Professor Ian Wicks is Head of the Rheumatology Unit, Royal Melbourne Hospital, and Head of the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute’s Inflammation Division. His Research on inflammatory diseases enabled him to identify several cytokine receptors as novel therapeutic targets. He led collaborations to develop therapeutic monoclonal antibodies against these targets. One of these has completed successful Phase 2 Trials for rheumatoid arthritis and two others are poised for evaluation in other inflammatory diseases. His contribution extends to leadership roles in Rheumatology, teaching, training and clinical research. He serves on the NHMRC Translational Research Faculty and peer-reviews at national and international levels.

Professor McNeil’s research activities have involved the application of epidemiological methods to problems in clinical medicine and public health.  In recognition of his service he was awarded an AM (Member of the Order of Australia) in 2009.  Professor McNeil has developed a strategy to undertake large community based intervention trials successfully, as demand for new preventive interventions become ready for evaluation.  He currently heads the largest clinical trial in Australia.  He has also developed the strategy to benchmark hospital performance using the clinical quality registries, and is leading the largest Australian centre for registry science.  Professor McNeil has been involved in a variety of leadership roles which includes directorships in institutions nationally and internationally.

Jane Visvader has made seminal contributions to the fields of mammary biology and breast cancer. Her team achieved a very significant breakthrough in health and medical sciences, with the isolation of breast stem cells. This work and her subsequent identification of master regulators of mammary gland development and cells of origin of cancer have altered our understanding of breast cancer, and pioneered a new field of research – Breast stem cell biology. Collectively these findings have laid a framework for translating basic discoveries to the clinic, aiming for improved breast cancer outcomes for the next generation of women.

Trevor Kilpatrick has advanced basic neuroscience and clinical neurology through several important discoveries that determine how key cellular interactions are established and maintained in the brain.  He identified neural stem cells, interrogated their growth factor responsiveness, and established that neurons and glia interact in the healthy brain in ways that are disrupted in multiple sclerosis (MS).  He has identified the key genetic and environmental factors that contribute to risk of MS, providing insights into its aetiology and pathogenesis.  Using novel translational paradigms, he identified new therapeutic candidates that optimize neural protection and repair in MS and other neurological disorders.