The Prime Minister’s Prizes for Science were presented by the Prime Minister and the Innovation Minister at the Prize Dinner in the Great Hall of Parliament House on Wednesday 17 November. The MC for the evening was the ABC’s Bernie Hobbs.
The winners in brief
Prime Minister’s Prize for Science
John Shine, Director of the Garvan Institute for Medical Research, Sydney
GGAGG—five letters that launched a biotechnology revolution
John Shine, winner of the 2010 Prime Minister’s Prize for Science (photo credit: Bearcage productions)
Human insulin and many other cloned drugs that we take for granted today are made with the help of a brief gene sequence that tells bacteria when to start making a protein.
Dr John Shine discovered this Shine-Dalgarno sequence during his PhD in the 1970s. Then, working in California he contributed to the birth of the modern biotechnology industry before returning to Australia in 1988 to lead the Garvan Institute. His research continues, using neural stem cells from the nose to explore potential treatments for hearing loss, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and other diseases.
The Prime Minister’s Prize for Science comprises a solid gold medallion and a cash prize of $300,000. It recognises outstanding achievement by Australians in science and technology which promotes human welfare.
Malcolm McIntosh Prize for Physical Scientist of the Year
Katherine Trinajstic (Kate), Research Fellow, Curtin University, Perth
The first mother: how our deep ancestors lived, loved and died
Katherine Trinajstic, winner of the 2010 Malcolm McIntosh Prize for Physical Scientist of the Year (photo credit: Ron D’Raine)
Dr Kate Trinajstic is rewriting the story of the evolution of our deep ancestors. She has shown that fish living 380 million years ago on the Gogo Barrier Reef, in what is now the Kimberley Ranges, gave birth to live young.
This ‘first womb’ and many other discoveries were possible because she realised that the muscles and organs of these fish had been fossilised along with the bones. Now she is using synchrotron light and CT scanning to virtually dissect her fossils.
The Malcolm McIntosh Prize for Physical Scientist of the Year recognises early career researchers who have made outstanding achievements in the physical sciences and comprises a solid silver medallion and a cash prize of $50,000.
The Science Minister’s Prize for Life Scientist of the Year
Benjamin Kile (Ben), Walter and Eliza Hall Institute for Medical Research, Melbourne
Finding a cancer gene’s day job: making blood stem cells
Benjamin Kile, winner of the 2010 Science Minister’s Prize for Life Scientist of the Year (photo credit: Bearcage productions)
Dr Benjamin Kile is unravelling the secrets of blood. He has discovered why platelets—the blood cells responsible for clotting—have a short shelf life at the blood bank. There’s a molecular clock ticking away that triggers cell death.
And he has discovered a gene that’s critical for the production of blood stem cells in our bone marrow, but which is also associated with many cancers. Now he is working to extend the life of blood bank products, and to get to the heart of some big questions in cancer. What causes good cells to go bad? How does cancer start?
The Science Minister’s Prize for Life Scientist of the Year recognises early career researchers who have made outstanding achievements in the life sciences and comprises a solid silver medallion and a cash prize of $50,000.
The Prime Minister’s Prize for Excellence in Science Teaching in Primary Schools
Matthew McCloskey, Sydney Grammar’s Edgecliff Preparatory School, Sydney
Scientists are created in primary school
Matthew McCloskey, winner of the 2010 Prime Minister’s Prize for Excellence in Science Teaching in Primary Schools (photo credit: Bearcage Productions)
Dr Matthew McCloskey is in the vanguard of the renaissance of primary science teaching in Australia—bringing real science experiments back into the classroom, building on his own experience as a research scientist and zoologist.
He has learnt what it takes to deliver a great science class, and is sharing this in his writing for the national science curriculum and in his support of his peers.
The Prime Minister’s Prize for Excellence in Science Teaching in Primary Schools recognises teachers who have made an outstanding contribution to primary science education in Australia and comprises a solid silver medallion and a cash prize of $50,000.
Prime Minister’s Prize for Excellence in Science Teaching in Secondary Schools
Debra Smith, Centenary High School, Brisbane
Science teaching has to be practical
Debra Smith, winner of the 2010 Prime Minister’s Prize for Excellence in Science Teaching in Secondary Schools (photo credit: Bearcage productions)
Over thirty years of teaching, Ms Debra Smith has not only inspired thousands of students, she has helped redefine the senior science curriculum in Queensland and across Australia.
She believes that science teaching has to be practical and experimental and has the numbers to prove it. Her school’s senior science scores are well above the state average with 31 per cent of students choosing senior chemistry in 2008. And in 2009, 26 of the school’s top 29 students chose science degrees.
The Prime Minister’s Prize for Excellence in Science Teaching in Secondary Schools recognises teachers who have made an outstanding contribution to secondary science education in Australia and comprises a solid silver medallion and a cash prize of $50,000.
For further information, photos and interviews please contact:
Niall Byrne, 0417 131 977, niall@scienceinpublic.com.au
supported by Sarah Brooker, 0413 332 489, sarah@scienceinpublic.com.au
Kym Beggs, 0412 696 785, kym@shaccommunications.com
The full details are posted at https://grants.innovation.gov.au/SciencePrize/Pages/Overview.aspx. Please use this address in publications.
