Lawrence Creative Prize
The winner of the 2011 Centenary Institute Lawrence Creative Prize is
Dr Marie-Liesse Asselin-Labat
Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research
Steroid hormone receptor status of mouse mammary stem cells
Having unravelled key information on how and why breast stem cells contribute to the progression of breast cancer, she is now turning to the challenge of lung cancer.
Her prize was announced on Wednesday 19 October 2011, at a lunch at UBS in Sydney. She received a cheque for $25,000 and a “fruit of knowledge” glass sculpture.
Read more about the announcement of the Centenary Institute Lawrence Creative Prize here: Media release
The finalists were
Dr Greg Neely
Garvan Institute of Medical Research
Identification and validation of conserved functionally relevant disease genes
Dr Greg Neely hunts for two different sorts of genes — those that cause pain and those that make us more susceptible to heart attacks.
After completing his PhD in cellular immunology at the University of Calgary in Canada in 2004, he joined geneticist Josef Penninger in Austria to look at the genes associated with pain. He helped identify the first ever gene shown to play a role in synaesthesia — the crossing of the senses — by searching the genome of that laboratory workhorse, the fruit fly (Drosophila melanogaster).
Dr Marc Pellegrini
Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research
Promoting immunity to clear chronic overwhelming infection
Dr Marc Pellegrini is a physician turned researcher, whose discoveries about the immune system are being applied to clinical trials of cancer vaccines and treatments for HIV and hepatitis.
As a specialist in infectious diseases, Marc tended to many patients with chronic viral infections like HIV and hepatitis, where the virus tricks the immune system to allow a certain level of infection, so the body never clears it entirely.
To meet the candidates shortlisted for the Centenary Institute Lawrence Creative Prize click here.
About the Centenary Institute Lawrence Creative Prize
The Prize is in honour of Neil Lawrence who was the Inaugural Chairman of The Centenary Institute Foundation. Neil and his wife Caroline hold Centenary Institute very near to their hearts, as they are both passionate about advancing the field of medical research so that all Australians can live longer, healthier lives.
"Exceptional young scientists can be hard to keep in Australia and we hope this award will not only celebrate their achievements but also encourage a domestic culture of brilliance in this truly important field", said Professor Vadas.
For media and general enquiries about the Centenary Institute Lawrence Creative Prize, please email Professor Mathew Vadas, Executive Director, Centenary InstituteWe acknowledge the generosity of our sponsors and thank them for making this prize possible:
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