Gottschalk Medal

Professor Eric Chow, Monash University

Approximately 570,000 cancer cases in women and 60,000 in men are caused by human papillomavirus (HPV), a virus transmitted through sexual contact causing cervical, throat, genital and anal cancers. The HPV vaccine can protect women from cervical cancers, but Professor Eric Chow’s work has shown that the same vaccine can also protect men from HPV-related throat and ano-genital cancers, paving the way for new vaccination strategies, particularly in men. In the area of gonorrhoea transmission (more than 82 million cases world-wide annually), his research has identified kissing as the major means of transmission – rewriting 100-year-old paradigms. This finding will drive changes in future sexual health education programs relating to safer sex. Professor Chow has also contributed greatly to understanding changes in transmission of sexually transmissible infections (STIs) in the COVID-19 pandemic, and emerging outbreaks of non-classical STIs such as hepatitis A and mpox. Cumulatively, he has made an exceptional contribution to the field of sexual health.

Associate Professor Kirsty Short, University of Queensland

Associate Professor Kirsty Short’s work focuses on pandemic preparedness, with a specific goal to use basic research to improve clinical care and public health policy in the case of a viral outbreak. She has provided some of the first clinical and experimental evidence that overweight, obesity and diabetes affect the severity of both influenza and COVID-19. Associate Professor Short has also played an important role in defining the role of children in spreading SARSCoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19). Her work has resulted in high impact publications, improved public health and clinical care.

Professor Si Ming Man, Australian National University

Professor Si Ming Man’s work has significantly advanced our understanding of inflammation as an underlying mechanism of health and disease. His achievements are focused in three areas: (1) Identifying the parts of microbes that cause inflammation during infection and the molecules in our immune system that trigger this response. This work may lead to targeted treatments for diseases caused by too much inflammation, for example sepsis, food poisoning and gout. (2) Uncovering previously unknown molecules made by our bodies that directly attack microbes and working out if these can be turned into treatments that will work against bacteria, including those that are resistant to current antibiotics. (3) He discovered that some of the same molecules used by our immune system to detect and respond to microbes by initiating inflammation are also important in preventing cancer. This discovery might be useful in diagnosis or predicting outcomes in cancer or may offer clues to cancer prevention. 

Dr Alisa Glukhova, WEHI (Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research)

All cellular organisms exchange information with their environment in the form of chemical molecules or light, electrical or physical stimuli. G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) are primary information sensors at the cell surface and are major drug targets for a multitude of conditions. Dr Alisa Glukhova is using structural biology approaches to understand the biology of GPCRs and, specifically, how these receptors recognise chemical signals and how they transmit these signals inside the cell. Her research provided the first structural insights into the activation mechanism of the A1 adenosine receptor, a target for pain management and heart disease, opening possibilities for structure-based drug design. Her current work, in collaboration with researchers from Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, aims to understand the biology of other members of adenosine receptor family and identify novel mechanisms for targeting them, either through unconventional binding sites or by altering their signalling path. The current research in her lab at WEHI (Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research) is focused on understanding the structural basis of Wnt signalling that involves a different GPCR family that is a major target for cancer therapeutics.

Associate Professor Francine Marques, Monash University

Associate Professor Marques is an emerging global leader in cardiovascular research, who has shown how more dietary fibre will improve our blood pressure and lower chances of serious disease. Uncontrolled high blood pressure, also known as hypertension, can frequently lead to cardiovascular disease, and is the main risk factor for death globally. Yet in too many cases, hypertension is a direct result of our low-fibre, high-sodium Western diet. Through a series of influential and award-winning studies, Associate Professor Marques and her team have shown how gut microbes ferment fibre to create ‘cardio-protective’ molecules, which lower blood pressure and improve heart stiffness. 

These findings are important, because they mean we could treat or prevent cardiovascular disease through better diets and improved gut health.

Associate Professor Muireann Irish, University of Sydney

Dementia is one of the most pressing concerns for our aging society. Despite significant advances in dementia research, it remains challenging to accurately screen for subtle changes in behaviour and cognition at the earliest stages of the disease. 

Dr Muireann Irish’s research has systematically mapped how alterations in the brain’s grey and white matter contribute to memory dysfunction across different dementia syndromes. Her ground-breaking work has further uncovered that in parallel with loss of memory for the past, individuals with dementia have marked difficulties thinking about the future. 

Dr Irish is now developing novel approaches to screen for the earliest signs of underlying brain pathology, long before overt signs of dementia emerge. Her research vision is to advance early detection and swift intervention in dementia to improve quality of life for all affected.

Associate Professor Laura Mackay, Doherty Institute

Associate Professor Mackay’s work contributed to identifying a subset of immune cells, called tissue-resident memory T cells, which provide front-line defence for the body against repeated infection. Her work represented a paradigm shift in thinking about T cell immunity as these tissue-resident memory T cells reside permanently within body tissues and are distinct from the blood populations that are primed in lymphoid organs. Tissue-resident T cells have been found in a variety of tissues throughout the body and Associate Professor Mackay’s ongoing work has provided a new understanding of the body’s immune defences and their role in combating infectious disease. Associate Professor Mackay’s future research is directed toward harnessing these cells to create new therapies for infectious disease, cancer, and autoimmune diseases.

Associate Professor Alex Fornito, Monash University

Associate Professor Alex Fornito’s research aims to understand what the extraordinarily complex network of nerve cells connected by trillions of fibres means for human brain function, and how disruptions of brain connectivity can lead to mental illness. His innovative research combines brain imaging with techniques from psychology, psychiatry, neuroscience, genetics, physics and mathematics to map and model the brain as an interconnected system. The ultimate aim is to understand how brain network function supports behaviour and track how disruption to this process causes disease.

2017

Associate Professor Kathryn Elizabeth Holt, University of Melbourne

Associate Professor Holt’s current research tracks the evolution and spread of deadly infectious diseases and the development of antibiotic resistance in Australia and developing countries. Her in-depth studies on the evolution of specific pathogen populations use the most advanced DNA sequencing technologies that allow detailed comparisons of the genomes of hundreds of closely related isolates of the same pathogen. These have revealed how pathogens are evolving in response to exposure to antibiotics, vaccine-induced immunity, or natural host immunity. Her work has provided important advances in understanding disease transmission, control of infection and informs public health policy and practice.

2016

Professor Ostoja Steve Vucic, Westmead Clinical School, University of Sydney

Professor Vucic is a translational researcher, whose pioneering research has uncovered novel mechanisms that underlie the development of neurodegeneration in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). He has identified important processes that contribute to the triggering of ALS, leading to the identification of novel therapeutic targets and therapeutic approaches. In addition, Professor Vucic has invented a much needed diagnostic technique for ALS, enabling an earlier diagnosis of ALS at a point where the disease may be amenable to neuroprotective therapies, and this technique has also enabled an earlier recruitment of patients into clinical trials. Professor Vucic has also made significant research contributions in the understanding of molecular and genetic processes underlying relapsing and progressive forms of multiple sclerosis, leading to development of novel treatments for these chronic diseases.

2015

Dr Peter Czabotar, Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research

Dr Czabotar’s research is delivering new insights into the molecular control of programmed cell death, an important biological defence mechanism that removes dangerous cells from the body including those involved in tumourigenesis. He has played a key role in the development of therapeutics that induce cell death in tumours and his recent work provides new strategies for developing agents to treat disorders characterised by excessive cell death such as neurodegeneration.

2014

Associate Professor Kieran F. Harvey, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre

Associate Professor Kieran Harvey’s research findings are important for understanding species diversity and development, and are directly relevant to human diseases such as cancer. Organ size-control is a fundamental aspect of biology and varies greatly among animals. Signalling networks that control organ size are only beginning to be unravelled. Foremost among them is the recently discovered Hippo pathway. Greater knowledge of size control will potentially have a huge impact on human cancer and degenerative diseases, and provide fertile ground for therapeutic interventions. Associate Professor Harvey was an integral member of the team that discovered the Hippo pathway. He was also was the first to show that the Hippo pathway is evolutionarily conserved, and that it is mutated in human cancer. More recently, Associate Professor Harvey' s laboratory discovered that the Hippo pathway controls organ regeneration.

2013

Dr Benjamin Kile, The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research

Dr Benjamin Kile is a molecular geneticist workingon blood cell formation and function, particularly as it relates to haematopoietic stem cell development, leukaemogenesis and inflammation. His group has shed new light on the mechanism by which blood platelets are produced, how their life cycle is regulated, and the impact cancer chemotherapy has on these processes. They have also elucidated the critical role of the potent human oncogene ERG in stem cell function and the development of leukaemia. This work has paved the way to an understanding of how ERG promotes cancer growth, and ultimately, to the identification of new entry points for cancer therapies.

2012

Professor Katharina Gaus, University of New South Wales

Associate Professor Katharina Gaus is a leader in the field of cellular immunology and molecular microscopy. The main aim of her research has been to gain a mechanistic understanding of the organisation of the plasma membrane within cells. She has pioneered fluorescence microscopy approaches to examine and quantify T-cell signalling on a single molecule level (super-resolution microscopy) in living cells. Her research has provided the first evidence for lipids being linked to T-cell activation on a molecular and functional level, and may explain why immune function is compromised in obese people.

2011

Dr Stuart Tangye, Garvan Institute of Medical Research

The primary goal of Stuart Tangye’s research is to investigate the development of different classes of human immune cells, and determine how these processes are compromised in individuals with diseases such as immunodeficiencies that are caused by errors in single genes, and to understand how these gene errors result in catastrophic conditions. His findings have identified important roles of key genes in normal immune responses, and revealed pathways that could be targeted to modulate responses in immunodeficiency or autoimmunity.

2010

Professor James Whisstock, Monash University

James Whisstock studies how our bodies combat infection by bacteria and viruses. He has shown that an important family of human immunity proteins that eliminate cells infected with virus or pre-cancerous cells are related to toxins known to be used by bacteria to destroy human tissue. James’s work may one day help develop new ways to control the unwanted activity of immune proteins in transplant rejection and diabetes.

2009

Dr Carola Vinuesa, Australian National University

Carola Vinuesa’s research in the field of immunology has seen the discovery of key mechanisms controlling antibody formation and quality in germinal centres, revealing a previously unknown immune regulatory mechanism. This is a major conceptual advance in understanding the cause of autoimmune diseases, such as lupus and diabetes, and opens up new possibilities for treatments.

2008

Dr Gabrielle Belz, The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research

Gabrielle Belz has made a series of ground-breaking discoveries on the response of the immune system to viruses. These include identifying subsets of dendritic cells that initiate the T-cell response, tracking T-cell proliferation and differentiation during an immune response, and delineating the requirements for T-cell reactivation upon secondary infection. Through this work she and her colleagues have altered the understanding of the role of dendritic cell subsets in ways that will assist the design of vaccines against viruses.

2007

Professor Jamie Rossjohn, Monash University, Melbourne

Jamie Rossjohn’s primary contribution is to provide a structural basis for events central to infection and cellular immunity. He has provided insight into the mechanism of action of the cholesterol-dependent pore-forming toxins and a toxin that inactivates an essential chaperone protein. Jamie has provided an understanding of receptor-recognition events at the immunological synapse. This includes providing insights into the basis of MHCrestricted antigen recognition, T-cell immunodominance, allorecognition and signalling, and also MHC polymorphism in the context of antigen presentation and viral evasion.

2006

Dr Joel Mackay, University of Sydney

Joel Mackay has a distinguished career in human physiology and health research that is focused at the molecular level. He discovered the mechanisms behind the vancomycin group of antibiotics, leading to improved derivatives. He has made valuable contributions to understanding the transcriptional regulation involved with forming red blood cells, tracing point mutations, and protein structures, advancing knowledge of inherited blood disorders such as thalassemia.

2005—R.W Johnstone
2004—M.H. Little
2003—L.M. Khachigian
2002—M. Crossley
2001—C.C. Goodnow
2000—D.L. Vaux
1999—M.W. Parker
1998—D.J. Hilton
1997—P.R. Schofield
1997—B.J. Wainwright
1996—D.I. Cook
1995—M.J. Smyth
1994—P.J. Goadsby
1993—A. Cowman
1992—P.M. Hogarth
1991—R.A. Cuthbertson
1990—N.M. Gough
1989—A.R. Hardham
1988—A. Cockburn
1987—J.J. Burdon
1986—N.A. Nicola
1985—R. Appels
1984—J.A. Angus
1983—G.D. Farquhar
1982—J. Shine
1981—A.W. Burgess
1980—M.B. Renfree
1979—C.R. Parish