12 September 2008
Three Monash University researchers have been recognised at the prestigious 2008 Tall Poppy Awards.
Medical researchers Dr Brendan Jenkins and Dr Natalie Borg, and mathematics researcher Dr Ian Wanless were recognised for excellence in scientific research.
Dr Jenkins is a molecular biologist and NHMRC RD Wright Research Fellow and is leading research into stomach inflammation and cancer at the Centre for Innate Immunity and Infectious Diseases at Monash Institute of Medical Research.
Dr Jenkins said the award was wonderful recognition for him and his colleagues and he hoped it would help promote their work to the next generation of scientists.
"I hope I can serve as a role model to high school and young university students, to let them know that working hard and applying yourself is rewarded. If I can raise the profile of medical research and encourage science students to follow their dreams, that would be great," Dr Jenkins said.
Dr Borg, a NHMRC Career Development Award recipient is with the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, in the Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences. She focuses on analysing crystals with synchrotron light, to investigate how the human body mounts a rapid defence against virus attack.
This is the second award within a month for Dr Borg. She was named a recipient of the 2008 L'Oreal Australia For Women in Science Fellowship in late August.
Dr Ian Wanless, from the School of Mathematical Sciences, hopes his Tall Poppy Award will help promote maths as an exciting and interesting field of research.
"Commuter trains are packed with people practicing mathematical skills by doing Sudoku puzzles -- yet sadly many of them will profess that they dislike maths! This award provides an avenue for me to show school kids that mathematics can be just as addictive as Sudoku because deducing the missing pieces of a puzzle can be challenging but also very rewarding," Dr Wanless said
Previous Monash University winners of Tall Poppy Awards include engineer Dr Leslie Yeo, chemist Dr Stuart Batten, neuroscientist Associate Professor Pradeep Nathan, and molecular biologist Professor James Whisstock.
The Tall Poppy Campaign was established by the Australian Institute of Policy and Science to promote awareness of Australia's intellectual achievements.
The awards aim to acknowledge scientific achievements, highlight researchers as role models and encourage interest in their work among school students and the wider community.
For more information, please contact Samantha Blair, Media and Communications, +61 3 9903 4841 or +61 439 013 951.
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