Congratulations to the 2026 award winners!

jacqueline Frei

PhD Candidate and Clinical Psychologist at Black Dog Institute/University of New South Wales (Australia)

Jacqueline is a PhD candidate and Clinical Psychologist from Australia, and mother of three children under the age of 6 years. She has worked in research and teaching positions in tertiary institutions, in Australia and the USA, for almost 20 years. Her PhD research focuses on the mental health knowledge, skills, and confidence of primary school teachers. Despite multiple periods of leave for caregiving responsibilities, Jacqueline has published her PhD findings, presented at multiple national conferences, and received multiple awards. Jacqueline is passionate about her research and aims to positively impact professional training for mental health. With the support of this travel grant, she will be able to attend a conference, present findings from her final PhD study, and network with important scholars in her field.

Jelena Tadic

Postdoctoral Researcher at the at the University of Graz (Austria)

Jelena Tadic moved from Bosnia-Herzegovina to Austria to pursue her dream of becoming a scientist, inspired by her grandmothers’ struggles with Alzheimer’s disease. As a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Graz, she investigates the molecular mechanisms of neurodegenerative diseases, focusing on Alzheimer’s and the impact of sleep on brain health. Motivated by personal experience, Jelena is dedicated to understanding how improving sleep can help prevent or delay the onset of neurodegeneration. Despite becoming a mother to two daughters and living in Austria without direct family support, she has remained actively engaged in her scientific community, attending international conferences, building collaborations, and completing research stays in the UK and Australia. Jelena continues to balance family responsibilities and her passion for science, striving to advance research and inspire other mothers in academia.

Mary Kameni

PhD candidate at the University of Yaoundé I (Cameroon)

Mary is a PhD candidate in Microbiology at the University of Yaoundé I, Cameroon. Her research sits at the intersection of genomics, molecular biology, and immunology, where she works to identify novel genetic mutations and understand how genetic polymorphisms may influence the severity of Tuberculosis and COVID-19. A mother of two early school-aged children, Mary balances the demands of a rigorous scientific career with the joys and challenges of motherhood, a journey that has deepened her resilience and commitment to inclusive, family-supportive research environments. She aims to pursue a postdoctoral position in human genomics and establish her own research laboratory in Cameroon, where she can train the next generation of African scientists and contribute to homegrown solutions for infectious diseases.

Khadija Khaled

PhD Student at Technical University of Chemnitz (Germany)

Khadija started her PhD when her son was just 7 months old. Her research focuses on the optoelectronic properties of emerging materials for next-generation solar cells, and she is passionate about renewable energy and contributing to a cleaner and more sustainable future for the next generation. Khadija balances the demands of motherhood and research while pursuing opportunities to connect with the international scientific community and advance her career. This travel grant will allow her to attend an international conference to showcase the findings from her PhD, gain professional visibility and build connections with key researchers in her field.

Marialaura Noce

Research Fellow at the University of Salerno (Italy)

Marialaura Noce is a researcher at the University of Salerno (Italy), where she leads research on group theory and its applications to cryptography and computational problems. Her work focuses on Engel conditions and groups of automorphisms of rooted trees, with particular emphasis on developing post-quantum group-based cryptographic protocols. She has held research positions in Italy, Germany, and the United Kingdom, and through research visits across Europe and North America, has built a strong international network and contributed to numerous research initiatives. She is a mother of a young daughter and a passionate advocate for mothers and caregivers in STEMM, and she aims to show that pursuing scientific research while raising a child, though challenging, is both possible and meaningful.

naomi Rowan Defty

PhD Student at University of Aberdeen (Scotland)

Naomi is a PhD student in molecular parasitology and the mother of a young child. Her research focuses on developing RNA interference (RNAi) technologies in the poultry red mite, Dermanyssus gallinae, a parasite affecting laying hens and poultry welfare. Through her work, she aims to improve understanding of mite biology and identify novel targets for sustainable parasite control, reducing reliance on conventional acaricides. Balancing research with caregiving responsibilities presents ongoing challenges, particularly because her family has limited financial resources and no nearby relatives to provide childcare support, making travel to conferences difficult. This travel grant will enable her to attend her first international conference, where she will present her research, engage with the global scientific community, and build valuable collaborations. In the future, she aspires to establish herself as an independent researcher without compromising the kind of mother she wants to be.

Rr. Nefriana

PhD Student at the University of Pittsburgh (USA)

Rr. Nefriana is a PhD student in Information Science at the University of Pittsburgh. Her work examines the internal structure of extremist online communities and the spread of harmful narratives, gendered patterns in the circulation of hateful content online, and the potential of large language models for equitable health misinformation debunking across diverse populations. A mother to a one-year-old, she co-parents with her husband, who is also a PhD student. As international students without family support nearby, she takes on the primary caregiving responsibilities while they both navigate the demands of academic life together. Her experience as a mother has deepened her commitment to understanding gender dynamics in online spaces. She aspires to advance research that makes digital spaces safer and more equitable, and to mentor the next generation of scientists.

Nthabiseng Nhlapo

Postdoctoral Researcher at the Central University of Technology, Free State (South Africa)

Nthabiseng is a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Mechanical and Mechatronic Engineering at the Central University of Technology, Free State, South Africa. She has a multidisciplinary academic background spanning Food Sciences, Chemistry, and Environmental Health. Her research focuses on enhancing the biological functionality of 3D-printed titanium implants through polymer nanofiber coatings applied by electrospinning. As a mother of three young children aged from one month old to five years old, she balances the demands of an active research career with significant family responsibilities. Living in a different province from her institution makes work-related travel, including conferences, both physically and financially challenging. Despite these obstacles, she remains committed to advancing her research and has been entrusted with establishing an infection control research niche within her department’s additive manufacturing division.

Perpetua Omondi

Master’s Student at Presbyterian University of East Africa (Kenya)

Perpetua is an occupational therapist, entrepreneur, and Master’s student in Occupational Therapy at Presbyterian University of East Africa. With over 16 years of clinical practice and entrepreneurial experience since 2009, her research focuses on occupational therapy entrepreneurship as a health systems strengthening strategy, exploring how occupational therapists can become more effective entrepreneurs. She is the mother of a 14-year-old and an 11-year-old and honors the memory of her beloved angel baby. Perpetua is an alumna and Community Champion of the African Women Entrepreneurship Cooperative (AWEC), an active member of the East African Academy of Childhood Disability (EAACD), and a participant in the International Alliance of Academies of Childhood Disability (IAACD) Executive Committee. She aspires to mentor the next generation of allied health professionals across Africa to become health systems changemakers.

2025 Recipients of the Mothers in Science Caregiver Travel Grant

2024 Recipients of the Mothers in Science Caregiver Travel Grant