Award Announcements

The Sir Zelman Cowen Universities Fund Prize For Discovery in Medical Research established in 2005 recognises discovery in medical research, by a researcher under 40* years of age, which makes a major contribution to the understanding or treatment of disease. To be awarded in alternate years at the University of Sydney and at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, the inaugural award in 2006 and the 2008 award, were made at the University of Sydney. The 2009 award, like the 2007 award, recognises work carried out at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

The Trustees of the Fund are pleased to announce the award of the 2009 Prize to:

Dr Adi Mizrachi
Department of Neurobiology
The Alexander Silberman Institute of Life Sciences
Hebrew University of Jerusalem

Dr Mizrachi was nominated for his contribution to the understanding of synapse formation (nerve connections) in the central nervous system (CNS), and for the importance of his group's findings for the development of techniques of CNS repair. Methodologies developed in his laboratory have made it possible to track newly formed neurons in live adult brains, and have identified and explored the key steps by which new neurones become connected to older neurones. These new approaches developed by Dr Mizrachi's team are essential steps towards therapies which will allow the regeneration of brain structures from stem cell technology

The significance of Dr Mizrachi's work has been acknowledged by its publication and citation in many highly ranked journals, and by invitations to present his findings at many international conferences.

Further information about Dr Mizrachi's work can be found here and here or by contacting the Fund's office.

The 2009 call for nominations was announced in August. It is for scientists working at the University of Sydney.

The 2008 Award to Dr Catherine Leamey, Discipline of Physiology,
School of Medical Sciences, University of Sydney was presented by Mr Malcolm Turnbull, MP at a special event in November 2008 which also celebrated the 30th Anniversary of the Fund’s inception.

Dr Leamey ‘s work was nominated for the identification of a gene, Ten_m3, which is essential for binocular vision and which has been shown to have important implications for the development of therapies for both visual and developmental brain disorders such as autism and mental retardation The award to Dr Leamey recognises the potential of her findings to aid in the development of new approaches in the treatment of these conditions.

Further information on Dr Leamey's project can be found here or by contacting the Fund's office.

The 2008 award of the Sir Zelman Cowen Universities Fund Prize
for Discovery in Medical Research is sponsored by The Schwartz Foundation.

In June 2007 the Award was presented to Professor Nir Friedman from the School of Engineering and Computer Sciences at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

Professor Friedman is a leading expert in the field of machine learning and its application to biology. Machine learning is the prime tool in the analysis of the vast array of genomic data made available by the completion of the Human Genome Project.

Professor Friedman's work was selected for its broad application to many fields of medicine. He was the first recipient of the Prize at the Hebrew University.

Read about Professor Friedman's work

The inaugural award of the Prize was made in August 2006 to Mr Mark Elkins, Research Physiotherapist at the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Sydney who, at the time of the award, was a PhD candidate in the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Sydney. His award-winning research established a new, low-cost, long-term therapy for cystic fibrosis through a multi-centre, randomised, clinical trial.

Read more about the project