The Australian Museum (AM) has announced the 55 finalists selected for Australia's leading science awards, the 2024 Australian Museum Eureka Prizes. The AM Eureka Prizes are the nation's premier science awards, offering $180,000 in prize money across a broad spectrum of science, from environment to innovative technologies, citizen science, leadership and mentoring.
Australian Infectious Diseases Research Centre Eureka Prize for Infectious Diseases Research finalists:
- Beating Buruli Team, Doherty Institute, University of Melbourne
- For 80 years, the way people contracted the neglected tropical skin disease Buruli ulcer has remained a mystery. Now researchers have established that mosquitoes spread Buruli to humans. The Beating Buruli Team's extensive fieldwork and use of advanced genomic methods have opened the door to effective public health interventions and disease control.
- Watch the video here
- Epidemiological Modelling Unit, Monash University
- This research team has developed computational systems that provide real-time, data-informed modelling to forecast disease spread and inform public health responses. Drawing on a range of disciplines, the Epidemiological Modelling Unit's insights provide evidence to influence health policy and emergency decision-making and have supported COVID-19 management across the Asia-Pacific region.
- Watch the video here
- StrepA Outbreak Prevention Team, University of Queensland; University of Melbourne; CONACYT; and University of Wollongong
- StrepA bacteria - responsible for common throat infections - are also a major cause of childhood diseases such as scarlet fever and septicaemia which contribute to child deaths globally. Responding to a post-COVID-19 infection surge, researchers from the StrepA Outbreak Prevention Team are tracking disease spread to mitigate clinical impact and leading efforts to develop a much-needed vaccine.
- Watch the video here
Read more about the AM Eureka Prize
The 2024 Eureka Prize Award Ceremony will be held on the 4th of September at Sydney Town Hall. Register for the live stream here.
