CSL Florey Medal & Florey Next Generation Award

Molecular Biologists David Vaux and Andreas Strasser revealed the links between cell death and cancer when they identified a gene called Bcl-2, which regulates cell death. Some variants promote apoptosis, others inhibit it, and healthy life could be described as a balance between the two. The discovery that the absence of cell death played a key role in cancer development was startling and spurred a whole new field of study.

Professor Elizabeth Rakoczy
Professor Elizabeth Rakoczy has developed a process to turn eye cells into bio-factories, making their own medication on the spot. This gene therapy uses a modified virus to carry a gene into cells in the eye, replacing the need for frequent, painful and costly eye injections. Elizabeth led the world’s first human gene therapy trial for wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD), a leading cause of blindness in the elderly.

Watch Professor Elizabeth Rakoczy's video

Professor Mark Kendall, was recognized for developing a new vaccine technology known as a ‘Nanopatch.’ The Nanopatch is a small square of silicon with 20,000 microscopic spikes that deliver vaccines directly to the skin’s immune cells. A potential alternative to the traditional needle and syringe, the technology is painless, requires a fraction of the dose, and doesn’t need a fridge which means vaccines can be delivered to millions more people in the developing world.

2015 Professor Perry Bartlett
Professor Perry Bartlett was recognized for his discoveries that have transformed our understanding of the brain, and for his leadership of neuroscience in Australia. Watch Professor Perry Bartlett's video

2014 Professor Carola Vinuesa
Professor Carola Vinuesa, was recognized for her research into how the immune system produces antibodies to fight disease and her passion and strength in communicating her work to the community. Watch Professor Carola Vinuesa's video

2013 Professor Ruth Bishop
Professor Ruth Bishop, was recognized for her life-long work and discovery of rotavirus that affected about 10,000 Australian children each year with acute gastroenteritis. Watch Professor Ruth Bishop's video

2011 Professor Graeme Clark
Professor Graeme Clark, was recognized for his life-changing discovery. Over the past thirty years hundreds of thousands of people have had their lives transformed by Graeme Clark’s bionic ear.

2010 Professor John Hopwood
Professor John Hopwood, was recognized for his life-long work into the diagnosis and treatment of genetically inherited disorders that affect children.