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The College is delighted to announce that Shev Dias Abeyagunawardene (Class of 2019) has been announced as one of nine Australian 2026 Rhodes Scholars. Shev, who has just completed a Doctor of Medicine (MD) with Distinction from UWA, is about to commence an Internship at RPH in January before heading to Oxford University for three years in September.

Shev intends to study a Doctor of Philosophy in Musculosketal Sciences at Oxford, focusing on orthopaedic surgery and researching how to reverse osteoarthritis. Shev plans to return to Perth after this to progress his training in orthpaedics before then seeking fellowships in the US or UK to build his specialist training. Ultimately, though Shev said he sees himself settling in Australia.

Committed to making a positive difference in our world, in addition to achieving his MD while at UWA, Shev served in executive positions on the Medical Student Council of WA and the WA Medical Students’ Society, while also volunteering for and coordinating the Australian Medical Association WA’s DrYES program – a program where medical students deliver harm minimisation sessions to high school students in metropolitan and rural schools. UWA also notes that Shev is an accomplished martial artist and competes at an elite level in ultimate frisbee – one of his favourite sports at ASC!

While at ASC, Shev studied Maths Methods and Maths Specialist, Chemistry, Physics, Literature, Japanese and Economics. In the Excellence and Diversity publication for his graduating Class of 2019, Shev wrote, “My time at ASC has been truly special and memorable and I hope to maintain a strong connection with the community – a community that is truly one of a kind – and I know that the bonds I have made will last a lifetime.”

ASC’s Stuart Munro (Class of 1998) also received a Rhodes Scholarship in 2004.

Read more about Shev's journey: https://www.uwa.edu.au/news/article/2025/october/rhodes-scholar-passionate-about-medical-equity

Photo Credit: UWA