aged Care generally;
- Relevance of the proposed travel to make a difference to the health, care or treatment of older persons;
- Capacity for learnings to be shared or used to improve care of older people by the applicant and their colleagues;
- Support of the application by Department Head or manager, and
- Compliance with scheme guidelines, including reasonable budget and co-contribution from the Department, or justification if there is no co-contribution.
- Reviewers have a range of expertise and backgrounds, hence discipline specific terms should be explained.
- Applicants may be contacted if documents are incomplete or reviewers have questions, so ensure an alternate contact person is named.
- If artificial intelligence is used to write any part of the proposal, this must be declared and in line with Monash Health policies.
- Staff must include their submitted abstract, or other evidence of how the applicant is actively contributing to the meeting or activity and will disseminate knowledge gained from the conference.
- Funding limits are up to $2,000 for domestic travel and up to $5,000 for international travel. Within this limit, staff may apply for support for reasonable travel expenses, travel insurance and accommodation expenses, along with registration costs.
- The LJCMFTF conference fellowship can be used with funding from other sources, such as research grant funding, special society travel grants, postgraduate scholarship and departmental support.
- A recipient of the conference grant must acknowledge support of the Lions John Cockayne Memorial Fellowship Trust Fund on all publications, posters, and presentations. Details will be provided to successful applicants.
Research grant applications are expected to open around October 2026 (dates TBC). Staff seeking advice on planning a research project, or with questions about travel grants, can contact Dr Rosa Gualano, MONARC Manager and Dr Michelle Kaminski, Allied Health Research Adviser.
Nurses seeking specialist project advice can contact Professor Andrea Driscoll (Chair in Nursing, Centre for Quality and Patient Safety Research – Monash Health Partnership) at nursingmidwifery_research@monashhealth.org or andrea.driscoll@deakin.edu.au.
The Trust committee encourages applicants to do some general training in research skills, such as the short courses offered by the Monash Health Library – visit their Education and Training page to learn more.