2022 MMS Publication Prizes

2022 Recipients

Dr Maria Di Biase
Department of Psychiatry
Cell type-specific manifestations of cortical thickness heterogeneity in schizophrenia
Winner of the ECR Basic Scientist category

Maria is an early career research fellow focusing on understanding neurobiological factors that underpin schizophrenia. After honing her expertise in neuroscience during two years of postdoctoral training at Harvard Medical School, Maria returned to Australia to launch her own research program dedicated to understanding developmental brain mechanisms in schizophrenia. She currently holds an NHMRC Investigator Grant and heads the developmental stream of the Human Connectome Project for Early Psychosis.

Associate Professor Lachlan Miles
Department of Critical Care
Associations between non-anaemic iron deficiency and outcomes following elective cardiac surgery (IDOCS): a prospective cohort study
Winner of the ECR Clinician Scientist category

Lachlan completed his PhD at University of Melbourne in 2021. His thesis examined the identification and management of non-anaemic iron deficiency in patients undergoing cardiac and colorectal surgery. Lachlan is also a Staff Specialist and Deputy Head of Research in the Department of Anaesthesia at Austin Health and Honorary Clinical Fellow in the Pre-Clinical Critical Care Unit at the Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health.

Mr Peter Georgeson
Department of Clinical Pathology
Identifying colorectal cancer caused by biallelic MUTYH pathogenic variants using tumor mutational signatures
Winner of the Student Basic Scientist category

Peter is a research fellow based at the Colorectal Oncogenomics Group at the University of Melbourne. Peter started his career in industry as a software engineer, he was inspired by the opportunities and challenges provided by the genomics revolution to switch career direction and apply his computing and analytic skills to cancer research. Peter is passionate about the possibilities of genomic data for improving our understanding, diagnosis and treatment of cancer. His research is currently focused on developing and applying computational methods for classifying and understanding the aetiology of colorectal cancer.

Dr Kate Hodgson
Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology
Nasal High-Flow Therapy during Neonatal Endotracheal Intubation
Winner of the Student Clinician Scientist category

Kate is a neonatologist at the Royal Women’s Hospital and PIPER (Paediatric Infant Perinatal Emergency Retrieval) at the Royal Children’s Hospital. She has recently completed her PhD focusing on the SHINE trial, using nasal high-flow to support neonatal endotracheal intubation, the placement of a breathing tube. Her ongoing research interests include improving neonatal intubation safety, exploring alternative methods of airway support in neonates and optimising delivery room stabilisation of preterm infants.