Alzheimer's researcher wins Mayne Florey Medal

The Australian Institute of Political Science (AIPS) has presented Prof Colin Masters with the 2002 Mayne Florey Medal, recognising his world-leading research into the cause of Alzheimer's disease and other brain diseases of the elderly.

Masters, of the University of Melbourne's Department of Pathology and the Mental Health Research Institute, has been researching the molecular, genetic and biochemical pathways that cause Alzheimer's disease for more than 25 years.

"All of our research focuses on understanding the basic causes and identifying therapeutic targets for intervention," Masters said.

His research has lead to the development of potential therapies for Alzheimer's disease, some of which are being commercialised by Prana Biotechnology.

"The discovery of a crucial protein, beta amyloid, that causes the build-up of plaque on diseased brains and our subsequent understanding of the mechanisms behind its effects gave pharmaceutical companies specific targets for drugs to attack, and the early diagnosis gives hope that the drug therapies will be able to treat Alzheimer's before the debilitating effects take hold," Masters said.

"There is now real hope that effective therapies for Alzheimer's and a range of other brain diseases, including Parkinson's, Creuzfeldt-Jakob and motor neurone disease, will be found."

Masters said that getting the award was terrific, but stressed that the achievements were the results of a team effort over the last 25 years.

According to Dr Rick McLean, deputy chairman of the AIPS, Masters was chosen from a dozen leading Australian biomedical scientists to receive the award, which comes with a medal and $30,000.

The Mayne Florey Medal Award was established in 1998 by AIPS to recognise the achievements of Australian biomedical scientists who had made a major discovery of benefit to human health.

The award is part of AIPS's Tall Poppy Campaign, which aims to recognise Australian scientific achievements.

Previous winners of the biennial award have included Dr Robin Warren and Prof Barry Marshall in 1998 for their discovery of Helicobacter pylori as a cause of stomach ulcers, and Prof Jacques Miller in 2000 for his discovery of the function of the thymus.