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 advance and sponsor research activities (projects and travel) pertaining to the care and treatment of older people, through allocation of grants to research projects or travel originating within the Monash Health Aged, Rehabilitation and Community Service (inclusive of SACS Specialist Clinics, Monash at Home and Residential Care) as well as Monash Health 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 and Committee Chair
- 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 Janet Golder, Allied Health Research Fellow, Adult Inpatient Care.
- 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.
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 will primarily support research that seeks to improve health, wellbeing, independence and quality of life of older people.
In exceptional circumstances, the Trust may also consider research involving younger adults where the proposed study addresses conditions or syndromes that are characteristic of ageing or geriatric medicine and where the findings may have relevance to the practice of geriatric care.
Eligibility is restricted to funding staff whose research projects or travel originates within the Monash Health Aged, Rehabilitation and Community Service (inclusive of Specialist Clinics, Monash at Home and Residential Care) as well as Monash Health Aged Persons’ Mental Health.
Staff from all professions are eligible to apply for grants. Senior medical staff can apply for research grants but not travel funding.
Application forms
Applications for research and travel grants are expected to open in early October and close around four weeks later (dates TBC). Research grant applications will require a project proposal, budget and manager’s approval. The anticipated funding cap is $25K, of which up to $20K can be spent in the first year with the remaining $5K available subject to adequate progress and reporting.
Travel grants are anticipated to have a funding cap of $2K for domestic and $5K for international travel to attend a conference, workshop or training course. Travel grant applications will require details of the proposed travel, quotes for travel costs and manager’s approval. The Trust will prioritise applications from staff presenting their own research at a conference, but will consider applications from staff who are not presenting if there is adequate justification of the benefits to the staff member and their team from the proposed travel.
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.
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.