Recipients of the 2010 Australian Prime Minister's Prizes for Science. (November 18, 2010)

The five Prime Minister's Prizes for Science were presented last night by the Prime Minister, Julia Gillard and the Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research, Senator Kim Carr at the Prize Dinner in the Great Hall of Parliament House.

The Prime Minister’s Prize for Science comprises a solid gold medallion and a cash prize of $300,000.  It recognises outstanding achievement by an Australian in science and technology which promotes human welfare. It is awarded to Professor John Shine for discovering "the importance of a brief sequence of genetic code - GGAGG - which tell ribosomes, the protein factories in all living things, to start making a protein".

Research highlights
Discovery of the Shine-Dalgarno sequence and the basic mechanism of initiation and termination of protein synthesis
Development of gene cloning technology
The first to clone a human hormone gene and isolation and cloning of genes for insulin and growth hormone
Creation of a series of gene cloning and expression tools that underpinned the growth of the biotechnology industry and the creation of a new era of drugs
A series of discoveries of the genes responsible for important neuropeptides and neurotransmitters.

Professor John Shine -- Click Here

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The Science Minister’s Prize for Life Scientist of $50,000 and a silver medallion is awarded to Dr Benjamin Kile for unravelling the secrets of blood in a series of discoveries at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute for Medical Research in Melbourne.

Research highlights
Conducted the first large-scale recessive mutagenesis screen in the mouse: re-engineered classic gene screening techniques and showed how they could be used to screen large sections of the mouse genome to determine what the genes were doing
Uncovered the role of ERG - a gene long-known to be associated with cancer. Showed ERG is required for definitive hematopoiesis, adult hematopoietic stem cell function and the maintenance of normal peripheral blood platelet numbers
Discovered the molecular clock that determines the lifespan of platelets.

Dr Benjamin Kile -- Click Here

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The Malcolm McIntosh Prize for Physical Scientist of $50,000 and a silver medallion is awarded to Dr Katherine Trinajstic, Curtin Research Fellow, Western Australian Organic Isotope Geochemistry Centre, Department of Chemistry, Curtin University of Technology, Perth for her early career achievements in palaeontology.

Research highlights
Re-evaluated Gogo fossils showing that many fossils thought to be new species were in fact variants of existing species
Discovered fossils of primitive sharks and jawless fish in the Canning Basin of WA
Co-discovered the oldest vertebrate fossil muscle tissue
Co-discovered the earliest vertebrate fossil embryos
First use of synchrotron imaging and CT scanning techniques in fossil analysis of Gogo fish.

Dr Katherine Trinajstic -- Click Here

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The Prime Minister’s Prize for Excellence in Science Teaching in Primary Schools of $50,000 and a silver medallion is awarded to Dr Matthew M^cCloskey, Director of Studies, Sydney Grammar Edgecliff Preparatory School for his leadership in primary science teaching. His citation states he: is in the vanguard of the renaissance of primary science teaching in Australia - bringing real science experiments back into the classroom, building on his own experience as a research scientist and zoologist; he and a colleague teach science to every student from kindergarten to Year six at least once a week. He has learnt what it takes to deliver a great science class, and he is sharing this in his writing for the national science curriculum and in his support of his peers.

Dr Matthew M^cCloskey -- Click Here

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The Prime Minister's Prize for Excellence in Science Teaching in Secondary Schools of $50,000 and a silver medallion is awarded to Debra Smith, Head of Science Department, Centenary State High School, Brisbane For her contribution toward increasing the uptake of science in schools. Her citation reads: Over thirty years of teaching, Debra Smith has not only inspired thousands of students, she has helped redefine how science is taught in Queensland and across Australia. She believes that science teaching has to be practical and experimental. She’s brought that approach to her own chemistry classes at Centenary High School in western Brisbane, and also to the development of extended experimental learning in senior teaching in Queensland.

Debra Smith -- Click Here

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For more detailed information go to https://grants.innovation.gov.au/SciencePrize/Pages/PrizeWinners.aspx