MEDICAL STUDY

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXV, Issue 23137, 8 September 1938, Page 17

MEDICAL STUDY

NUFFIELD FELLOWSHIP

RESEARCH WORK AT OXFORD DR. M. A, FALCONER NOMINATED [BY TELEGRAPII —OWN CORRESPONDENT] WELLINGTON, Wednesday A New Zcalander, Dr. M. A. Falconer, of Dunedin, has been nominated as one of the first two holders of the Nuffield Fellowships at the Nuffield Medical School, Oxford University. Two such scholarships are to be awarded annually between the seven universities of South Africa, Australia and New Zealand, and Professor T. A. Hunter, vice-chancellor of the University of New Zealand, returned to Wellington to-day by the Maunganui after attending a conference of the Australian and New Zealand University authorities to decide the awarding of these fellowships.

Professor Hunter said the main object of the conference .was to arrange how tho scheme should bo applied in order to obtain the best men from tho threo Dominions. It was obvious that il : it were awarded strictly in rotation tho turn for the award might como to tho Dominion at a time when thero happened to be a dearth of suitable candidates, whereas in another Dominion there were men who deserved to bo given this opportunity. Return to Own Country

Tho fellowships were worth £IOO a year for a singlo man or £6OO for a married man and wero tenable for threo years. In each caso travel to and from tho holder's own country was provided. One of tho fellowships was a demonstratorship in tho medical school and tho other a clinical assistantship. It was an important condition of the awards that the holders undertook on completing their term at Oxford to return to their own country for at least five years. This condition would, prevent the loss to the Dominions of their most brilliant young men through their remaining overseas, as had been the ease with many Rhodes Scholars. It was the object of tho fellowships to provide opportunities for Dominion students to carry out research under the best conditions, as tho Dominions were not in a position to provide the same facilities for themselves.

This year South Africa had agreed to stand out and the medical award was to be made in Australia and the clinical in New Zealand, the New Zealand nominee being Dr. M. A. Falconer. Provided Ins nomination was confirmed by the Oxford authorities, as it was almost certain to be, he would go to Oxford for three years to carrs* out research work there. Nominee's Experience Dr. Falconer, who was in Wellington to-day, said he was a son of Dr. A. 11. Falconer, of Dunedin. He graduated bachelor of medicine and bachelor of chemistry at Otago University in 1933. After a short period of hospital work in New Zealand he went home and became a fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons in 1935. He studied at Guy's Hospital, London, and the Aberdeen Roval Infirmarv.

Dr. Falconer had just returned to New Zealand after completing a year's surgical work at tho famous Mavo Clinic, in the United States. He said that if his nomination was confirmed he expected to leave for Oxford in about a month's time.