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» About » Ralph Slatyer MedalRalph Slatyer Medal
The Research School of Biology established the Ralph Slatyer medal for outstanding research in the field of biology, including biomedical science, in honour of emeritus Professor Ralph Slatyer AO, FAA, FRS. Professor Slatyer was a distinguished scientist, a former Director of the RSB and the first Chief Scientist of Australia (1989 – 1992).
- Professor Jennifer Martin is recognised internationally for her pioneering research in protein crystallography, a branch of structural biology that seeks to understand how biological machines operate. She studies disease-causing proteins in order to design new drugs to combat disease.
- Professor Belinda Medlyn's work focuses on translating information from plant and ecosystem scale experiments to develop models predicting vegetation function, particularly vegetation responses to elevated carbon dioxide, rising temperature and drought.
- Professor Edward Holmes is known for his work on the evolution and emergence of infectious diseases, particularly the mechanisms by which RNA viruses jump species boundaries to emerge in humans and other animals.
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The medal is awarded annually, to a person who has made an outstanding contribution to biological science and is an Australian citizen, or Australian resident, or whose work has significant relevant to Australia. It may be awarded for either a major discovery or for a lifetime’s achievement.
The medal was designed by Steven Holland, who was Artist in Residence at RSB, in 2015, under the ANU Vice-Chancellor’s College Artist Fellowship Scheme.
The design features Snow Gum (Eucalyptus pauciflora) leaves collected from the Snowy Mountains, both tree and location having special meaning to Professor Slatyer.
The centre of the design represents the sun, and the inner wavy lines represent plant-water relations and photosynthesis.
Recipients
2022 - Professor Belinda Medlyn, Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, Western Sydney University
2021 - Professor Edward Holmes, University of Sydney, Institute for Infectious disease
2020 - Professor Jane Elith, University of Melbourne School of Botany
2019 - Professor Geoff McFadden, University of Melbourne School of Biosciences
2018 - Professor Rana Munns, CSIRO and the University of Western Australia
2017 - Professor Mark Westoby, Macquarie University
