2013 Research Australia Awards winners announced

The 2013 Research Australia Awards, held last night at the Park Hyatt in Melbourne, recognised individuals and corporations for areas such as discovery, advocacy, philanthropy and lifetime achievement.

Research Australia CEO Elizabeth Foley said the awards, which are now in their 11th year, are about “promoting health and medical research and are a prestigious and highly regarded event within the sector”.

She added, “A robust health and medical research sector is crucial to ensuring Australia continues to lead the world in terms of innovation and improved patient care. We congratulate all of the recipients for their pioneering efforts and ongoing commitment to advancing the health and medical research industry in Australia.”

The 2013 awards recognised a number of prominent figures, with the recipients as follows:

• The Peter Wills Medal: Professor Paul Zimmet AO
• The Lifetime Achievement Award: Bill Ferris AC
• The Advocacy Award: Mark Beretta
• The Leadership & Innovation Award: Simon McKeon AO
• The Great Australian Philanthropy Award: Susan Alberti AO
• The Discovery Award: Dr Franziska Bieri
• The Leadership in Corporate Giving Award: Rio Tinto

The evening also featured the presentation of the 33rd GlaxoSmithKline Award for Research Excellence.

The Peter Wills Medal: Professor Paul Zimmet AO

This award recognises an Australian who has made an outstanding contribution to building Australia’s international reputation in the area of health and medical research.

Professor Paul Zimmet was the Founding Director of the International Diabetes Institute and is now Director Emeritus, Baker IDI Heart and Diabetes Institute; Adjunct Professor, Monash University; and an Honorary President, International Diabetes Federation. His studies in Mauritius and Pacific Ocean populations have provided insights into the genetic and environmental contribution to Type 2 diabetes and obesity.

Professor Zimmet led the team that developed the Australian Diabetes Lifestyle and Obesity Study (AusDiab), which has raised the profile of diabetes and government action in Australia. He was been awarded the Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) for distinguished services to medicine, nutrition and the biotechnology industry and was a member of the Australian Government Preventative Taskforce for Obesity, Tobacco and Alcohol.

The Kids’ Cancer Project Lifetime Achievement Award: Bill Ferris AC

This award honours an individual who has demonstrated a significant lifetime commitment to supporting and promoting health and medical research.

Bill Ferris is the immediate past Chairman of the Garvan Institute of Medical Research, where he oversaw the capital campaign to raise $40,000,000 towards the construction and fit-out of The Kinghorn Cancer Centre. He has also served as Chairman of the federal government’s Health and Hospitals Fund Advisory Board and was an inaugural Director of the Friends of Garvan US Entity.

He was made an Officer in the Order of Australia in 1990 for services to the export industry and in 2008 was made Companion in the Order of Australia for his philanthropic activities as a leader in support of medical research and his role in the establishment of the private equity sector in Australia.

Victorian Government Leadership & Innovation Award: Simon McKeon AO

This award recognises an individual or organisation that has shown exceptional leadership and/or innovation towards making health and medical research a higher national priority.

Simon McKeon has established and developed MS Research Australia (MSRA), chaired the CSIRO and advocated support for medical research as Australian of the Year. In late 2011, he was asked by the federal Minister for Health and Ageing to chair the Strategic Review of Health and Medical Research in Australia. In response, McKeon completed the most comprehensive consultation process seen for this agenda.

Bupa Advocacy Award: Mark Beretta

This award recognises a prominent Australian who has raised community awareness about the benefits of health and medical research.

Channel Seven’s Sunrise presenter Mark Beretta, or ‘Beretts’ as he’s most commonly known, is a passionate cyclist and advocate for cancer research. He has completed four Tour de Cure charity bike rides, each covering over 1500 km in 10 days. This year’s ride was 1600 km from Adelaide to Canberra over the Snowy Mountains, with Beretta visiting more than 5000 school kids along the way to spread the message of a healthy lifestyle. He has signed up for next year’s Tour de Cure which will leave Sydney in March, bound for Hobart.

Macquarie Group Foundation Great Australian Philanthropy Award: Susan Alberti AO

This award recognises an individual or family’s philanthropic contributions over a long period of time.

Susan Alberti has spent more than 30 years engaged in philanthropic activities to raise awareness of the importance of finding a cure for Type 1 diabetes, following the diagnosis of her only child with the chronic disease, which ultimately took her life. For the last 28 years, Alberti hosted a highly successful charity ball, which has raised funds toward medical research including finding a cure for Type 1 diabetes. Alberti has recently expanded her philanthropic focus to support a range of initiatives and causes associated with medical research in Australia.

Griffith University Discovery Award: Dr Franziska Bieri

This award recognises an early career whose research has already demonstrated its importance or impact.

Franziska Bieri’s PhD research, at QIMR Berghofer and University of Queensland, included the development and testing of an educational package including the video ‘The Magic Glasses’ for the prevention of intestinal worms in Chinese schoolchildren. This study provided proof of principle that the educational package developed by the group increased knowledge and improved hygiene practice, thereby preventing infection. Over one school year, the educational package cut the rate of parasitic worm infection in half. Bieri is currently involved in a major cluster-randomised trial which evaluates the impact of The Magic Glasses in Yunnan Province, China.

Leadership in Corporate Giving Award: Rio Tinto

This award recognises outstanding leadership by a corporation or business in giving to and supporting health and medical research.

Rio Tinto has been a significant partner in QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute’s history, not just for its ongoing financial support of the institute’s Rio Tinto Ride to Conquer Cancer, but because Rio Tinto’s broader workforce has engaged in a lasting relationship with QIMR Berghofer. Rio Tinto fundraises and raises awareness of the ride and QIMR Berghofer year round. Over the past three years, nearly 400 Rio Tinto employees, their family and friends have participated in the ride.

The GlaxoSmithKline Award for Research Excellence: Professor Ingrid Scheffer

This prestigious award recognises outstanding achievements in medical research and aims to facilitate career development with potential importance to human health and Australian research, with the recipient receiving a research grant of $80,000.

Professor Ingrid Scheffer has discovered many new epilepsy syndromes and refined understanding of others. Her collaborative work led directly to the identification of the first gene for epilepsy in 1995 and more than half of the 30 or so known genes since. Her clinical research has led to recognition and diagnosis of specific epilepsy syndromes and appropriate therapies, enabling genetic counselling and improved outcomes for individuals with epilepsy.