Research Australia Events
2016 Research Australia
Health & Medical Research Awards
The 14th annual Research Australia Health and Medical Research Awards honoured some of the country’s top minds and big hearts for their incredible contribution to health and medical research in Australia.
Research Australia is proud to have had such an extraordinary night with incredible researchers who have distinguished themselves in their careers, be it early stage, mid career or through a lifelong commitment to HMR.
It is with great pleasure that we present the 2016 winners of the Research Australia Awards :
2016 AWARD WINNERS
THE PETER WILLS MEDAL
Recognises an Australian who has made an outstanding contribution to building Australia’s international reputation in the area of health and medical research, and fostering collaboration for better health.
Awarded to: Professor Ian Gust AO
ADVOCACY AWARD
Recognises an Australian from the media, a celebrity or member of the community who has raised community awareness about the benefits of health and medical research.
Awarded to: Brenda King, SIDS Stampede
THE GRIFFITH UNIVERSITY DISCOVERY AWARD
Recognises an early researcher (no more than five years post PhD) whose paper/patent/discovery has already demonstrated its importance or impact.
Awarded to: Dr Rebecca Coll
Highly Commended: Dr Felicity Davis and Dr Michael Livingston
GREAT AUSTRALIAN PHILANTHROPY AWARD
To recognise and encourage personal philanthropic donations over a period of time by an individual or family to health and medical research.
Awarded to: The McCusker Charitable Foundation
DATA INNOVATION IN HEALTH AND MEDICAL RESEARCH AWARD
For the development of the most innovative method of gathering, making available, processing or interpreting data in a way that advances the sector.
Awarded to: Capital Markets CRC, Health Market Quality Team
Highly Commended: The National Breast Cancer Foundation and DreamLab (Vodafone and the Garvan Institute of Medical Research)
LEADERSHIP IN CORPORATE GIVING AWARD
Recognises outstanding leadership by a corporation or business giving to and supporting health and medical research through relationships or partnership and commitment over time.
Awarded to: Volvo Car Australia
NSW HEALTH HEALTH SERVICES RESE
ARCH AWARD
Created in 2014 to recognise the importance of the emerging field of health service research.
Awarded to: Professor Michael Barton OAM
GSK AWARD FOR RESEARCH EXCELLENCE
With its accompanying grant of $80,000, has played a part in assisting some of Australia’s most important leaders and innovators in the medical research sphere. Its focus is on helping support career development with an emphasis on human health and Australian research.
Awarded to: Professor Prof Arthur Christopolous & Patrick Sexton
Previous Research Australia Health & Medical Research Award Winners
Some of the 2016 Award Nominees and their stories
Clinical Trials
Clinical trials are conducted in human volunteers to test that new drugs, devices and therapies (‘interventions’) are safe and effective. A new compound may kill tumour cells in mice, but will it work effectively in people, and how big a dose is required? Can it be delivered as a tablet, or is an injection more effective? These are some of the questions that can only be answered with a clinical trial. For people with hard to treat diseases, participation in a clinical trial for a new drug may offer the only opportunity for a cure.
Clinical trials also provide the opportunity to compare the effectiveness of existing treatments or practices, to determine if they actually work, and which is best.
Clinical trials in Australia are subject to strict rules to protect participants and ensure the integrity of the trial process, so that the results can be relied on when deciding whether to allow a new intervention to be offered to patients in Australia, or whether existing practices should be changed.
More information about clinical trials is available at Australian Clinical Trials.
Pre Budget Submission 2016
Research Australia submission to the Treasurer in respect of preparations for the 2016 Budget acknowledges the importance of the Government’s focus on science and innovation to Australia’s future and makes a number of recommendations with the aim of improving supporting economic growth and developing a more innovative, safer, and efficient health system that delivers better quality care.
Inquiry into Tax Deductibility
The House of Representatives Economics Committee invited Research Australia to make a submission to its inquiry into Tax Deductibility. The Inquiry’s terms of reference from the Treasurer are to investigate broadening the tax base and lowering the tax rate by identifying existing tax deductions that can be removed. Research Australia’s submission addressed the question of fairness when considering the removal of tax deductions that are of particular importance to some groups of taxpayers, and the use of deductions to provide incentives for particular expenditures. Research Australia’s submission focused on the tax deduction for self education expenses (important to the many researchers who are responsible for their own ongoing education) and the tax deductibility of donations to charities, including many not for profit health and medical research organisations.
Health Data Sets – linkage and access
The Senate Select Committee into Health invited Research Australia to make a submission in relation to the linkage of and access to Commonwealth Health datasets for research purposes. The submission emphasised the importance of this data to research, and the potential it provides for better health outcomes and a safer, more effective and efficient health system. The submission made several recommendations to support the greater use of data, including the digital collection and storage of more data, recognising the use of health records for research purposes in governing legislation and building capacity in data management and data analysis.
Safety & Quality in Healthcare standards
The Australian Commission on Safety & Quality in Healthcare issued new draft Safety & Quality in Healthcare Standards for consultation. Research Australia has made a submission emphasising the improvement in safety and quality that can be made through greater engagement by researchers with the healthcare sector, and proposing a number of ways in which the draft Standards could be modified to enhance and support this engagement.
Review of research policy and funding for Higher Education
Research Australia’s submission to the review of research policy and funding arrangements emphasises that the primary role of universities is the creation of new knowledge and that the application of new knowledge (of which commercialisation is one of the paths) is important but necessarily a secondary role. Programmes such as the Research Block Grants and the competitive grants programmes must maintain a primary focus on research. There is scope to simplify and improve these programmes and to better support innovation in research training.
Victorian Medical Technology and Pharmaceuticals Strategy
Research Australia has responded to the Victorian Governments’ discussion paper on the Victorian medical technologies and pharmaceuticals sectors, proposing the Victoria capitalise on its existing expertise in health and medical research and significant infrastructure to take advantage of future growth in this sector. There is significant scope of the Victorian Government to complement and take advantage of the Australian Government’s focus on the sector as a priority area for investment.
Research Training System Review
Research Australia’s submission to the Review of Research Training has emphasised the need to provide better preparation for doctoral students and greater flexibility in the the subject matter included in their study to reflect their own skills and experience and their career aspirations. It also emphasises the need to provide alternatives to a PhD for individuals who need a strong understanding of research skills and method because they will work with research and researchers in the communication, administration or commercialisation of research. The submission proposes the Masters degree by research as a means of providing better and more tailored preparation for a career in conducting or supporting research.
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