Kirk Lab: Awards and Previous Members

Lab awards

2019

  • Adelaide Dennis (PhD student)
    • Research School of Biology best PhD thesis and ANU J G Crawford Prize finalist (2018)

2017

  • Kiaran Kirk
    • Elected to the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences
  • Adelaide Dennis (PhD student)
    • Best short (5 min) talk at the annual meeting of the Australian Society for Parasitology

2016

  • Adele Lehane (DECRA Fellow)
    • Best Talk by an Early Career Researcher at the International Congress for Tropical Medicine and Malaria

    2015

    • Adele Lehane (Postdoctoral Fellow)
      • Australian Research Council (ARC) Discovery Early Career Award (DECRA)
    • Adelaide Dennis (PhD student)
      • Selected to play for the Australian Women's team 'the Firetails' at the World Ultimate [Frisbee] Championships in London (June, 2016) [Not really a lab award, but exciting nonetheless]

    2014

    • Esther Rajendran (PhD student)
      • 'Student talk' award at the 50th anniversary annual meeting of the Australian Society for Parasitology.

    2013

    • Esther Rajendran (PhD student)
      • Selected as one of 16 international students to participate in Woods Hole Biology of Parasitism course.
    • Natalie Spillman (Postdoc)
      • NHMRC Overseas Biomedical Fellowship. 

    2012

    • Natalie Spillman (Postdoc)
      •  American-Australian Association Fellowship.

    2011

    • Natalie Spillman (PhD student)
      • Australian Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Fellowship and Collins Bursary for travel overseas.
    • Christina Spry (Postdoc)
      • NHMRC Overseas Biomedical Fellowship.

    2010

    • Richard Allen (Postdoc)
      • NHMRC Australian Biomedical Fellowship.

    2009

    • Adele Lehane (PhD student)
      • NHMRC Overseas Biomedical Fellowship.
      • Selected by the Australian Academy of Science to represent Australia at the 59th meeting of Nobel Laureates (together with early-career researchers) in Lindau, Germany.
    • Natalie Spillman (PhD student)
      • Selected as one of 16 international students to participate in Woods Hole Biology of Parasitism course.

    2008

    • Adele Lehane (PhD student)
      • Australian Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Fellowship and the Society’s President Award (for the top-ranked Fellowship awardee) for travel overseas.
      • Australian Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology’s Mannatech Award for Modern Metabolic Biochemistry, for the paper: Feedback inhibition of pantothenate kinase regulates pantothenol uptake by the malaria parasite (2007) J. Biol. Chem. 282, 25395-25405 by Lehane, A.M., Marchetti, R.V., Spry, C., van Schalkwyk, D.A., Teng, R., Kirk, K. and Saliba K.J.
      • Early Career Researcher Poster Prize at the Molecular Approaches to Malaria meeting, Lorne, Australia.
      • Runner-up for the ‘student talk’ award at the annual meeting of the Australian Society for Parasitology and the ARC/NHMRC Parasitology Network.
    • Natalie Spillman (PhD student)
      • Student Oral/Poster Prize at the annual meeting of the Australian Society for Parasitology and the ARC/NHMRC Parasitology Network.
    • Robert Summers (Hons student)
      • ANU University Medal in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.

    2007

    • Simon Cobbold (PhD student)
      • Student Poster Prize at the annual meeting of the Australian Society for Parasitology and the ARC/NHMRC Parasitology Network.
    • Adele Lehane (PhD student)
      • Australian Society for Medical Research Award for travel within Australia.
      • Selected as one of 16 international students to participate in Woods Hole Biology of Parasitism course.
    • Rowena Martin (Research Officer)
      • NHMRC Australian Biomedical Fellowship.
      • Early Career Researcher Prize for best talk at the annual meeting of the Australian Society for Parasitology and the ARC/NHMRC Parasitology Network.

    2005

    • Richard Allen (PhD student)
      • Australian Society for Medical Research Award for travel overseas.

    2004

    • Roselani Henry (PhD student)
      • Australian Bicentennial Scholarship for travel to the UK.

    2003

    • Richard Allen (PhD student)
      • Australian Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Fellowship for travel overseas.

    2001

    • Rowena Martin (PhD student)
      • Australian Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Student Poster Prize at the annual ‘Combined Biology Society’ (ComBio) meeting.

    Previous Kirk Lab members

    • Markus Winterberg (Postdoc 2009-2014;  Lab Head, MORU, Faculty of Tropical Medicine, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand) 
    • Natalie Spillman (PhD 2012;  APS, Canberra)
    • Christina Spry (Postdoc 2010-2011; Research Officer, Research School of Biology, ANU)
    • Simon Cobbold (PhD 2011; Research Officer, Department of Biochemistry, University of Melbourne)
    • Rongwei Teng (Postdoc 2005-2008; Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority, Canberra)
    • Pauline Junankar (Research Officer 1997-2009; retired)
    • Megan Downie (PhD 2006; APS, Canberra)
    • Roselani Henry (PhD 2006; GP, Cairns)
    • Rhys Hayward (PhD 2005; APS, Canberra)
    • Rowena Martin (PhD 2005)
    • Lisa Alleva (Postdoc 1999-2001; ACT Department of Health, Canberra)
    • Kevin Saliba (Postdoc 1997-2005;  Professor, Research School of Biology, ANU)
    • Amanda Nourse (Postdoc 1997-2000)
    • Ari Karjalainen (Postdoc 1997-2000; Scientific Officer, Toxicologist, at the European Chemicals Agency in Helsinki, Finland)
    • Henry Staines (DPhil 1997; Research Fellow, St George's Hospital, London, UK)
    • James Bursell (DPhil 1996; Consultant Paediatrician, Milton Keynes General Hospital, Milton Keynes, UK)
    • James Hall (DPhil 1996;  CEO, Athera Biotechnologies)
    • Rachel Lewis (Research Assistant 1994-1995; Consultant Paediatrician, New York, USA)
    • Heather Horner (Research Assistant 1993-1996; retired).