Infectious pair wins Researcher of the Year award

Ground-breaking work on drug-resistant superbugs has won the region’s highest honour for researchers.
Deakin University doctors Fred Pfeffer and Luke Henderson accepted the G-Force Recruitment Researcher of the Year Award at a presentation dinner in Geelong on Saturday night.
The cream of the region’s researchers joined a raft of sponsors at the event to celebrate Geelong’s growing reputation as a centre of scientific and education excellence.
Winners shared in a prize pool of $50,000 in research grants.
The winning work of doctors Pfeffer and Henderson sought alternative treatments to defeat antibiotic-resistant superbugs, which are taking a tragic toll on patients as they run ever more rampant through hospitals around the world.
Dr Pfeffer warned that the bugs were now spreading their wings.
“Superbugs are actually emerging outside of hospitals (as) infections that are resistant to treatment,” he said.
Dr Henderson was rapt with the award, labelling it “pretty cool”.
The awards serve as a precursor to a week-long calendar of events for an annual Geelong Network Research and Innovation Expo.
Barwon Health chief Sue De Gilio, who chairs awards organiser Smart Geelong Network, noted that this year’s finalists included “a number” of international researchers presently based at institutions around the city.
“The quality of the research is very high, much of which is gaining national and international recognition,” she said.
Category winners were: CSIRO AAHL Animal Health Award, Dr David Cummins; Barwon Health Population, Health and Lifestyle Award, Lana Williams, Deakin University Early Researcher Award, Sugmar Dharmalingam; Geelong Chamber of Commerce Smart Technology Award, Dr Tong Lin; TAC Safer Communities Award, Dr Darren Palmer; Gordon Institute of TAFE Teaching and Learning Award, Professor Alister Ward, City of Greater Geelong Save The Planet Award, Dr Fredrick Ochanda; Shell Refinery Biotechnology Award, Dr Fred Pfeffer and Dr Luke Henderson; BioGeelong Highly Commended Award, Dr Darren Palmer and Dr Peter Miller.
The Independent is a sponsor of the awards.