Tom and Dorothy Cook Scholarships in Public Health and Tropical Medicine

Other eligibility requirements

The original Cook family migrated from England to Australia in 1837. 75 years later Tom’s father purchased land in Mackay and in 1915 built a family home, which is currently known as Greenmount Homestead. In 1950 Tom Cook wed Dorothy Drysdale, a successful businesswoman, owning and running a ladies’ fashion and beauty shop in Brisbane. Tom and Dorothy settled at the Mackay residence, where they lived for most of their 31-year marriage. The passing of Tom and Dorothy in 1981 and 1995 respectively ended eighty years of the Cook family residing at Greenmount.  In 1984, Dorothy gifted the homestead to the Mackay Regional Council. Dorothy left a final gift to the community of Mackay in the form of a research scholarship at James Cook University.

These scholarships are offered to higher degree research students to undertake a Master of Philosophy or Doctor of Philosophy in the field of public health, laboratory and clinical investigation of population health in Tropical Northern Australia.

The research program should have as one of its elements a focus on the Mackay and central Queensland region.

The Tom and Dorothy Cook scholarships in Public Health and Tropical Medicine will be open to competition among candidates who:

• Are commencing, or in the process of applying for, a Master of Philosophy (MPhil) or Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) at JCU; and
• Have a primary or secondary supervisor based in JCU’s Discipline of Public Health; and
• Have a research project related to public health, laboratory and clinical investigations of population health; and
• An significant element of the research project focusses on the Mackay and central Queensland region; and
• Meet JCU’s admission requirements for MPhil or PhD degree.

Open to full-time and part-time students.

Students identifying as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander in descent are highly encouraged to apply.