Congratulations to all the ASCEPT awardees at the ASCEPT-Hypertension Australia Joint Scientific Meeting. Read below to find out who won and why!
ASCEPT Fellowship
ASCEPT Fellowship is the highest honour bestowed upon a member of our society and is granted to members who have made a significant contribution or distinguished service to ASCEPT and have provided distinguished service to the advancement of pharmacology and toxicology research and/or education and/or outreach. In 2025, we welcome four ASCEPT Fellows:
- Professor Sarah Hilmer, Royal North Shore Hospital & The University of Sydney
- Professor Carl Kirkpatrick, Monash University
- Professor Andrew McLachlan, The University of Sydney
- Professor Peter Molenaar, The University of Queensland
ASCEPT Michael Rand Medal
Announced earlier in 2025, the ASCEPT Michael Rand Medal was established in memory of Professor Michael Rand, a founding member of the Society and is awarded biennially to a member of ASCEPT whose research has made an outstanding contribution to the disciplines of clinical and experimental pharmacology or toxicology nationally and internationally. Presented to:
Professor Grant Drummond, La Trobe University
ASCEPT Achievement Award
Awarded to someone who is recognised for substantial scientific or service contributions to ASCEPT and who has shown leadership in the advancement and promotion of Pharmacology or Toxicology. Presented to:
Professor Owen Woodman, Monash University. Professor Woodman was recognised for his seminal contributions to cardiovascular pharmacology and for his long-standing leadership and service to ASCEPT.
ASCEPT Elizabeth Davis Teaching Excellence Award
Named in memory of the highly respected pharmacology educator Associate Professor Elizabeth Davis and is awarded to someone recognised for their contribution to education. Presented to:
Dr Anna-Marie Babey, University of New England. Dr Babey was recognised for transforming pharmacology learning through tailored teaching for diverse regional students and for her leadership in global core-concepts education.
ASCEPT-Australian Medicines Handbook Felix Bochner Award
Established in honour of Emeritus Professor Felix Bochner, a distinguished Clinical Pharmacologist and leader in Australasian clinical pharmacology. Awarded to a mid-career leader to support activities that enhance their professional development. The award is sponsored by the Australian Medicines Handbook. Presented to
Dr Mouna Sawan, The University of Sydney. Dr Sawan is recognised for her innovative, co-designed research improving medication safety for people with dementia and her strong leadership as an emerging expert in the field.
ASCEPT Tony Smith Quality Use of Medicines Prize
Established in memory of Emeritus Professor Tony Smith, a renowned Clinical Pharmacologist and world leader in Quality Use of Medicines. Awarded to the best oral presentation on Quality Use of Medicines at the ASM. The award is sponsored by Therapeutic Guidelines. Presented to
Dr Aili Langford, The University of Sydney, for the presentation ‘Patient Decision-Aids for Pain Medication Management: A Scoping Review’.
British Pharmacological Society-ASCEPT Outstanding Early Career Investigator Award
Awarded annually to one of the Bellberry New Investigators for an oral communication at the ASM. Presented to
Dr Abhipree Sharma, Monash University, for the presentation ‘Understanding sex-based cardiometabolic responses to contemporary diabetes therapies’.
ASCEPT Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Award
New in 2025, it recognises an individual or team who display outstanding evidence of equity, diversity and inclusion in line with the objectives of the ASCEPT EDI policy. Presented to:
The 2022 to 2025 ASCEPT Student Forum Executive Members Lorna Pairman, Mariah Stavrou, Dr Saba Naghipour & Dr Kinjal Patel. The Student Forum Executive Team was recognised for their inclusive leadership and their innovative efforts to improve equity, diversity and access for students across the ASCEPT community.
ASCEPT Gillian Shenfield Early Educator Award
Named in honour of Professor Gillian Shenfield, a clinical pharmacologist renowned for her dedication to pharmacology education. Presented to:
Dr Makhala Khammy, The University of Melbourne. Dr Khammy was recognised as an outstanding early career educator who has developed novel ways of supporting teamwork and reflective practice to improve student outcomes in preparation for future research environments.
ASCEPT Special Interest Group Prizes
Awarded to the student who gives the best overall presentation in their specific research field at the ASM. The 2025 winners are:
- Cardiovascular: Rianna Tadd-Lennox, Monash University
- Clinical Pharmacology: Matthew Ng, The University of Adelaide
- Clinical Pharmacology Advanced Trainee: Mitchel Hurlbert, St Vincent’s Hospital
- Drug Discovery: Olivia Clink, UNSW Sydney
- Education Forum: Monique Stoltz, La Trobe University
- Innovation and Industry: Eleanor Mills, Monash University
- Neuropharmacology: Eric Okrah, La Trobe University
- Pharmacoepidemiology: Edward Chun Yin Lau, The University of Sydney
- Pharmacogenomics: Eman Wehbe, The University of Sydney
- Respiratory and Inflammation: Cory Butlin, University of Technology Sydney
- Toxicology: Hannah Gerstmyer, The University of Sydney
Drug Disposition & Response and Urogenital & Gastrointestinal SIGs did not award a prize this year.
ASCEPT Integrative Pharmacology/Toxicology Prize
Awarded to an Honours or PhD student who presents a poster at the ASM that demonstrates how they considered and applied the principles of the 3R’s, Replacement, Refinement, Reduction, to their research. The award recognises ASCEPT’s long tradition and commitment to high quality and ethical animal research. Presented to:
William Dewar, University of Technology Sydney, for the poster entitled ‘Targeting C-C motif chemokine receptor 6 with PF-07054894 in COPD’.
ASCEPT Robert Whelan Poster Prize
Established in memory of Professor Robert Whelan, an influential leader in physiology and pharmacology, and co-founder of the Society. Awarded to the best poster presentation by an Honours student. Presented to:
Hudson Taylor-Blair, University of Technology Sydney, for the poster entitled ‘Low-dose Australian air pollution promotes neutrophilic, steroid-insensitive, experimental asthma’.
ASCEPT Neville Percy Poster Prize
Established in memory of Dr Neville Percy, one of the co-founders and a former President of the Society. Awarded for the best poster presentation by a higher degree student. Presented to:
Toni Michael, The University of Sydney, for the poster entitled ‘Ovarian response to follicle-stimulating hormone, luteinizing hormone, and human chorionic gonadotropin: meta-analysis’.
ASCEPT Garth McQueen Oral Prize
Established in memory of Professor Garth McQueen, a pioneering clinical pharmacologist and co-founder of the Society. Awarded for the best oral presentation by higher degree student. Presented to:
Varuni Premaratne, Monash University, for the poster entitled ‘Modeling acute silica-induced inflammation using precision-cut lung slices’.
Bellberry New Investigator Award
Announced earlier in 2025, the Bellberry New Investigator Award recognises and highlights the research contributions of New Investigators to the disciplines of Clinical and Experimental Pharmacology and Toxicology. The award is sponsored by Bellberry Limited and recipients are invited to present their work at the Annual Scientific Meeting. Presented to:
- Dr Abhipree Sharma, Monash University
- Dr Jonathan Brett, St Vincent’s Hospital & UNSW Sydney
- Dr Julia Chitty, Monash University
- Dr Quynh Dinh, RMIT University
