Seeking creative early career scientists

Centenary

Applications are now open for the $25,000 Centenary Institute Lawrence Creative Prize for early-career biomedical researchers.

We’re looking for early-career scientists in biomedical research with a uniquely creative way of significantly contributing to their chosen field.

The past two winners of the prize are:

  • Dr Marie-Liesse Asselin-Labat from the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute for Medical Research. Marie-Liesse has moved from looking at how and why breast stem cells contribute to the progression of breast cancer, to lung stem cells and their role in cancer.
  • Dr Jian Yang, from the Diamantina Institute at the University of Queensland, for solving one of the great puzzles of human genetics—why the genes typically implicated in inherited diseases like schizophrenia, obesity and diabetes only account for a small amount of their heritability.

The prize is open to researchers from any country provided the applicant’s research has been substantially carried out in Australia.

Researchers can be from any institute, university or educational institution. Applicants must have received their PhD on or after 1 January 2006. In the case of medical graduates, the time from beginning a substantial research career will be counted.

The money is given directly to the winner – half for their personal use (i.e. it is unattached) and half to spend on their idea/project or scientific travel.

The two runners-up will receive $5,000.

Applications are now open and close at 5pm on Friday 4 October 2013.

Nominating is easy – the whole process is undertaken online. For full details of the eligibility criteria and how to nominate, click here.

This national Prize will be judged by a panel of leading life scientists. It will be presented by the Centenary Institute at a ceremony in November. The Prize is named in honour of Centenary’s founding  Foundation chairman, Neil Lawrence.