2025 Australian Academy of Science Awards

07 April 2025

Jacques Miller Medal

Professor James Hudson, QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute

Professor James Hudson is a rising star of Australian health and medical science who has already made a significant impact in translational medical science, and looks set to continue to do so into the future. Professor Hudson was awarded his PhD in 2011, and most of his research has been conducted in Australia. He is engaged in stem cell and organoid research with a clear translational focus. Professor Hudson sits at the very top of the highest rank of the next generation of Australian medical researchers. Evidence for this assessment is manifold, and includes such things as the quality and impact of his publications, recognition through awards and prizes, invitations to present at leading international meetings, the clear clinical and commercial potential of his discoveries, and his demonstrated capacity for leadership.

Gottschalk Medal

Associate Professor Shom Goel, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre

Associate Professor Shom Goel is an oncologist and scientist at the University of Melbourne and Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre. Over recent years, his laboratory research has sought to identify and understand treatments that block cancer cell division, with a focus on breast cancer. Through this work, he has made seminal discoveries that have changed the way we think about cancer cell division, cancer immunology, and cancer epigenetics. Importantly, these findings have led Associate Professor Goel to design novel therapeutic approaches for breast cancer and spearhead the translation of his findings into the clinic. The encouraging results from initial trials have triggered him to initiate two global studies that could change breast cancer treatment paradigms within the next 12 months. Importantly, the most recent lab discoveries from the Goel lab have further advanced thinking in this field and are driving the development of yet another generation of novel cancer therapies.