Professor Carola Vinuesa from the Australian National University has been awarded the inaugural CSL Young Florey Medal for her research into how the immune system produces antibodies to fight disease.
The CSL Young Florey Medal is awarded to an Australian biomedical researcher for significant early career achievements in biomedical science and/or human health advancement for research conducted primarily in Australia. In addition to the bronze medal, the award currently carries a prize of $25,000 due to the generous support of CSL Limited. The announcement was made at the Annual AAMRI dinner at Parliament House in Canberra on the 27th of October 2014.
Professor Vinuesa’s work aims to unravel the complex interaction of cells and molecules that regulate the production of potent, long-lasting immunity, and to identify genetic abnormalities that interfere with this process and may contribute to the development of autoimmunity in humans. Her work has led to the discovery of genes important for immune regulation and is paving the way for the development of new drugs to fight autoimmune diseases such as lupus, juvenile diabetes and certain cancers.