Florey stars shine bright at annual awards ceremony
The Florey Awards 2023 celebrated the remarkable dedication and commitment of its staff and students this week as over 120 staff were presented with awards of recognition.
Five new award categories were presented by Florey Board Chair Martin Adams to capture the breadth and diversity of Florey research across all teams and career stages.
“In the realm of research, we are no strangers to the relentless pursuit of knowledge and innovation. It is this spirit that unites us, the driving force behind our collective efforts to make a meaningful impact on the lives of countless individuals,” he said.
Speaking at the awards, Florey Director Professor Trevor Kilpatrick said, “As the director of The Florey, I am deeply proud of the collective accomplishments that we have achieved over the years and during my tenure. The discoveries, innovations and breakthroughs made within these walls have without doubt changed lives, and it’s thanks to you”.
2023 Florey Award Winners
Lend a Hand Award
The winner of this award is a colleague that has been a tremendous support for their colleagues during the year. Often flying under the radar, this person plays a vital role in progressing projects or tasks.
Winner: Celeste Mawal
Exceptional Talent Award
The winner of this award is someone who goes above and beyond in their role at The Florey in either a research capacity or corporate/professional services capacity.
Winner: Professor Clare Parish
Pathway to Impact Award
The winner of this prize is someone who has demonstrated a commitment to improving the lives of people both in Australia and globally through their research.
Winner: Professor Akhter Hossain
Dynamic Collaborator Award
The winner of this prize is someone who has demonstrated a commitment to improving the lives of people both in Australia and globally through their research.
Winner: Associate Professor Yugeesh Lankadeva
Team of the Year Award
The winner of this award is either an established group or business unit, that has demonstrated great teamwork, team spirit and has, together, delivered great outcomes for The Florey.
Winner: Stem Cells and Neural Development Group
Length of service awards
10-year milestone: Julie Andrew, Scott Ayton, Kevin Barnham, Cetina Bertelle, Ian Birchall, Lindsea Booth, Karen Borschmann, Emma Burrows, Christopher Bye, Danielle Caruso, Susan Cox, Brittany Cuic, Steven Fleming, Shannon Gaspari, Adele Gibbs, Elissa Hardman, Xin Huang, Ross Humphreys, Connie Jacobs, Laura Jacobson, Irina Kouchnareva, Xiang Liu, Lucy Mackintosh, Stuart McDougall, Carol Milligan, Steven Oliphant, Carlos Opazo Martinez, Lucy Palmer, Donna Parker, Thibault Patrick Renoir, Joanne Robertson, Mathew Salzone, Amelia Sedjahtera, Fazel Shabanpoor, Kathy Skoff, Robert Smith, Adam Southon, Christiane Stehmann, Christoper Tailby, Frances Tait, Elsa Tsui, Emile Werden
15-year milestone: Paul Adlard, Maria Bastias, Krista Brown, Ashley Bush, Lynley Cordeiro, Daniel Drieberg, Fiona Ellery, Travis Featherby, David Finkelstein, Christopher Fowler, Andrea Gogos, Mark Greenough, Akhter Hossain, Ya Hui Hung, Vijaya Kenche, Taryn Knight, Gawain McColl, Clare Parish, Leah Payne, Anita Pejic, Kelly Pertile, Sandra Petrolo, Christopher Reid, Kay Richards, Rebecca Rumble, Daniel Scott, Gena Shoykhet, Margit Simondson, Anna Stobie, Lachlan Thompson, Brett Trounson, Bradley Turner, Thomas Vale
20-year milestone: Alison Petrou, Andrew Lawrence, Anthony Hannan, Anthony Dornom, Carmel Jacobson, Catriona McLean, David Abbott, Dominque Cadilhac, Doris Tomas, Fairlie Hinton, Gregory Thomas, Julie-Ann Bernhardt, Kenny Jao, Michele Binder, Rian Mackenzie, Sally Hood, Sharon Layfield, Steven Petrou, Vera Phipps
25-year milestone: Alistair Kittson, Graeme Jackson, Melinda Goga, Ross Bathgate, Simon Miller
30-year milestone: Christine Johnston, Clive May, Craig Thomson, Geoff Pavey, Li Chun Quang, Qiao-Xin Li, Tania Ferraro
35-year milestone: Brian Dean
40-year milestone: Mick Petrovski
45-year milestone: Brett Purcell
Donor awards
Anonymous Philanthropic Postgraduate and Postdoctoral Travel Awards
PhD winners: Katherine Lewis, Chiara Pavan and James Spyrou
Postdoc winners: Francesca Alves, Ming Soh, Leigh Walker
Caitlin’s Fund Postgraduate and Postdoctoral Travel Awards
PhD winner: Suyi Ooi
Postdoc winner: Lauren Bleakley
Harold Mitchell Foundation Postgraduate and Postdoctoral Travel Awards
PhD winners: Xavier Maddern and Chaseley McKenzie
Postdoct winner: Christina Mo
John Milne Prize for Neuroscience
Winner: Taide Wang
Wally and Jean Jackson Postgraduate and Postdoctoral Prizes
PhD winner: Vicky He
Postdoc winner: Cherry Mao
John Collier Postdoctoral Travel Scholarship
Winner: Niamh Moriarty
Florey travel awards
Alan Rembach Postdoctoral Travel Award
Winner: Sarrabeth Stone
SOFI Travel Award & Ayse Berke and Liana Colvill Postgraduate Travel Award
Winners: Lizzie Kleeman and Anton Task-Marino
Florey Postgraduate Travel Award
Winner: Sofie Bjerre, Andy Zhang and Chau Tran
Postdoctoral Best Paper Award
Niamh Moriarty and Francesca Alves
The Craig Drummond Award
Dr Natasha Krishnadas
Scientifix | FPA Postdoctoral Award
Winner: Eric Pierre
Florey Purchasing Student Travel Prize
Winner: Heidi McAlpine
Neuropix
The Florey’s annual microscopy photography competition, where cutting-edge science and artistic brilliance collide to bring the unseen to life, saw winners in the categories of Scientific Award and People’s Choice. The winners were, respectively, Shivani Vaidya and Chau Tran.