About the Florey Medal

 

The Florey Medal is awarded biennially to an Australian biomedical researcher for significant achievements in biomedical science and human health advancement. In addition to the silver medal, the award carries a prize of $25,000.

 

This prestigious award was established in 1998 by the Australian Institute of Policy and Science in honour of the Australian Nobel Prize-winning scientist, Sir Howard Florey, who developed penicillin. The Florey Medal forms part of the Tall Poppy Campaign which aims to recognise and promote scientific and intellectual excellence in Australia.

 

In 2009 the Florey Medal was sponsored by CSL Limited and awarded to Professor John Hopwood. 

 

Nominations for the 2011 CSL Flory Medal will be open in early 2011.

 

Previous Florey Medal winners include:

 

2006 – Professor Ian Frazer

Research towards the development of vaccines against Human Papillomaviruses including cervical cancer and genital warts.

 

2004 – Professor Peter Colman

Structural biology research, particularly for the discovery of a new class of anti-influenza drug.

 

2002 – Professor Colin Masters

Work relating to Alzheimer’ disease.

 

2000 – Professor Jacques Miller

Discovery of the function of the thymus.

 

1998 – Dr Robin Warren and Professor Barry Marshall

Discovery of the bacterium Helicobacter pylori and its role in gastritis and peptic ulcer disease.

 

The medal

 

The 2009 CSL Florey Medal was hand sculpted by Michael Meszaros. Michael has lived as a sculptor in Melbourne for 37 years, producing a wide range of work ranging from major public pieces to his speciality of medals. He learned this from his father Andor, also a sculptor and medallist of international reputation.

 

This work is closely based on a portrait medal Andor made when Sir Howard Florey sat for him in 1963, commissioned by the Florey Institute at Melbourne University. Michael met Sir Howard at the time. Using Andor’s original as a guide, Michael has remodelled it in this size, adding a different inscription, designing a reverse and casting it in bright sterling silver.