‘Kidney in a dish’ pioneer wins Research Australia’s top honour

Six researchers and institutions have been recognised at Research Australia’s 22nd Health and Medical Research Awards, with Professor Melissa Little AC receiving the prestigious Peter Wills Medal for transforming how scientists study kidney disease and pursue new approaches to transplantation.

Research Australia Chair, Professor Dawn Freshwater, said the awards recognise the full pipeline required to move research from discovery to impact.

“They honour and celebrate Australia’s outstanding researchers and innovators, and those who support their work across the health and medical research innovation pipeline,” said Professor Freshwater. “Health and medical research doesn’t succeed through research alone. It takes data innovators, implementers, and everyone who translates discovery into impact. The awards celebrate that whole pipeline, not just the parts that make headlines.”

Research Australia CEO & Managing Director Nadia Levin used the occasion to argue for a fundamental change in how Australia finances health and medical research, calling for a new co-investment fund involving government, industry and philanthropy.

“We excel at discovery, but the ‘valley of death’ stalls breakthroughs before they become therapies, devices, care models and companies. Australia needs a new blended capital model that brings together public, philanthropic and private funding to make research initiatives investable, and to finally start addressing that gap between discovery and translation,” said Levin.

Levin also framed research investment as an economic proposition, warning that Australia’s ability to generate future discoveries is being compromised by the loss of a highly skilled workforce.

“For too long, health and medical research has been treated as a good deed – a public health imperative, rather than an economic and productivity engine. The truth is investment in research and innovation yields health and fiscal dividends. But an economic engine is only as strong as the people powering it, and right now we’re losing almost one in three people trained to find the next cure, diagnostic tool or novel technology.”

Murdoch Children’s Research Institute’s Professor Little said her connection to the award’s namesake had reinforced the importance of public advocacy for medical research.

“Seeing the passion Peter Wills had for the sector motivated me to remain actively involved in advocating for medical research and showed me how critical it is to engage the wider community in what we do,” commented Professor Little.

Her lab-grown “kidneys in a dish”, featured as a landmark Nature cover story, have shifted research towards functioning human tissue that more closely replicates the biology of a kidney. The work has laid foundations for a future in which transplantable kidneys may be grown rather than solely sourced from donors.

The keynote address was delivered by Professor Kathryn North AC, Chair of the Australian Medical Research Advisory Board and Executive Director of the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, who made the case for a research system that gives the nation greater control over the knowledge, technologies and health solutions it generates.

“The next iteration of Australia’s excellent medical research infrastructure is a system in which Australians retain agency over the knowledge and health solutions that will shape all our futures,” stated Professor North. “Sovereign capability means more than keeping Australian expertise onshore. It means having the capacity to generate, govern and use Australian data, technologies, clinical trials and manufacturing capability for Australian benefit, in ways that are universally trusted, secure and above all, equitable.”

WINNERS

Peter Wills Medal

Created in honour of Research Australia’s Founding Patron, Peter Wills AC, the Peter Wills Medal is the organisation’s flagship award. It recognises an individual who has made an outstanding, long-term contribution to building Australia’s international reputation in health and medical research and fostering collaboration for better health.

Winner – Professor Melissa Little AC (Murdoch Children’s Research Institute)

Discovery Award

Recognising an early-career researcher, from qualification to no more than five years post-PhD, whose paper, patent or discovery has already demonstrated its importance or impact.

Winner – Dr Caitlin Jones (University of Sydney)

Advocacy and Philanthropy Award (sponsored by AbbVie)

Recognising exceptional contributions from research champions who raise community awareness and understanding of the importance of health and medical research.

Winner – Neil and Norma Hill Foundation

Frontiers Research Award (sponsored by UNSW Sydney)

Recognising transformative research with the potential to revolutionise health outcomes in Australia and internationally.

Winner – The Cancer Blueprint – Associate Professor Arutha Kulasinghe (University of Queensland)

Digital and Data Health Innovation Award (sponsored by Digital Health CRC)

Recognising an individual or team whose innovation is considered to represent one of the most impactful new data innovations in the health and medical research sector within the past five years.

Winner – A National Infrastructure for Linked Data Innovation (Data Connect Australia)

Health Services Research Award (sponsored by Bond University’s Institute for Evidence-Based Healthcare)

Recognising an individual or team that has provided leadership and made an outstanding contribution to health services research; driven research that has led to a significant improvement in healthcare; and/or championed the development of the health services research field.

Winner – Associate Professor Chris Freeman (University of Queensland)

In reimagining healthcare across the entire patient journey, Health Industry Hub^TM is the only one-stop-hub uniting the diversity of the Pharma, MedTech, Diagnostics & Biotech sectors to inspire meaningful change.

The Health Industry Hub^TM content is copyright protected. Access is available under individual user licenses. Please click here to subscribe and visit T&Cs here.