Medal and course winners
These medals and prizes are awarded to the overall top performing student from each course.
Close
These medals and prizes are awarded to the overall top performing student from each course.
This medal is awarded to students across the University who have fulfilled the requirements of the Doctor of Philosophy, met an overall level of excellence, and whose work has been judged as the doctoral thesis for that year. This award is proudly supported by Monash University.
Wessel received his PhD in 2022 from the Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, where he worked under the guidance of Dr David Thal, Dr Celine Valant and Professor Arthur Christopoulos.
His doctoral research focused on investigating the regulation of muscarinic acetylcholine receptors by a novel class of compounds, allosteric modulators, using a combination of biochemistry, pharmacology, and structural biology techniques. By exploring the mechanism of action of these allosteric modulators, Wessel's research provided valuable insights into the regulation of receptor behaviour and has the potential to advance the development of effective allosteric modulator therapeutics.
Following the successful completion of his PhD, Wessel secured a postdoctoral research position at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research. There, he will continue to expand his research acumen and investigate G protein-coupled receptors involved in cell signalling pathways that are often dysregulated in many human cancers.
"I am honoured to receive the prestigious Mollie Holman Award for my doctoral thesis. I would like to thank my supervisors, colleagues, friends and family for their unwavering support, mentorship and encouragement. Their efforts, and my experiences at MIPS, has left me with a truly rewarding PhD experience."
This medal recognises the student who has achieved the highest score across all units of their pharmacy degree. The Pharmacy Gold Medal winner also receives the Neil Naismith Award. These awards are proudly supported by the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia (Victorian Branch), the Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences and Therapeutic Guidelines Limited.
Sin Yee Looi is currently undertaking her internship with Chemist Warehouse and pursuing Master of Pharmacy degree at Monash University.
Throughout the pharmacy course, she was excited to learn about the various disease states, pharmacology and medication management for each health condition. At workshops, Sin Yee is always thrilled to problem-solve and create patient-centred medication management plans for any given case scenario. In particular, she is interested in infectious conditions and the range of antimicrobials available to treat them. This year, she is eager to apply her knowledge into practice in the community setting with various opportunities in dispensing, patient education, primary healthcare advice, professional health services and many more.
Moving forward, Sin Yee has yet to set any particular pharmacy practice area in mind and is keen to explore various areas of practice, including community pharmacy, compounding pharmacy and hospital pharmacy. She is explorative and would like to take on any opportunities available to her.
“It is truly an honour to receive this award. I am sincerely thankful for the exceptional learning environment and opportunities provided by Monash. I would also like to dedicate this achievement to my family, friends and colleagues who have supported me throughout my journey."
This medal recognises the student who has achieved the highest score across all units of their pharmaceutical science degree. This award is proudly supported by the Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences.
Thuy's interest in chemistry and biology, along with her curiosity about drug mechanisms, led her to undertake a course in pharmaceutical science at Monash Parkville. Through her studies, she acquired essential technical knowledge and skills. Participating in multiple research projects at the Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences (MIPS) exposed her to world-leading scientists and cutting-edge research. Equipped with this foundation, Thuy is prepared to contribute to the field and hopes to make a significant impact on improving human health through the development of innovative therapies.
Thuy is currently an Honours student in the Johnston group at MIPS. Her research project focuses on the directed evolution of proteins. Specifically, she is investigating a gene editing system that enables targeted mutations in DNA regions within mammalian cells. The work in her project can be used to evolve therapeutic proteins tailored for specific purposes in drug discovery and development.
"It’s never too late to pursue your dream. Believe in yourself and believe that you can do it."
This prize is awarded to the pharmaceutical sciences student with the highest honours mark. This award is proudly supported by Shimadzu.
Joel is an aspiring scientist with a great passion for cancer research. Grounded by his Christian faith, he has always desired to help those around him. His encounters with passionate science teachers, his overall love for research paired with his desire to help those in need consolidated his decision to pursue a career in cancer research. He saw that the Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences offered many opportunities to pursue this path and enrolled.
During his second year of university, he achieved a Cancer Council summer scholarship, conducting research within Professor Alastair Stewart’s lab at the University of Melbourne to investigate the relationship between cancer patient survival and biomolecules that exhibit mechanosensitive properties.
During his honours year, he conducted his research component within Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre under Associate Professor Paul Beavis with co-supervision from Professor Colin Pouton from the faculty. His honours research involved using a genetic engineering tool called CRISPR activation, which allows for inducible gene expression.
Joel has recently attained a scholarship from the University of Melbourne to conduct his Doctor of Philosophy in the Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health sciences within Associate Professor Paul Beavis’ lab. His future goal is to one day, translate his research into a clinically relevant cure.
"My faith in God has taught me from a young age that we are purposed for extraordinary things. While I’m not quite there yet, I believe that one day I will be. Pursue what’s in your heart with passion and you’ll see the fruits of your labour."
This prize recognises outstanding performance in the Monash Intern Training Program. This award is proudly supported by Pharmaceutical Defence Limited.
Elka Waller always had a strong interest in health sciences and was keen to pursue a career in public health. She moved from Launceston to Melbourne to complete her studies at Monash University. In 2021, after completing her Bachelor of Pharmacy (Honours)/Master of Pharmacy, she went on to complete the Monash University Intern Training Program and Internship Foundation Program to further consolidate her theoretical knowledge.
With a strong desire to pursue clinical pharmacy, Elka was offered the opportunity to complete her internship at The Royal Melbourne Hospital. This opportunity provided her a fantastic, yet challenging environment to hone her clinical knowledge and find her niche within a highly experienced multidisciplinary team. She continues working as a clinical pharmacist at The Royal Melbourne Hospital, currently working at the Royal Park Rehabilitation Campus, which allowed her to continue expanding her knowledge of aged care pharmacy.
As she continues to develop her practice, Elka is seeking opportunities to help shape the next generation of practitioners and share her experiences through the supervision of pharmacy students and interns. She also plans to pursue a PhD with Monash University to further expand the depth of her understanding of the profession.
“A pharmacist holds a unique place in a patient's care journey. You are a provider of trusted information and can have a positive impact on their lives with each interaction. This is a privilege I hope never to overlook and strive to approach each encounter with open-mindedness and respect.”
This prize recognises the student with the highest marks across all units of the Master of Clinical Pharmacy. This award is proudly supported by Pharmacy Guild of Australia.
Stephanie Gibson has been a hospital clinical pharmacist since her internship in 2010. She has specialised as the Senior General Medicine pharmacist at Eastern Health from 2017-23, managing the general medicine clinical pharmacy service, leading and contributing to expansion of services and the pharmacist role within the multi-disciplinary team. During this time she developed her interest in medication management and evidence-based care in older adults. Recently she has pursued this passion and is now the Geriatric Medicine and Rehabilitation pharmacy team leader at Monash Health.
As part of her Master of Clinical Pharmacy course, in conjunction with a Dementia Australia Research Fellowship, Stephanie completed her research project focused on opioid safety. This research utilised data linkage methods to assess the potential association between opioid prescription at hospital discharge and rehospitalisation or death in people with dementia.
Post completion of her Masters, Stephanie plans to continue her association with Monash University and the Centre for Medicine Use and Safety to contribute to the future of the pharmacy profession, and translational research for evidence-based care.
"Completing my Master of Clinical Pharmacy has enhanced my ability to provide comprehensive, evidence-based care to my patients. The clinical, professional and research skills I have gained will support future endeavours to improve patient outcomes and contribute to the development of the pharmacy profession."