2021 Ramaciotti Awards for biomedical research announced

The Ramaciotti Foundations, managed by Perpetual, have announced the recipients of the 2021 Ramaciotti Awards. This year over $1.9 million has been granted to support biomedical research in Australia through the Ramaciotti Biomedical Research Award, the Ramaciotti Medal for Excellence in Biomedical Research and nine Ramaciotti Health Investment Grants.

The $1 million Ramaciotti Biomedical Research Award has been awarded to The University of Sydney’s Professor Gregg Suaning and his team. It will enable the team to realise the translation and advancement of four different implantable bionic devices into clinical practice, restoring productive lives to people affected by incurable diseases such as blindness, cerebral palsy, epilepsy and facial paralysis. The funding will support four flagship research programs as well as essential personnel.

The 2021 Ramaciotti Medal for Excellence in Biomedical Research, worth $50,000, has been awarded to Professor Georgina Long for her pioneering work in immunotherapy in melanoma, transforming the care of melanoma patients worldwide and tripling survival rates for patients with advanced cases. Her work has led to the discovery of new effective drug therapies which are now also being applied to patients with other forms of cancer.

Finally, Ramaciotti Health Investment Grants of up to $100,000 were awarded to nine individuals for a contribution towards the undertaking of health or medical research with the potential path to clinical application within five years. They are intended to provide enabling research support for autonomous early-career investigators who are taking, or have recently taken, a substantial position. This year’s recipients and their projects are as follows:

• Dr Michelle Boyle, The Council of The Queensland Institute of Medical Research: Improving malaria vaccines to save lives of high-risk children
• Associate Professor Kristen Gibbons, The University of Queensland: Machine learning for precision medicine in paediatric critical care
• Dr Kylie James, Garvan Institute of Medical Research: Multi-omics assay for accurate colorectal cancer risk prediction
• Dr Gavin Knott, Monash University: Next-generation CRISPR diagnostics for emergent infectious diseases
• Dr Tushar Kumeria, UNSW: Composite microneedles for effective and safe delivery of cannabinoids for pain management
• Dr Mayooran Namasivayam, Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute: Optimising intervention in aortic stenosis using machine learning
• Dr Sophie Stocker, The University of Sydney: Continuous monitoring of vancomycin in real-time using a sensor applied to the skin — a novel approach to precision medicine
• Dr James Thompson, Garvan Institute of Medical Research: “PIAS” Trial: Prospective study of 68Ga-PSMA PET/CT additional to mpMRI in men undergoing biopsy during active surveillance for prostate cancer
• Dr Marie-Luise Wille, Queensland University of Technology: An innovative 3D printed patient-specific bone scaffold design for the treatment of large volume bone defects
   

Image credit: ©stock.adobe.com/au/freshidea

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