Inaugural Jacques Miller Medal awarded to Monash researcher
Professor Michael Cowley
Monash University Professor Michael Cowley has won the 2015 Inaugural Jacques Miller Medal for Experimental Biomedicine.
Professor Cowley, Director of the Monash Obesity and Diabetes Institute (MODI), was today announced as the winner by the Australian Academy of Science.
The Jacques Miller Medal recognises research of the highest standing in the field of experimental biomedicine. It honours the contributions made to science by Professor Jacques Francis Albert Pierre Miller AC FRS FAA that include the discovery of the function of the thymus and the identification, in mammalian species of the two major subsets of lymphocytes and their function.
Professor Cowley leads a global effort to find new diabetes drugs. In 2001, he discovered how the body informs the brain about how much body fat we have, and how much sugar there is in our blood. Through his understanding of these pathways in the brain he has devised new drugs to treat obesity, and he has recently discovered why obesity causes high blood pressure. He has received several awards for his research.
Professor Cowley said: “ I am very honoured to receive an award named after Professor Miller, who is a giant in Australian medical research.”
Professor Cowley said he was grateful for the support of Monash University, NHMRC, VESKI, Pfizer and The National Heart Foundation.
The winners will formally receive their awards in May next year at the Academy’s annual three-day celebration of Australian Science, Science at the Shine Dome in Canberra.