Canberra, Hobart and Melbourne young health and medical researchers vie for $20,000 top PhD student award
- Eradicating gut worms: a path out of poverty
- Oxygen halves child pneumonia deaths
- Smart blood pressure measurement to cut heart risk
Scientists available for interviews
Media contacts: Tanya Ha, tanya@scienceinpublic.com.au, 0404 083 863;
Niall Byrne, niall@scienceinpublic.com.au, 0417 131 977, (03) 9398 1416
Press materials available:
- Naomi Clarke profile, photos and video
- Hamish Graham profile, photos and video
- Dean Picone profile, photos and video
- HD footage (with and without music/captions)
Three young health researchers tackling worm infections, life-threatening pneumonia, and cardiovascular disease are in the running for a new $20,000 prize for Australia’s top health or medical PhD candidate.
Naomi Clarke from Australian National University, Hamish Graham from Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, and Dean Picone from the University of Tasmania have been announced as finalists for the inaugural CSL Florey Next Generation Award. The winner will be announced at Parliament House, Canberra, on Monday 26 November.
Eradicating gut worms: a path out of poverty – Naomi Clarke, Australian National University
Global efforts to control intestinal worms are reducing infection rates. Naomi’s research has shown that simple changes to program guidelines could benefit millions of children.
Oxygen monitoring halves child pneumonia deaths – Hamish Graham, Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, University of Melbourne
Targeted oxygen therapy could save the lives of thousands of children. Hamish Graham says the key is identifying the children who need it most. He found that providing Nigerian hospitals with equipment and training to measure blood oxygen levels has halved the number of children dying from pneumonia.
Hamish, a paediatrician who has worked in Sudan and Nigeria, is now working to make oxygen—a treatment we take for granted in Australia—available to every child who needs it.
Smart blood pressure measurement to cut heart risk – Dean Picone, Menzies Institute for Medical Research, University of Tasmania
“We’ve been measuring blood pressure the same way for more than 100 years,” Dean says. He thinks modern technology can do better than the standard inflatable cuff method.
The 2018 CSL Florey Next Generation Award is for a current PhD candidate who has demonstrated outstanding achievement and potential in biomedical sciences, health and medical research. It is an initiative of the Australian Institute of Policy and Science, supported by CSL, to encourage the field’s rising stars.
The winner will be announced on Monday at the annual Association of Australian Medical Research Institutes gala dinner in the Great Hall of Parliament House, Canberra.
As well as the award trophy, the award currently carries a prize of $20,000 thanks to the support of CSL Limited. Two runner-up prizes of $2,500 will also be awarded.
Background information
About the CSL Florey Next Generation Award and the CSL Florey Medal
The CSL Florey Next Generation Award is a new award conferred to a current PhD candidate who has demonstrated outstanding capability, creativity and potential in the biomedical sciences and/or health and medical research.
It has been developed to encourage and support promising health and medical researchers early in their careers, and to complement the Florey Medal which is awarded biennially to an Australian biomedical researcher for significant achievements in biomedical science and/or human health advancement, and is also supported by CSL Limited.
The Australian Institute of Policy and Science (AIPS)
The Australian Institute of Policy and Science is an independent and non-partisan not-for-profit organisation first founded in 1932. They have grown with Australia’s public policy history and work to:
- increase public engagement in science
- promote excellence in research, innovation and the promotion and communication of science
- inform and influence policy and policy-making
- invest in a scientifically inspired, literate and skilled Australia that contributes to local and global social challenges.
AIPS achieves its objectives through an extensive network of partners spanning university, government, industry and community actors.