Image left to right: Phil du Cros, James Beeson, Evelyn Lavu, Suman Majumdar, and Steph Main.
The loss of Professor Evelyn Lavu deeply saddened the members of the TB-CRE, many of whom worked closely with Evelyn through her distinguished career combatting the burden of infectious disease in Papua New Guinea. Professor Evelyn Lavu was the first female Professor of Medicine at the University of Papua New Guinea; she leaves a legacy of a remarkable career and outstanding advocacy for women in medicine and science. We will also remember her for her kindness, compassion, and dedication to supporting her junior colleagues.
With the blessing of Professor Evelyn Lavu's husband, Dr Mark Paul, her daughter Lewa Kanah, and her son Kanau John Kanah, the TB-CRE and the Burnet Institute have co-funded a scholarship in Evelyn's memory to honour her legacy of work in tuberculosis research and control. The scholarship is over the term of five years (commencing in 2022) to bring a student each year from Papua New Guinea to Australia to join our annual TB-CRE Symposium, as Evelyn did on several occasions, and to stay for a few weeks to visit and receive training in one of our affiliated labs.
The loss of Evelyn Lavu is deeply felt by the TB-CRE and the tuberculosis research community. We offer our sincere condolences to Evelyn's family, friends, and wantoks.