TH U RS DAY 5 OCTOBE R 2 017 Metropolis | Melbourne
Research Australia is the national alliance representing the entire health and medical research pipeline from the laboratory through to the patient and the marketplace. Our mission is to use our unique convening power to position health and medical research as a significant driver of a healthy population and contributor to a healthy economy. We do this by championing the sector, inspiring the public, encouraging government and private sector support and investment; so all Australians can enjoy the best possible health and economic outcomes. We would like to thank our strong alliance for their contribution to the success of the past 12 months and we look forward to working with you to ensure health and medical research is front and centre for all Australians.
If you’re not a member then now is the time to join the alliance of the health and medical research sector. Contact the Research Australia team on 02 9295 8546 or admin@researchaustralia. org for more information.
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A warm welcome to the 15th Research Australia Health and Medical Research Awards. These awards have, for more than a decade, showcased the incredible efforts and achievements of individuals and teams who make the difference to all of our lives through their contribution to health and medical research. The efforts made by these incredible people who drive and support the opportunities that health and medical innovation brings to our lives, sees them challenge science every day.
Acknowledging their talent and excellence is a key part of Research Australia’s role in advocacy for the health and medical research sector. It is also paramount to encouraging future generations of great researchers and those who support them. We are honoured and inspired by the quality of all of the nominations and congratulate the nominees, finalists and winners, for their contribution, passion and extraordinary work.
Nadia Levin Chris Chapman CEO & Managing Director Chairman Research Australia Research Australia
TA B L E O F CONT E NTS GREAT AUSTRALIAN PHILANTHROPY AWARD......................... 2
HEALTH SERVICES RESEARCH AWARD............................... 14
LEADERSHIP IN CORPORATE GIVING.............................. 4
ADVOCACY AWARD............................... 16
GRIFFITH UNIVERSITY DISCOVERY AWARD................................ 6
THE PETER WILLS MEDAL..................... 18 SPONSOR ACKNOWLEDGMENT............ 19
PAST WINNERS........................................ 8 DATA INNOVATION AWARD.................. 10 GSK AWARD FOR RESEARCH EXCELLENCE...................... 12 1
GRE AT AUS T R A LI A N PH I L A NT HROPY AWA RD A N D R E W F O RR E ST AO A ND NICOL A FORREST CO -FOUNDERS OF THE MINDEROO FOUNDATION
This award recognises personal philanthropy that is outstanding in its generosity, effectiveness, vision, high impact and transformative quality. The award encourages personal philanthropic donations over a period of time by an individual or family to Australian health and medical research.
Andrew and Nicola Forrest are leading Australian philanthropists who have committed to giving away the majority of their wealth. Together they established the Minderoo Foundation in 2001 as a vehicle for their giving to create positive, lasting impact. The Minderoo Foundation has global reach, and strives for sustainable improvement through six core areas: I. Eliminate Cancer Initiative, making cancer non-lethal for the next generation; II. GenerationOne, ending Indigenous disparity through education, training and employment; III. the Walk Free Foundation, working with governments, business and faiths to end slavery; IV. the Forrest Research Foundation, 2
supporting world-class higher education and innovation; V. Thrive by Five, addressing early childhood development; and VI. Philanthropic partnerships, in particular focused on supporting the arts and enriching communities. Nicola Forrest Nicola Forrest is the CEO of the Minderoo Foundation and has led the diversification of the Foundation to provide a holistic approach to community development, particularly through education and the arts. Nicola is a member of the Prime Minister’s Community Business Partnership, Telethon Kids Institute CoLab Advisory Council and Governor of the Forrest Research Foundation. During 2014 Nicola was awarded the Celebrate WA Western Australian of the
year (community category) and in 2016 was awarded the University of Canberra’s Chancellor’s Award researchaustralia.org for Services to Philanthropy. Andrew Forrest AC In 2013 the Prime Minister of Australia appointed Andrew to Chair a review into Indigenous Training and Employment. One of his proudest achievements was the bringing together of the world’s major faith and spiritual leaders to produce a global religious proclamation against modern slavery. Andrew was named the 2017 Australian of the Year for Western Australia, and 2017 Western Australian of the year. He is an Officer of the Order of Australia. The Eliminate Cancer Initiative (ECI) The Eliminate Cancer Initiative (ECI) is a new ground-breaking global initiative that aims to bring an end to the lethality of cancer.
The key to the ECI is collaboration. ECI will serve a global convening role across the cancer industry, from academia to private industry and government, by bringing resources, influence and leadership to remove barriers and enable collaboration across the cancer care continuum. ECI is unique: it will fund projects that cross traditional institutional, sectoral and geographic boundaries, breaking down silos and ending fragmentation in the cancer field - from prevention, diagnosis and treatment, to research, drug development and clinical trials. ECI programs will empower patients by giving them access to the knowledge and tools they require to better understand their own health. ECI aims to leverage philanthropic seed capital to inspire tens of billions of dollars from the public and private sectors. Pictured left: Andrew Forrest AO and Nicola Forrest
RESEARCH AUSTRALIA OPINION POLLING 2017
Research Australia has been asking Australians for their opinions on health and medical research and its role in our society since 2003. Over the past 14 years it has been clear Australians consider healthcare and health and medical research as a high spending priority for the Australian Government. Download the full report here: researchaustralia.org/reports/public-opinion-polling-2017 3
LE A DER SH I P IN CO R PO R AT E G I V I NG THE QB E F O U NDAT IO N This award recognises outstanding leadership by a corporation or business in giving to and supporting health and medical research. The award acknowledges the partnership and commitment of a corporation over time, an important dimension of effective corporate giving.
The QBE Foundation is a global initiative to help QBE Insurance give back to the communities in which it operates through charity partnerships, donations and volunteering. Launched in 2011 to mark QBE’s 125th anniversary year, the Foundation formalises QBE’s long history of community involvement and corporate giving into a structured, global approach. The QBE Foundation’s core philosophy is to ‘Help people overcome disadvantage, strengthen their abilities and live more independently, successfully and productively.’ QBE Australia and New Zealand supports the community through volunteering and provides philanthropic support. Each year QBE Foundation forms partnerships with a number of charities with which it then works closely in an effort to make 4
a more significant and meaningful impact on their cause. The 2017 charity partners are: Assistance Dogs Australia, Brainwave, Camp Quality, Foodbank, The Big Issue and The Kids’ Cancer Project. The QBE Foundation also encourages QBE’s people to do their bit. QBE employees receive a day of volunteer leave each year. They can also apply on behalf of an eligible charity to receive a local grant donation or apply to have their personal fundraising efforts matched dollar for dollar. The Workplace Giving program allows QBE’s people to make regular contributions through the QBE Foundation and help those in need. Pictured: Rikki Hickey, The QBE Foundation and Owen Finegan, The Kids’ Cancer Project
Research for healthier communities
At Menzies Health Institute Queensland, Griffith University, we’re committed to developing healthy communities through exceptional health and medical research.
At Menzies Health Institute Queensland, we: • host over 750 of the world’s leading researchers and PhD candidates • collaborate across three overarching programs: Understanding Chronic Conditions, Building Healthy Communities and Optimising Health Outcomes • are aligned with local and national health priorities.
CRICOS No. 00233E
Our overarching theme is to prevent and treat chronic disease through innovative preventative programs, early intervention, and improved treatment options.
Find out more at griffith.edu.au/ menzies-institute 5
GRIF F I T H UN I V E R SIT Y DISCOV ERY AWA R D DO C TO R AVNIK A RUPA R E LI A MON A SH UNIV ERSIT Y
This award recognises an early career researcher whose paper, patent or discovery has already demonstrated its importance or impact.
Dr Avnika Ruparelia is an early career researcher in the School of Biological Sciences at Monash University, who has made outstanding contributions to the muscle disease field. Since starting her PhD in 2011 Avnika has explored the cause of muscle weakness in, and therapeutics for a group of late onset muscle disorders known as myofibrillar myopathies. Patients affected with this disease suffer progressive muscle weakness over many years and have reduced life expectancy due to respiratory muscle failure and cardiac complications. There is currently no treatment available for this disease and Avnika’s research has made remarkable efforts to change this. Avnika generated novel zebrafish models of myofibrillar myopathy that mirrored the features seen in patients. Using these models, Avnika identified why the patients don’t show any symptoms until their 6
teenage years and why the severity of disease gets progressively worse. This is ground breaking because these findings suggested strategies that could potentially prevent any further muscle damage in patients affected with the disease, therefore providing a therapeutic benefit. Investigating potential therapeutic compounds for myofibrillar myopathy is what Avnika focused on next during her postdoctoral work. She performed a drug screen and identified compounds that not only ameliorated the pathology seen in the disease but also prevented muscle weakness in her zebrafish models. Importantly, some of these compounds are already approved for use in patients for the treatment of other diseases. This will hopefully allow for rapid translation into a clinical setting for the treatment of myofibrillar myopathy.
Dr Tamsyn Van Rheenan Melbourne Neuropsychiatry Centre at the University of Melbourne HIGHLY COMMENDED
Dr Tamsyn Van Rheenen is an NHMRC Early Career Research Fellow at the Melbourne Neuropsychiatry Centre at the University of Melbourne. Her research focuses on understanding the brain and behaviour in severe mental illness. It has been influential in helping to characterise a neuropsychological profile for bipolar disorder and determine where it overlaps with schizophrenia. Tamsyn hopes that clarification of the cognitive phenotypes associated with these psychiatric disorders will help to inform the development of treatments aimed specifically at this symptom dimension. Her work has been published in several leading journals in her field, has attracted national and international media coverage and has been recognised with several awards including an Australian Psychological Society Excellent PhD Thesis in Psychology Award, and a Young Tall Poppy Science Award for excellence in research and science communication. PROU DLY SU PPOR T E D BY
INSPIRE is Research Australia’s member online magazine that is written by the sector for the sector. Contribute an article today by emailing admin@researchaustralia.org or download the latest Issue here: researchaustralia.org/inspire-magazine/ 7
PAS T W I N N ER S
ADVOCACY AWARD
DISCOVERY AWARD
2016 Brenda King 2015 Connie Johnson & Samuel Johnson 2014 Karen Livingstone 2013 Mark Beretta 2012 Ita Buttrose 2011 Stephen Leeder 2010 Li Cunxin 2009 Prof Ian Hickie 2008 Dr James O Little 2007 Lisa Wilkinson 2006 Ricky Ponting 2005 Delta Goodrem 2004 Michael Milton 2003 Sarah Murdoch
2016 Dr Rebecca Coll 2015 Dr Andrew Gardner 2014 Dr Genevieve Healy 2013 Dr Franziska Bieri 2012 Dr Motoko Koyama 2011 Dr Oliver Baumann 2010 Dr Mark Pearson 2009 Dr Sarah Whittle 2008 Dr Jeff Holst
DATA INNOVATION AWARD 2016 Capital Markets CRC Health Market Quality Team
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GREAT AUSTRALIAN PHILANTHROPY AWARD 2016 McCusker Charitable Foundation 2015 Gandel Philanthropy, Mr John Gandel AO & Mrs Pauline Gandel 2014 Margarete & Len Ainsworth^ 2014 Charles “Chuck”
Feeney^ 2013 Susan Alberti 2012 Harold Mitchell 2011 The Sylvia & Charles, Viertel Foundation 2010 Greg Poche 2009 Clive Berghofer 2008 Judy & Jack Gibson 2007 Frank Lowy 2006 Carlo Salteri 2005 The Myer Family 2004 Lady Mary Fairfax 2003 Dame Elisabeth Murdoch LEADERSHIP IN CORPORATE GIVING 2016 Volvo Australia 2014 Bupa Health Foundation 2013 Rio Tinto 2012 Xstrata Coal 2011 David Jones
2010 Not awarded 2009 Macquarie Group Foundation 2008 Pfizer Australia 2007 Wesfarmers 2006 LJ Hooker 2005 Estee Lauder 2004 Coco’s Fresh Food Market QLD 2003 Channel 7 Perth LEADERSHIP AND INNOVATION AWARD 2014 Alastair Lucas 2013 Simon McKeon 2012 Will Delaat 2011 Prof Doug Hilton 2010 Mr John Funder 2009 Prof Joseph Sambrook 2008 Prof Fiona Stanley 2007 Prof John Coghlan 2006 Sir Gustav Nossal 2005 The Hon John
Brumby 2004 The Hon Peter Beattie 2003 The Hon Bob Carr LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT 2015 Prof Perry Bartlett 2014 Carol & Roy Langsford 2013 Bill Ferris 2012 Prof Hugh Taylor & Prof Phillip Sambrook* 2011 Laureate Prof Peter Doherty 2010 Prof Colin Binns 2009 Elaine Henry 2008 Prof The Hon Barry Jones 2007 Ken Roberts 2006 The Hon Neville Wran 2005 Sir Bruce Watson 2004 Dr Susan Alberti
2003 Mickie Hardie & Leila Schmidt* PETER WILLS MEDAL 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011
Prof Ian Gust AO Prof Sharon Lewin Prof Alan Lopez Prof Paul Zimmet Sir Gustav Nossal Prof John Shine
*Posthumous award ^Joint winners in 2014 Pictured from left: Samuel Johnson, Co-winner with the Late Connie Johnson, Advocacy Award 2015; Professor Perry Bartlett, Lifetime Achievement Award 2015; Dr Rebecca Coll, Discovery Award 2016; Sir Gustav Nossal AC CBE, The Peter Wills Medal 2012; Brenda King, Advocacy Award 2016; Malcolm James McCusker AC CVO QC and Tonya McCusker AM, Great Australian Philanthropy Award 2016
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DATA I N N OVAT I O N AWA R D PRO F ES SO R H E LM U T B U T Z KUE V EN
ROYA L MELBOURNE HOSPITA L , UNIV ERSIT Y OF MELBOURNE This award is presented to an individual or team that has developed the most innovative method of gathering, making available, processing or interpreting data in a way that advances health and medical research.
Professor Helmut Butzkueven (MBBS 1992, PhD 2002), is an academic neurologist specialising in management of Multiple Sclerosis (MS) and real-world MS outcomes research. He is Deputy director of the Melbourne Brain Centre (since 2011) and Director of the MS services at Box Hill Hospital (since 2002) and at Royal Melbourne Hospital (since 2008). He is a current NHMRC Practitioner Fellow, and prior fellowships include an NHRMC Career Development Fellowship and the NHMRC/MS Research Betty Cuthbert Fellowship. Professor Butzkueven is the Managing Director of the MSBase Foundation 10
(www.msbase.org), a global online MS cohort study which commenced in 2004, with more than 55,000 patients enrolled (117 centres, 27 countries), and more than 230,000 years of patient follow-up. The key research theme of the MSBase research team is the use of registry data to evaluate treatment strategies to optimise the benefit and safety of the many MS medications. Findings from MS Base Research have been rapidly translated to clinical practice, and the system has gained the trust of the global Neurology community as a reliable and valuable source of such information. Real-world evidence is increasingly required to assess the true value of medi-
cation to achieve their targets; in the case of MS this is prevention of neurological disability. MSBase provides independent outcomes information to regulators and pharmaceutical companies to assist these crucial evaluations. MSBase also empowers physicians and patients in second-world countries to participate in and initiate research by providing a world class data management and collaboration system, and is now
Professor Lisa Bero Charles Perkins Centre University of Sydney HIGHLY COMMENDED
hosting the national MS registries of the Netherlands, Turkey, Iran, Malaysia, Egypt and Australia, as well as the multi-national Middle Eastern MS registry. Pictured from left: Rob Milliken, IT Project Manager, Sabah Quddus, Finance and Membership Officer, Professor Helmut Butzkueven, Charlotte Sartori, Project Manager and Eloise Hinson, Project Manager – MSBase
Professor Lisa Bero directs the Evidence, Policy and Influence Collaborative at the Charles Perkins Centre, University of Sydney. Professor Bero is renowned internationally for developing innovative methodologies to improve the accuracy and trustworthiness of the evidence underpinning public health guidelines and policies. She has pioneered methods for identifying and minimising bias, and for synthesising evidence from diverse, heterogeneous data sources, including trials, observational studies, animal research, and negative and unpublished studies. This work has had a profound impact. It established the field of meta-research, led to international reforms to make data more accessible and conflicts of interest more transparent, influenced policy on major issues such as exposure to tobacco smoke, and is being used to establish new gold standards for the NHMRC’s guideline development handbook and the WHO’s Guidelines for Guidelines.
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GSK AWA R D F O R R E SE A RC H E XC ELLENC E PRO F ES SO R T I M OT H Y H U G H E S
SOUTH AUSTR A LI A N HE A LTH A ND MEDIC A L RESE A RCH INSTITUTE The GSK Award for Research Excellence recognises outstanding achievements in medical research and facilitates career development with potential importance to human health and Australian research.
Professor Timothy Hughes has received the GSK Award for Research Excellence for his research around the use of tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) to treat chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML). CML was once considered one of the more devastating forms of blood cancer, however, the introduction of treatment with TKIs and research into individualising therapy according to response has resulted in an increasing number of patients achieving treatment free cancer remission. Professor Hughes and his team at the South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute (SAHMRI) have been at the forefront of this research, leading many 12
of the advancements in CML treatment over the last 20 years. His team has demonstrated that molecular monitoring of an individual patient’s response to TKI therapy enables it to be ‘customised’ to enhance the chances for each patient to achieve durable remissions. This also helps to minimise the risks of drug resistance and disease progression. The therapy is transforming the lives of CML patients in Australia and around the world. Winning the GSK Award for Research Excellence will help support a Leukaemia Fellow to work alongside Professor Hughes in furthering research into CML.
Research is the lifeblood of our business GSK is committed to fostering scientific skills and nurturing Australian ideas in the pursuit of new and improved medicines that help people to do more, feel better and live longer. This is achieved, not just through our own clinical development, but also by investing in Australian research initiatives that are aligned with our vision and values.
Sharing research GSK is committed to sharing our research and collaborating with others so that we can advance our understanding of diseases, medicines and over-the-counter healthcare products.
Supporting research GSK collaborates with local researchers and doctors to discover new ways of treating and preventing disease, investing around $40 million a year in research and development. In addition, the GSK Award for Research Excellence was inaugurated in 1980 and consistently attracts leaders in medical research, with many past recipients recognised as international innovators.
Encouraging diversity At GSK, creating an inclusive organisation that respects the diversity of our patients, the communities we serve and our employees is a key focus. We are also the proud supporter of SheStarts, an Australian initiative to support and nurture female-led ideas.
At GSK, our mission is to help people do more, feel better and live longer
$40 million invested in R&D every year 52 clinical trials conducted in 2016
$340,000 donated to charity and patient organisations 1,267 people employed locally 53% of recruits were women in 2016
@GSK_AU (GSK Australia) #resausawards, #GSK_ARE2017 #BehindAusScience For further information about GSK please visitwww.gsk.com.au
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HE A LT H SER V IC E S RESE A RCH AWA R D AU S T R A L I A N A ND NE W ZE A L A ND HIP FRACTURE REGISTRY ( A NZ H F R ) CO -FOUNDERS PROFESSOR JACQUI CLOSE A ND PROFESSOR I A N H A RRIS
PRO U D LY S U PPO R T E D BY
This award is for an individual, team or organisation who has provided leadership and made an outstanding contribution to health services research; driven research that has led to a significant improvement in healthcare; and/or has championed the development of the health services research.
The Australian and New Zealand Hip Fracture Registry (ANZHFR) is a web-based audit of hip fracture care and secondary fracture prevention. Clinicians from across the spectrum of hip fracture care led its development and implementation. The aim of the ANZHFR is to use data to improve hip fracture care. The ANZHFR standardised dataset is collected and submitted by hospitals across Australia and New Zealand. The data held by the Registry is used to generate real-time feedback that sites can use to improve the hip fracture care they provide. The Registry minimum dataset has been designed to align with the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care’s Hip Fracture Clinical Care Standard and allows hospitals to look at performance against national quality indicators. 14
The number of hospitals entering data continues to increase. Just over 50% of all Australian public hospitals which operate on hip fracture patients (98 hospitals) now have approval to enter data. Founders of ANZHFR Professor Jacqui Close is a consultant in Orthogeriatrics at the Prince of Wales Hospital in Sydney and Clinical Director of the Falls, Balance and Injury Research Centre at Neuroscience Research Australia. Along with Professor Harris, she is a founder and Co-Chair of the Australian and New Zealand Hip Fracture Registry, was the lead author on the Australian and New Zealand Guideline for Hip Fracture Care and chaired the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care topic working group which led to the production
of the Hip Fracture Care Clinical Care Standard in 2016. Professor Ian Harris is Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery at the University of NSW and is an active clinician and researcher based in Liverpool, in Sydney’s southwest. His clinical interests are in orthopaedic surgery, particularly fracture surgery and fracture in older people. His
Professor Lorna Moxham University of Wollongong HIGHLY COMMENDED Professor Moxham is passionate about health care and its essential contribution to the wellbeing of our society. Her area is within mental health nursing, with a
research interests are in surgical outcomes and registry science. These clinical and academic interests combined when Professor Harris joined Professor Close to establish the Australian and New Zealand Hip Fracture Registry in 2012. Pictured left: Professor Jacqui Close and Professor Ian Harris.
focus on research and practice that is recovery-oriented and strengths-based. Lorna’s pioneering leadership in a mental health services interdisciplinary research project, Recovery Camp is an Australian first initiative. The multi-method research program that frames Recovery Camp ensures the initiative operates as both a professional experience training opportunity for students of pre-registration health programs, and as a recovery-focused experience for people living with a mental illness. Lorna has ensured that Recovery Camp is a transformative research project with its focus on impact and outcomes while also transforming the lives of health students, those living with mental illness, and their family and carers. The achievements of Recovery Camp covering research, teaching and learning, and the promotion of mental health have been accomplished under Lorna’s leadership with an emphasis on a collaborative, interdisciplinary approach to health services research.
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A DVOC AC Y AWA R D SA N F I L I PPO C H I L DR E N’ S F O U NDATI ON This award recognises and congratulates exceptional contributions made by advocates who help raise community awareness and understanding about the importance of health and medical research.
The mission of the Sanfilippo Children’s Foundation is to fund medical research so a cure can be found in time for children battling Sanfilippo today, and for those born with it tomorrow. The Foundation was established in 2013 by Megan Donnell following the shock diagnosis of Sanfilippo Syndrome in both of her children – Isla and Jude –then aged just 2 and 4. Sanfilippo is an extremely rare, progressive, genetic disorder with a dire prognosis. Life expectancy is just 12-20 years and the quality of life for those years is very poor. There is currently no approved treatment. Under a competitive grant program, the Foundation funds projects that aim to: • Halt disease progression • Repair and reverse the cell damage • Improve the quality of life of children with Sanfilippo. Over the last 4 years the Foundation has raised over $3 million in support of its mission to fund medical research into Sanfilippo Syndrome and funded 7 different projects including a pioneering gene therapy human clinical trial currently underway here in Australia. With the support of their 16
Scientific Advisory Board, the Foundation is currently evaluating further projects for funding in 2018. In order to achieve this, the Foundation has built collaborative relationships with their sister Sanfilippo organisations worldwide, as well as other patient groups within the Australian rare disease community. As a global community, these patient-led organisations bring together researchers, clinicians and families to collectively make a difference. This is an extraordinary and inspiring story of how a small, family-led foundation has overcome challenges, driven collaboration and achieved key research outcomes for a largely neglected rare condition. The Foundation’s success extends well beyond the Sanfilippo community and also represents a major advancement for the Australian research community. Moreover, it provides a glimmer of hope for families faced with an unthinkable diagnosis. Pictured from left: Kristina Elvidge (Research Manager), Jo Bilous (SFSuper Series Manager) Erene Keriakos (Bookkeeper), Zoe Field (Business Manager), Ingrid Maack (Communications & Community Fundraising Manager), Megan Donnell (Founder and Executive Director)
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THE PET ER W ILL S M E DA L PRO F ES SO R KIM M UL H O LL A ND The Peter Wills Medal was created in honour of a great leader whose work led to the inception of Research Australia. The Peter Wills Medal is the flagship award and recognises someone who has made an outstanding, long-term contribution to building Australia’s international reputation in areas of health and medical research and fostering collaboration for better health.
Professor Kim Mulholland’s 40 year career in global health has taken him from clinical care of refugees in India and Sudan to public health and research in the field of child health. Kim found himself working at the MRC laboratories in the Gambia, and later at World Health Organisation (WHO) in Geneva, Switzerland. Over the past 16 years Kim has developed a program of research that is now based at MCRI in Melbourne and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. His current research activities in Fiji, Vietnam, Mongolia, Indonesia and Laos are focused on establishing a role for new, lifesaving vaccines to help children in the poorest communities in the world. Kim entered the University of Melbourne Medical School in 1970 with the aim of 18
helping to correct the wrongs of the world. When he first found himself working as a young doctor helping Tibetan refugees in India in 1978, he quickly realised that his training was quite inadequate to deal with the massive health problems facing the poor people of the world. Over the following decade he specialised in paediatrics in Melbourne, while spending two periods working with refugee communities in the Sudan. Slowly Kim realised that, as a medical community, we did not have the knowledge to solve the child health problems of the world, concluding that it was research that could really change the world for children living in the poorest circumstances. This led him to the Medical Research Council Laboratories in The Gambia where the Director, Sir
Brian Greenwood gave him the task of establishing a new program of research into childhood pneumonia. Sir Brian guided his work and remains a mentor and a good friend to this day. Whilst Kim’s research covered all aspects of childhood pneumonia, it was the vaccine research, and the development of new methods for the evaluation of vaccines against pneumonia that has attracted most international attention. Six years in The Gambia was followed by five years at WHO in Geneva, initially leading research into aspects of the WHO Integrated Management of Childhood Illness strategy, and
later leading research into pneumococcal, Hib and meningococcal vaccines. In 2000, thanks to a VicHealth Fellowship he returned to Melbourne to establish the Centre for International Child Health at the University of Melbourne and the Royal Children’s Hospital. Over the past 16 years, based mainly at the Murdoch Childrens Research Institute and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, he has established a large research program supporting research to facilitate the introduction of new vaccines into less developed countries in the region. Pictured left: Professor Kim Mulholland
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Resea r c h Aus tralia would like t o t hank our wonderf ul su ppo r t ers and par tners o f t h e 2 0 17 Health and M edic a l Res earch Awards :
Re s earc h A us t r a lia w o u ld a lso like to recognis e the val uab l e su ppo r t o f o u r Fo u n dation Members :
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The Bupa Health Foundation has a long held interest, and commitment to, the importance of good health on a child’s quality of life. We continue to see evidence which supports the concept that good physical, mental and social health in childhood leads to healthier, happier adult lives. The Bupa Health Foundation was established in 2005 and has invested over $30 million to support over 130 projects that focus on translating research into health and care improvements. Find out more at bupa.com.au/foundation.