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Kelli Owen has been awarded the 2023 Neville Fazulla Aboriginal Health Memorial Scholarship.

The Neville Fazulla Aboriginal Health Scholarship has been established in recognition of the contribution Neville Fazulla made to Aboriginal health both within South Australia and nationally.

His life’s work was dedicated to improving the health system's response to the unique needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. The objective of the Scholarship is to increase the number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people studying at university within non-clinical health related fields, acknowledging the importance of non-clinical roles within the health workforce.

"For me, winning this scholarship is pretty powerful." Kelli said.

"There was a lot of connection because I didn't get to meet Neville in his journey, but a cousin working with him had said that we had some similar paths happening."

"The teams that I work with, I really want to thank, and the mentors that I have as well to help me actually get to that next PhD level because I said I was never going to study again."

The scholarship will allow Kelli to help build on Neville Fazulla's legacy. Her work focuses on dialysis, primarily in reducing the burden for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people accessing and understanding care.

"I really want to thank people for this opportunity that nominated and said that I could be a winner at this kind of level."