Thanks from the research community

Some of Australia's most prominent business and media figures are among the recipients of the 2007 Research Australia Thank You Day awards announced in Melbourne today.

Now in its fifth year, the Thank You Day awards program recognises the achievements and dedication of six individuals or organisations whose efforts have helped further medical research in Australia.

Research Australia CEO, Rebecca James, said the awards were an opportunity for the health and medical research sector to acknowledge both the philanthropic and in-kind support that researchers and institutions receive.

"Australia leads the world in many areas of health and medical research and has been responsible for a number of significant global discoveries," James said.

"Almost 90 per cent of Australians rank health and medical research as the most important industry for Australia's future, but it is only through the commitment of individuals such as this year's winners that this future will be bright.

"Despite their different backgrounds, the six winners are united by a shared passion for health and medical research, and a commitment to ensuring that Australia continues to deliver research outcomes beyond our weight."

Frank Lowy, executive chairman and co-founder of the Westfield Group, received the Macquarie Bank Foundation Great Australian Philanthropy Award.

Nominated by the Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute (VCCRI) and the Save Sight Institute at the University of Sydney, Lowy is an active and generous supporter of many philanthropic causes in the biomedical/science arenas.

He has contributed to heart research through his generous financial and in-kind support of the VCCRI, and has committed $15 million to an international research project to find a cure for the uncommon but potentially blinding retinal disease, macular telangiectasia (MacTel).

Lowy has also provided generous support to many other health and medical research initiatives including the Alzheimer's Association, the International Diabetes Institute, and St. Vincent's Hospital, and more recently via Westfield, the Sydney Children's Hospital (Westfield Research Laboratories); the Westmead Children's Hospital (Westfield Gene and Cell Medicine Laboratory); the Peter MacCallum Cancer Foundation, and the Brain Research Institute.

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The MBF Australia Lifetime Achievement Award has gone to Ken Roberts, chairman of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians (RACP) Research and Education Foundation and a foundation member of its board since its establishment in 1990.

Roberts became a champion of medical research during the 25 years he spent working with The Wellcome Foundation. He initiated the Wellcome Australia Medal and Award for distinguished discovery in medical and agricultural research (now continued post-Wellcome as the GlaxoSmithKline Australia Award for research excellence) and the Wellcome Trust Senior Medical Research Fellowships.

Working with the RACP, Roberts has been instrumental in establishing philanthropic partnerships and has been personally responsible for raising several millions of dollars to support the work of the Foundation. He is chairman or director of a number of business and government health organisations and is also a leader in the promotion of science to the general community.

Professor John Coghlan was awarded The Victorian Government Leadership and Innovation Award for his work as executive director of The Menzies Foundation since 1998.

The Menzies Foundation supports medical research and has established three medical research institutes in Australia, the most recent under the guidance of Coghlan. It also supports fellowships and students.

Coghlan was associated with the Howard Florey Institute for more than 40 years, including a period as director from 1990 to 1996. He was deputy vice-chancellor (research) at the University of Melbourne, and deputy chairman and chairman of the Medical Research Committee of the NHMRC. Coghlan was nominated for the award by The Menzies Research Institute.

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The National Health and Medical Research Council Health Research in the Media Award was awarded to Carol Nader, health editor of The Age in Melbourne.

Nader was nominated by Orygen Research Centre and Youth Health, which praised her high quality reporting on health and mental health research over the last few years.

She has covered the health round for three years, and regularly writes about health policy, medical research, mental health, fertility issues, the politics of abortion and pharmaceuticals. She has been with The Age for 10 years.

Westfarmers Limited received the Leadership in Corporate Giving Award in recognition of its decade-long support for the Western Australia Institute for Medical Research (WAIMR).

Westfarmers began its support of medical research in 1998 with a $100,000 commitment to Perth's Telethon Institute for Child Health Research (ICHR) in 1994. Since then, Westfarmers has donated over $6 million to ICHR and WAIMR.

Through Westfarmers' support, WAIMR has grown its research into the genetic causes of adult diseases, attracting many world leaders in research into its team. ICHR has cemented its position as a leader in research into the prevention of major childhood illnesses.

The Celebrity Advocacy Award went to television journalist and presenter, Lisa Wilkinson, for her work as a National Breast Cancer Foundation Ambassador for the past five years.

Wilkinson has used her profile across the media to promote the need for funds to support vital research into breast cancer. She has contributed articles and presentations to the campaign, and championed a new initiative for the NBCF Pink Ribbon campaign as the face of Porches In Pink.

The awards were the culmination of Research Australia's Thank You Day campaign to raise awareness about the importance of health and medical research in the community.

Events were held across Australia during October and November, with hundreds of thousands of messages received online at www.thankyouday.org, via SMS 0428THANKS or email thankyouday@researchaustralia.org.

Messages are being collected until the end of the year and will be forwarded to the men and women in the relevant research fields. The messages will also be passed on to political leaders to underline the importance of funding for medical research.

Source: Research Australia