Masters picks up Victoria Prize

The neuroscientist who found the molecular key to unlocking Alzheimer's disease has won Victoria's most prestigious science award, the Victoria Prize.

Laureate Professor Colin Masters, one of the world's foremost neuroscientists, has been presented with the 10th Victoria Prize, worth $50,000, by the Governor of Victoria, Professor David de Kretser.

Victorian Minister for Innovation Gavin Jennings said Masters had won the prize for his major achievements in isolating and characterising elements of the primary pathway causing Alzheimer's disease.

"Professor Masters is the champion of the amyloid theory of Alzheimer's," Jennings said.

"This theory holds that the accumulation of toxic amyloid protein impairs memory, a finding that has pioneered new areas of research into Alzheimer's disease.

"The amyloid protein is now one of the most highly studied proteins in cell biology, with more than 800 international papers produced annually.

"Professor Masters is now translating his discoveries into therapeutic treatments which are currently undergoing clinical trials in Melbourne and Sweden."

Masters is executive director of the Mental Health Research Institute of Victoria and Laureate Professor at the University of Melbourne.

In 2002, he co-founded Prana Biotechnology, which is undertaking clinical trials of new treatments for Alzheimer's disease in Melbourne and Sweden.

Masters was also behind the development of the Australian Imaging Biomarker and Lifestyle Flagship Study of Ageing, which is studying 1000 Australians in Melbourne and Perth.

It aims to identify reliable early warning detection and prevention tools for dementia.

Jennings also announced today the six winners of the Victoria Fellowships, which assist emerging leaders in science, engineering and technology.

Fellows receive an $18,000 travel grant to undertake a short-term international study mission, to receive specialist training, or to develop commercial ideas.

The winners of the 2007 Victoria Fellowships include Dr Bryony Coleman, who is researching how to into improve cochlear implant function by rescuing auditory nerve cells from dying through stem cell therapy, and Erinna Lee, who is developing a 'molecular toolbox' to target specific steps in cell death in order to fight cancer.