In brief: Medical Forum’s monthly round up of people in Western Australia making health care headlines.
UWA PhD student Synat Keam, 32, a medical researcher from UWA’s National Centre for Asbestos Related Diseases has been awarded the Douglas Peter Swift Scholarship for his work exploring immunotherapy and radiotherapy combination treatments of mesothelioma. A/Professor Alistair Cook will supervise Mr Keam’s research.
Queensland rural GP Dr Sarah Chalmers is ACRRM’s new president, taking over from Dr Ewen McPhee, who said he was proud to be handing the baton to an ACRRM-trained rural generalist.
C/Professor Alan James has been awarded the Thoracic Society of Australia & New Zealand Research Medal for 2020. The SCGH research clinician has been acknowledged for his decades-long work in asthma research. He is also chair of the Busselton Health Study.
Dr Andrew Miller has been re-elected AMA WA president while its immediate past president Dr Omar Khorshid has been elected as national AMA president. In its first ever board election, AMA WA announced that members for 2020-23 are: Dr Megge Beacroft, Dr Michael Gannon, Dr Katharine Noonan, Dr Michael Page and Dr Marcus Tan. Thanks were offered to outgoing board members A/Prof Rosanna Capolingua, A/Prof David Mountain and Dr Simon Torvaldsen.
Leading global expert on infectious diseases Emeritus Professor Michael Alpers, from Curtin University, is the 2020 recipient of the Australian and New Zealand Association for the Advancement of Science (ANZAAS) Medal. Professor Alpers’ pioneering research into the rare brain disease kuru while living in PNG paved the way for a new field of human medicine and included the important discovery of infectious proteins now known as prions.