Professor Carola Vinuesa from the Australian National University (ANU) John Curtin School for Medical Research has received the inaugural Young Florey Medal.
The award recognises promising early career researchers in the field of medical research.
Professor Vinuesa’s work has led to the discovery of genes associated with auto-immune diseases such as lupus and certain cancers.
She is also the co-director of the Centre for Personalised Immunology at the medical research school, which aims to use the genetic information of people with autoimmune diseases to create targeted personalised treatments.
Professor Vinuesa said she hoped the award would help bring recognition to her field.
“We have made some headway into finding new cell types and new molecules that cause these diseases,” she said.
“But it’s been very hard at the individual level to know what is the cause in each individual and what treatment is best to use.
“We are now able to start connecting genetic variation to disease, and understanding the pathways that cause disease in each patient. This really leads the way to finding personalised treatments.
“Instead of giving these very blanket treatments, we can look for what will work in each patient. I think in the long run it will save money besides saving lives.”
The awards are run by the Australian Institute of Policy and Science and are named after Australian Howard Florey, who won a Nobel prize for the discovery of Penicillin.