The Opportunity
Preterm birth is associated with long-term socio-cognitive dysfunction, for which early detection during infancy is difficult. This PhD program aims at using state-of-the art multi-channel near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) to assess the functional brain response of infants born preterm in long-term follow-up. The project utilises social-visual stimuli (social videos of people interactions), and aims to detect socio-cognitive disorders early in preterm infants. The program will focus on correlations between neurovascular physiology, neuroimaging and neurodevelopmental assessments. This is an exciting opportunity to be involved in clinical follow-up of preterm infants and to assess their neurovascular physiology during infancy.
The program is supported by a NHMRC Leadership Investigator Grant (F Wong). Applicants are also encouraged to apply for government and university-funded scholarships, and priority will be given to the awardees. There is potential to also be involved in experimental/animal studies of neurovascular research and other collaborative projects, to broaden research scope and skills.
This PhD program would suit applicants with background/training in clinical neonatology or follow-up of high-risk infants.
Monash Newborn, Monash Children's Hospital
The successful candidate will be part of a multidisciplinary cohort of clinicians and researchers based at Monash Newborn and Department of Paediatrics. The Monash Newborn research group also has a close link with the Ritchie Centre at The Hudson Institute of Medical Research, which conducts world-class basic research in perinatal medicine. For more information about the important research work at Monash Newborn and the Ritchie Centre, please visit, and
Supervisory team
The principal supervisor will be Associate Professor Flora Wong. Co-supervisor will be Professor Rod Hunt – expert in neonatal brain injury at Monash University, and Dr Robin Laycock – vision neuroscientist at RMIT University. Other co-supervisors will depend on the project focus, and may include supervisors externally.
Associate Professor Flora Wong is a consultant neonatologist and a clinician-scientist with research expertise in neonatal brain development, brain injury and neuroprotection. She is Australia's foremost expert in understanding neonatal cerebral circulation using NIRS.
Eligibility requirements:
Candidates will need to fulfil the Monash University minimum requirements for admission to a PhD detailed here:
How to apply
For general instructions on how to apply for roles at Monash, please refer to How to apply for Monash jobs. Candidates applying for this PhD research opportunity should include the following:
* A cover letter describing your research interests and why you would like to undertake a PhD (maximum one page)
* A curriculum vitae including qualifications, academic achievements, work history, list of publications and conference presentations
* A copy of your academic transcript(s)
* Contact details of two academic and/or clinical referees, at least one of whom must be an academic referee
Enquiries: Associate Professor Flora Wong:
Applications Close: Monday 6 April 2026, 11:55pm AEST
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