Some of the most important breakthroughs in science happen when exceptional researchers are given the time, support and freedom to pursue their ideas. The Alice Baker and Eleanor Shaw Gender Equity Fellowship exists to make that possible — for the women who need it most.
About the Fellowship
The Alice Baker and Eleanor Shaw Gender Equity Fellowship supports outstanding senior female scientists at the Baker Institute, providing a five-year fellowship at Laboratory Head level. It is designed to advance and retain women in science by addressing some of the structural and career barriers they face — from funding gaps and career disruptions to the challenges of establishing independent research programs.
Fellowships are made possible through the generous support of the Baker Foundation, which funds the first two years of each five-year award. We are enormously grateful to the Baker Foundation for their long-standing commitment to gender equity in research.
Fellowship recipients
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Professor Levelt’s fellowship supported her research in establishing advanced cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) imaging and spectroscopy to improve the understanding of heart disease in cardiometabolic conditions. She is leading the development of one of Australia’s most advanced 3T CMR facilities, conducting the first cardiac spectroscopy and stress perfusion scans at the Institute. Her work has enabled new insights into myocardial structure and function in conditions such as aortic stenosis, diabetes, and obesity, while supporting the development of large-scale clinical trials and imaging cohorts aimed at improving diagnosis, risk stratification and personalised treatment of cardiovascular disease.
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Associate Professor Baratchi’s fellowship supported her research into the mechanobiology of cardiovascular disease, using advanced microfluidic “organ-on-a-chip” models to understand how cells respond to blood flow and vascular changes. Her work focused on uncovering the mechanisms driving conditions such as calcific aortic valve disease and vascular ageing, with the aim of identifying new therapeutic targets.
Through the fellowship, she established a dedicated laboratory, developed bioengineered models of human blood vessels and heart valves, and generated new insights into immune and cellular responses to biomechanical forces — helping to advance more precise and effective treatments for cardiovascular disease.
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Professor Magliano’s fellowship supported her research into the epidemiology of diabetes, using large-scale national and international datasets to understand trends in incidence, complications and mortality. Her work focused on identifying how diabetes is changing over time and across populations, and how this knowledge can inform prevention and care.
Through the fellowship, she advanced major initiatives including global analyses of type 2 diabetes trends and large Australian data linkage studies examining complications and outcomes. Her research generated important insights into life expectancy, disease burden and risk factors, helping to guide more effective strategies to improve diabetes management and patient outcomes.
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Associate Professor Young’s fellowship supported her research into endocrine mechanisms driving cardiac fibrosis and inflammation, which are key processes underlying heart failure. Her work focuses on understanding how mineralocorticoid receptor signalling contributes to disease, with the goal of identifying more effective and better-tolerated treatments.
While supported by the fellowship, she established a dedicated laboratory and advanced studies spanning molecular, clinical and population data, including analysis of large-scale biobank datasets. Her research generated important insights into hormone-driven pathways, inflammation, and circadian influences on blood pressure, helping to progress new therapeutic strategies and improve outcomes for patients with heart disease.
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Dr Richart's fellowship supported her research into treatments that could reduce heart injury immediately following a heart attack — work with particular significance for people with type 2 diabetes, who face a significantly higher risk of secondary complications including heart failure. Her research was personal as well as scientific: she had witnessed a close friend with type 2 diabetes suffer a heart attack and, with few treatment options available, progress to heart failure. The fellowship gave her the independence to pursue this work and helped her overcome the career disruptions that come with an international research move.
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Dr Yiallourou's fellowship supported her research into how sleep patterns affect cardiovascular health — a growing field given that almost 40 per cent of Australians experience sleep problems. Her work focused on understanding the underlying links between inadequate sleep and increased risk of hypertension and cardiovascular disease, with particular attention to vulnerable populations including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and those living in regional communities. The fellowship was pivotal in helping her establish herself as an independent researcher, providing not only salary support but funding for pilot studies and conference travel.
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Dr Bernardo’s fellowship supported her research into identifying new treatment targets for heart failure — a debilitating condition that affects one in five people and is often diagnosed only after irreversible damage has occurred. With current therapies limited to slowing progression rather than reversing disease, her work focused on uncovering the underlying biological mechanisms driving cardiac hypertrophy and heart failure. The fellowship enabled her to generate significant experimental data and advance early-stage discoveries, helping to build a stronger foundation for future research aimed at improving outcomes and extending quality of life for those at risk.
About Alice Baker and Eleanor Shaw
The Fellowship is named in honour of two remarkable women whose generosity helped establish the Baker Institute — and whose legacy continues to shape it a century later.
Alice Baker was a quiet but formidable force in Melbourne's philanthropic and civic life. Alongside her husband Thomas Baker, she played a central role in the founding of what would become the Baker Institute. Together they pledged their ongoing support following the opening of the new laboratory building in 1926, naming it the Thomas Baker, Alice Baker and Eleanor Shaw Medical Research Institute in honour of the Bakers and Alice's sister Eleanor Shaw.
Though the Bakers had no children, they were known for their generous — and often anonymous — philanthropy. They supported the Red Cross, the Big Brotherhood, Toc H and the Limbless Soldiers, but their greatest legacy was their commitment to medical research at the Alfred Hospital. Thomas Baker's death in 1928 did not end that commitment:
Alice and Eleanor, together with the Rouse family, continued to support the Institute. The wills of Thomas, Alice and Eleanor established a trust that would support research at the Institute for decades to come — providing nearly $4 million by 1974.
Alice was also an active civic leader in her own right. A prominent figure in the National Council of Women, she represented Australia at the Toronto meeting of the International Council of Women and was appointed CBE in 1933, two years before her death.
It is fitting that a fellowship advancing women in science bears their names. Their belief in the power of research to change lives is exactly what the Fellowship honours.
Information sourced from The Australian Women's Register.
