Sonali Varma, an alumna of The Australian National University (ANU) committed to advocating for better mental health support for young people, has been awarded one of nine prestigious Rhodes Scholarships for 2026.

She will study at the University of Oxford after being elected an Australia-at-Large Scholar by a distinguished committee chaired by former Chief Justice of the High Court of Australia, Hon. Susan Kiefel AC KC. 

Aspiring youth mental health researcher and advisor Sonali Varma has been awarded the 2026 Rhodes Scholarship. Image: Jack Fox/ANU

Ms Varma’s lived experience with mental ill-health has been a driving force behind her work and study, shaping her commitment to improving how we understand, prevent, and respond to mental ill-health in young people.

During her ANU studies, Ms Varma conducted research at the National Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health, volunteered as a Lifeline crisis supporter, and advocated for young people through the ACT Child and Youth Mental Health Sector Alliance. 

She currently works in the graduate program at the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare and is a Board Director for both the Australian Association for Adolescent Health and the Youth Coalition of the ACT.

“My time at ANU was genuinely transformative. It gave me the academic, professional and personal foundation to pursue postgraduate study and the confidence to continue serving my community,” she said.

“The Rhodes Scholarship will allow me to study psychiatric epidemiology, building the skills to integrate data-driven and lived-experience perspectives in mental health research and policy. 

“I aspire to become a researcher and advisor in youth mental health.”

ANU graduates are well-represented amongst recent Australian Rhodes Scholars – Ms Varma is the 12^th elected since 2019. 

Australian National Secretary for the Rhodes Scholarships, Professor Peter Kanowski – the first ANU Australia-at-Large Scholar in 1983 – said: “The continuing success of ANU graduates in the Rhodes Scholarships speaks to the strength of the University’s students and the quality of their ANU education and experience.”

Rhodes Scholarships are prestigious postgraduate awards for study at the University of Oxford, offered since 1903 by the Rhodes Trust. Scholars are selected based on academic excellence, integrity of character, energy to make a difference, and capacity for leadership and public service.

Applications for the 2027 Rhodes Scholarships will open in June 2026.  

This article was originally published by ANU Reporter.