Honouring Catherine McLean

Catherine McLean was a much-loved Division Co-ordinator at WEHI for over 20 years and a valued contributor to the WEHI community. She had a strong sense of social justice and a desire to help others.

After her sudden death in 2022, Catherine’s family decided to endow an award at WEHI to create a legacy that would reflect and continue this. Her parents, Vin and Rosemary Massaro, felt that “it seemed appropriate to find a way of remembering her that was also connected to WEHI”.

Valued at up to $10,000, the Catherine McLean Travel Grant will assist a female postdoctoral researcher to present her work at an international conference, giving her an opportunity to meaningfully advance her career.

The award will not only recognise scientific excellence but also the recipient’s positive contribution to WEHI’s culture, something for which Catherine was much admired.

Catherine’s family created the travel grant through a generous gift to establish an endowed permanent fund. This fund, named for Catherine, will support the Catherine McLean Travel Grant every year, in perpetuity.

The gift and the travel grant reflect Catherine’s values. She was known for her strong sense of social justice and her passion for the causes she supported. She was particularly aware of the challenges facing young women in science, especially in establishing their careers in fields where they remain underrepresented.

Catherine’s family and all who knew her agree that supporting the next generation of researchers in this way is “a very Catherine thing to do.”

The grant, administered by the WEHI Postdoctoral Association, is open to postdoctoral researchers who identify as women, genderqueer or non-binary, within 10 years of completing their PhD. Proposed travel must have clear and substantial benefits to the applicant’s career development.

Anyone wishing to honour Catherine’s legacy and support emerging researchers can also contribute to this fund via the online donation page by selecting Catherine McLean Travel Grant from the drop-down menu.

In a message to grant recipients, Catherine’s family said, “We hope that the grant will be of significant benefit in advancing your career and that it will ultimately contribute to advancing medical research”.

Catherine was beloved by many at WEHI, and we miss her dearly.