GENE Awards shine spotlight on life sciences industry

More than 80 life science professionals from across the globe attended the GENE Awards on Friday night at the State Library of Queensland to celebrate the life science industry and its outstanding leaders as part of Queensland’s Bio Innovation Week.Sponsored by QIMR Berghofer, the coveted Life Sciences Women of Influence Award was presented to Acting Director and Principal Research Leader at the Griffith Institute for Drug Discovery, Professor Katherine Andrews, in recognition of her malaria prevention research and treatment.The Rose-Anne Kelso Commemorative Award, supported by Stockwell, was also presented to a leading female in the field, Dr Priyakshi Kalita-de Croft, for her research on stage IV breast cancers at The University of Queensland Centre for Clinical Research, including brain metastasis and triple-negative breast cancer.Life Sciences Queensland (LSQ) CEO and event coordinator Clare Blain said the awards program had enjoyed growing success since its inception in 2009.“It’s been fantastic to see bioscience advocates and leaders from Australia, North America, Europe, Asia and Canada come together for the industry’s night of nights,” she said.“We received close to 30 nominations and we were thrilled to present awards to such deserving and well-respected industry professionals. It was particularly encouraging to see women at the forefront of the industry.“We look forward to seeing what their futures in the life sciences will bring.”The third and final McCullough Robertson LSQ Industry Excellence Award was jointly presented to Gabrielle McKee and Russell Neal for their demonstrated impact at Clinical Network Services through expedited clinical program delivery.The GENE Awards marked the closing of Bio Innovation Week, a series of coordinated events that were held across Queensland, showcasing the role of life science innovation and its contribution to the wellbeing of our state.The GENE Awards and Bio Innovation Week were delivered by Life Sciences Queensland in partnership with Bioenergy Australia.