Recipients announced for Australia–India Strategic Research Fund Fellowships
- 3 mins read
The Australian Academy of Science is pleased to announce the recipients of Round 5 of the Australia–India Strategic Research Fund (AISRF) Early and Mid-Career Researcher (EMCR) Fellowships.
The AISRF EMCR Fellowships support Australian researchers to undertake research placements with leading Indian institutes, with funding towards travel and living costs. In Round 5, the Academy has awarded 12 fellowships, valued at just under $140,000 in total.
The fellowships are funded by the Department of Industry, Science and Resources through the AISRF, which marks its 20th anniversary in 2026. Operating since 2006, the AISRF has supported more than 180 collaborative research projects, strengthening scientific links between Australia and India.
This round’s projects span a diverse range of topics, from battery-free wearable sensors that can continuously monitor health signals, to work with women in rural India to co-create solutions that reduce social and economic barriers in everyday life.
Dr Krishna Manaswi Digumarti from Queensland University of Technology is one of the grant recipients. He is collaborating with Associate Professor Vishal Toka at MNJ Institute of Oncology and Regional Cancer Centre to develop a non-invasive wearable device to detect breast cancer in younger women.
Dr Alireza Jolfaei, from Flinders University, is collaborating with Professor M. Tanveer from the Indian Institute of Technology Indore to develop an AI assistant for security teams so that they can detect cyberattacks early. The innovation is designed to help smaller organisations strengthen their defences without needing large in-house teams.
The successful recipients include the following.
| Awardee name | Home institute | Host institute | Project title |
| Dr Alireza Jolfaei | Flinders University | Indian Institute of Technology Indore | Proactive threat hunting and predictive defence using agentic AI |
| Dr Deval Mehta | Monash University | Indian Institute of Technology Bombay | Advancing cross‑national digital health collaboration: Improving skincare through AI‑powered system for rural communities in Australia and India |
| Associate Professor Emma George | University of Adelaide | Indian Institute of Public Health Hyderabad and Good Shepherd Hyderabad | Co‑designing population approach occupational therapy research and practice with marginalised women in India |
| Dr Jinshuo Zou | University of Adelaide | Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR) | Integrated electrochemical urea synthesis system for concurrent carbon capture and conversion |
| Dr Krishna Manaswi Digumarti | Queensland University of Technology | MNJ Institute of Oncology and Regional Cancer Centre | Evaluating a wearable device for automated breast cancer detection |
| Dr Lihong Su | University of Wollongong | Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad | Development of novel cost‑effective high‑entropy alloys with superior mechanical performance by additive manufacturing |
| Dr Nisa Salim | Swinburne University of Technology | Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology | 3D printing of multifunctional 2D materials for sustainable electrochemical energy storage |
| Dr Pankaj Sharma | Flinders University | Indian Institute of Science (IISc) Bangalore | Topological polarisation textures in twisted oxides |
| Dr Rishabh More | Monash University | Indian Institute of Technology Bombay | Data‑driven modelling of sedimentation dynamics of microplastics in aquatic environments |
| Dr Saheli Biswas | CSIRO | Indian Institute of Technology, Hyderabad | Recycling of critical minerals from electrochemical devices |
| Dr Shanmuga Sundar Dhanabalan | La Trobe University | CIPET Chennai and BITS Pilani Hyderabad Campus | MXene‑polymer composites based battery‑free wearable platform for remote health monitoring |
| Dr Sohinee Sarkar | Murdoch Children's Research Institute | Amity University | Developing live oral biotherapeutics for Helicobacter associated diseases |
Round 6 of the AISRF EMCR Fellowships is scheduled to open in May 2026. To be notified when applications open, subscribe to the Academy’s awards and opportunities mailing list.
More information about the Australia–India Strategic Research Fund is available through the Department of Industry, Science and Resources.
The announcement comes as part of a larger announcement today by the Assistant Minister for Science, Technology and the Digital Economy, The Hon Dr Andrew Charlton MP, during his visit to India.
