02 9541 3500Encouragement award winners March 2025
ATA Scientific would like to thank all those that participated in our March 2025 Encouragement Award promotion.
Our latest competition asked students whether we should impose restrictions on social media organisations. Although social media has the potential to provide many personal and business benefits, it can also allow abusers to cause considerable harm including bullying and misinformation. Any self-censorship social media companies had to reduce harm, now seem to be abandoned with governments considering imposing harm limitation measures such as banning access to children under 16. We asked students to discuss how we should respond to social media giants and whether government should shut them down to send a message to others.
CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR 3 WINNERS!
Three entries were selected to receive our award– first prize at $1500 and 2 runners up at $750 each.
Congratulations to Dr Marion Turpin, a grant-funded researcher from the Molecular Epigenetics laboratory, within the South Australian immunoGenomics Institute (SAiGENCI) and the Adelaide Centre for Epigenetics (ACE), located within The University of Adelaide.
Under the supervision of Dr Luke Isbel, Marion is focusing on the role of gene regulation throughout mammalian evolution. Although all the cells of our body share the same genome, every cell express different genes, where the big question is how the information in DNA gets selectively read out. In fact, this specificity relies on DNA binding proteins called transcription factors, which we know are able to drive distinct gene expression programs. However, the molecular interplay between the genome and transcription factors is still not fully understood. Marion is addressing this question using a critically important tumour suppressor protein, the transcription factor p53. She is taking advantage of a unique relationship of p53 and key cofactor proteins, using a range of cutting-edge molecular techniques as well as stem cell models across species.
“This award will support my attendance to the Australasian Society for Stem Cells Research (ASSCR) 2025 Annual Scientific Meeting held in the Gold Coast in November this year”, says Marion.
“I am immensely grateful for the opportunity ATA Scientific has given me through this award, as it will be fantastic opportunity for me to present my post-doctoral work, link with collaborators attending the conference and engage with the Australasian stem cell research community. “
Congratulations to Casey Toft, PhD candidate at James Cook University in Townsville conducting research under the supervision of Associate Professor Patrick Schaeffer.
Casey’s project evaluated the analytical sensitivity of rapid antigen tests (RATs) in Australia and Canada during the COVID-19 pandemic and laid out the foundations for a next-generation influenza and coronavirus RAT technology that is mutation-resilient. His research interests concern DNA and RNA-binding proteins and their biotechnological applications.
“I have just submitted my doctoral thesis for external review,” Casey says. “I am currently exploring potential post-doctoral research opportunities in Europe and the awarded funds will go towards travel costs”.
Cassey plans to spend the award to cover some of the expenses to travel to Europe to explore potential post-doc positions.
Congratulations to Nicholas Bariesheff, final year PhD Candidate in the Clear Vision Research Group at the John Curtin School of Medical Research at the Australian National University, working under the supervision of Dr Jereme Spiers. His research investigates the molecular mechanisms of aging in the mouse retina, as well as the protective effects of physical exercise on retinal aging. More specifically, Nicholas is exploring novel molecular targets that are dysregulated in the retina during aging that overall leads to vision loss, potentially providing an avenue for therapeutic discovery.
“I am incredibly grateful to ATA Scientific for this generous award, which will help fund my travel to the Retinal Degeneration 2025 conference in Prague. Opportunities like this are invaluable for early-career researchers like myself, as they provide the chance to connect with internationally renowned scientists and foster meaningful collaborations. At this stage of my PhD, my passion for both scientific research and academic teaching has never been stronger. I am especially excited to network with leading researchers and academics at the conference, with the goal of securing an international research position following my PhD” said Nicholas.
We would like to thank all those that participated. The next Encouragement Award will be posted on our website soon.
For more information or to stay informed of other upcoming promotions please ‘Like us” on Facebook or contact us.