A statistician working towards helping researchers understand the causes of cancer and other diseases has been awarded Australia's prestigious Prime Minister's Prize for Science.
Professor Terry Speed applies statistics to determine problems in genetics and molecular biology. His work also involves working out the differences between normal and cancer cells.
He says while his research may not ultimately find a cancer cure, it will progress the way cancer is managed.
“What sort of cancer have you got, it could be what is the right treatment for you, it could be how is the treatment working, it could be to try and design new drugs. So all of our work goes into that. It is not simply a cure, because cure sounds like we've got the disease and we want to give you a magic bullet and it'll go away. Cancer is a many faceted topic and we contribute to most of the facets."
The Prime Minister’s Prize is Australia’s pre-eminent award for excellence in science. The 2012 prize was awarded to Professor Ken Freeman for his work in astronomy.
Recipients of the 2013 Prime Minister’s Prizes for Science are:
Professor Terry Speed – Prime Minister’s Prize for Science
Associate Professor Angela Moles – Frank Fenner Prize, Life Scientist of the Year
Associate Professor Andrea Morello – McIntosh Prize, Physical Scientist of the Year
Richard Johnson – Prime Minister’s Prize for Excellence in Science Teaching (Primary Schools)
Sarah Chapman – Prime Minister’s Prize for Excellence in Science Teaching (Secondary Schools)