Infectious diseases researcher wins Health Minister's Award

The National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) has congratulated Dr Si Ming Man from The Australia National University (ANU) on receiving the annual Commonwealth Health Minister’s Award for Excellence in Health and Medical Research for 2018.

The award, initiated in 2000, recognises outstanding achievement and potential for an Australian medical researcher who has completed a Doctor of Philosophy or Doctor of Medicine within the last 12 years. It was presented to Dr Man by Minister for Health Greg Hunt at the Australian Society for Medical Research (ASMR) Gala Dinner, held as part of ASMR Medical Research Week in Melbourne last month.

Dr Man received his PhD in 2013 from the University of Cambridge, UK, for his work on the host defence against Salmonella infection. He obtained his postdoctoral training from St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, USA, where he studied the role of the immune system in infection and cancer.

Dr Man’s research aims to learn how to harness the antimicrobial functions of a class of disease-fighting proteins in the treatment of infections. He is currently a Group Leader at ANU, where his laboratory focuses on innate immunity in the host defence against infectious diseases as well as the development of cancer and other chronic diseases.

“The award recognises Doctor Man’s outstanding research achievements as well as his vision for his research on immune defence against infectious disease,” said NHMRC CEO Professor Anne Kelso. In addition to his four-year fellowship, Dr Man was presented with a medal and a research grant of $50,000 as NHMRC’s top-ranked Career Development Fellowship recipient from the previous application year.

“It is wonderful to see the Australian Government recognising the value of Australian researchers and research,” Dr Man said.

“This fellowship and the additional support will provide me with the opportunity to continue my research in this important area with the ultimate goal of identifying ways to combat the rise of antibiotic resistance across the world.”

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

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