TB research wins Victorian medical award

Melbourne epidemiologist Dr Helen Cox has won the 2007 Premier's Award for Medical Research for her work on drug-resistant tuberculosis (TB).

Health Minister Bronwyn Pike presented Cox with the $16,000 prestigious award at a ceremony at Government House.

"These awards are part of $250 million committed for medical research infrastructure projects and $55 million in ongoing support to medical research in Victoria," Pike said.

"Victoria now leads Australia in medical research, providing work for more than 6000 people in the industry."

Cox won the award primarily for her work in the Aral Sea region of Uzbekistan. She discovered the people had high rates of multi-drug-resistant TB while working as a volunteer with the medical-humanitarian aid agency, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF).

Cox revealed patients were not being treated effectively with the standard treatment that is used worldwide. In response, MSF initiated a specialised treatment program for drug-resistant TB in Uzbekistan and is calling for more effective treatment options for these patients internationally.

The Aral Sea region has a high rate of TB, fuelled by worsening poverty and an ecological disaster caused by the redirection of several rivers for cotton crop irrigation.

The sea has quickly shrunk from the fourth to the tenth largest inland sea on earth and is now contaminated with pesticides and salt. The crisis has contributed to a range of health problems for the local people including TB, other lung diseases and viral hepatitis.

Cox's research has been published in various international journals including The Lancet.

She did her research as a PhD student at the Australian International Health Institute based at The University of Melbourne.