Award Winners 2024
ANNOUNCING THE WINNERS OF THE 2024 AUSHEALTH CURECELL AWARDS
Date: October 23, 2024
AusHealth Managing Director and CEO, Greg Johansen, is thrilled to announce the winners of the 2024 AusHealth CureCell Awards. This year, five exceptional PhD students working on cutting-edge research in cell and biological therapies will each receive $10,000 to support their living expenses:
Alanah Bradey (University of Adelaide): The development of novel GLP-1RAs for obesity management and the treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus
Tyra Fraser (Florey Institute/University of Melbourne): An improved cell replacement therapy for Parkinson’s disease
Kim Gunther (University of Queensland): An anti-inflammatory and anti-infective mRNA therapy for sepsis patients
Dylan McPeake (University of Adelaide): Improving the trafficking of CAR-T cells into solid tumours
Rakshanya Sekar (Australian National University): Treat Yourself! Harnessing your own biology to treat irreversible vision loss
In addition, two new awards of $10,000 have been introduced:
Maximilian Garwood (University of Queensland): Producing therapeutic monoclonal antibodies in microalgae – winner of the Marine Bioproducts CRC CureCell Award for Marine Medical Biotech
Andrew Quattrocchi (Florey Institute): Next-generation stem cell therapy for stroke repair – recipient of the Dibbens Family CureCell Award for Stroke Research
The 2024 awards program saw a record number of applicants, reflecting the growing importance of research in cell and biological therapies. According to Dr. Justin Coombs, COO of AusHealth, “We received 38 applicants from five states and territories. The submissions were so exceptional that we created two additional awards – the Dibbens Family CureCell Award for Stroke Research and the Marine Bioproducts CRC CureCell Award for Marine Medical Biotech.”
The cash prizes are intended to ease financial pressures on PhD students, who often juggle intensive research commitments with limited income. Dr. Coombs explains, “People don’t realise how little money Australian PhD researchers get by on. They’ll easily spend 60 to 70 hours a week doing cutting-edge research in the lab, but they’re earning about half what they’d get for serving burgers at a fast-food restaurant. These are our brightest and best, and it’s vital that they get good support for the important work they do.”
Greg Johansen, Managing Director and CEO of AusHealth and CureCell, adds, "We are proud to support these brilliant minds who are shaping the future of medicine. Their dedication and passion inspire us, and these awards are a small way to help them continue their essential work. At AusHealth and CureCell, we are committed to fostering innovation that will ultimately transform patient care."
AusHealth will release a series of interviews with the award winners over the next four weeks.
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