Postdoctoral Fellow Dr Max Yavitt, from the University of Otago, Christchurch’s, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery and Musculoskeletal Medicine, has been chosen as the sole Australasian participant in a notable leadership training programme.
Max, from the Department’s Christchurch Regenerative Medicine and Tissue Engineering (CReaTE) Research group, is one of 35 early-career scientists from 12 countries chosen to attend the American Chemical Society’s (ACS) prestigious 2025 CAS Future Leaders Programme.
The Programme is highly competitive, accepting only 4 per cent of more than 1000 who apply each year. He will join a group of exceptional PhD students and postdoctoral scholars from around the world to take the next steps in their scientific research and leadership futures.
Dr Max Yavitt
Max will be flown to Columbus, Ohio in August to take part in the two-week programme, attending leadership and career development workshops, learning mentorship skills from industry leaders, participating in science lectures, and forging connections with fellow scientists in the fields of nanotechnology, computational chemistry, materials research, green chemistry and more.
“I am absolutely honoured to be selected for this programme, representing the University of Otago and our team here at CReaTE, learning alongside some really exceptional scientists,” Max says.
“This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to strengthen my leadership skills for a career as an independent researcher and I’m excited to learn how to best communicate my passion for science.”
To gain selection, Max provided the judges with a CV, letter of recommendation and a 1000-word essay, describing his current research as part of CReaTE’s bioprinting and bioink field, and his future goals.
Professor of Regenerative Medicine and CReaTE Director Tim Woodfield says he’s extremely proud of Max’s success in winning this award.
“This recognition reflects the extent of fundamental chemistry expertise in Max’s research as an early career researcher, and the interdisciplinary and novel ways his research is applied to biological systems for the development of hydrogel bioinks in 3D bioprinting and regenerative medicine,” Tim says.
Max will have all his travel and accommodation expenses covered, receive a three-year ACS membership, and have the opportunity to present his research at the ACS Fall 2025 conference in Washington DC later in August.
The CAS Future Leaders programme was launched in 2010 by CAS, a division of the American Chemical Society, to fill an identified gap on leadership training for scientists. As a specialist in scientific management, its team builds the largest authoritative collection of human-curated scientific data in the world and provides essential information solutions, services and expertise to leading organisations around the globe.