Sir Zelman Cowen Universities Fund Prize
16/Aug/2006
NEW MEDICAL RESEARCH PRIZE AWARDED TO RESEARCH PHYSIOTHERAPIST HELPING CYSTIC FIBROSIS SUFFERERS
A novel and effective low-cost treatment for cystic fibrosis has been recognised by the award of the inaugural Sir Zelman Cowen University Fund Prize for Discovery in Medical Research, to a young University of Sydney research physiotherapist.
To be presented in alternate years at the University of Sydney and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, the Prize, recognises discovery in medical research by a researcher under 40 years of age.
The inaugural recipient, Mr Mark Elkins, is a PhD student in the Faculty of Medicine. He won the $5,000 prize for his leading role in a long-term trial establishing the novel therapy, which uses hypertonic saline solution inhaled through a nebuliser. Administered twice daily over an extended period, the therapy reduces the recurring complications of the disease, improving the quality and duration of life. Mark's successful coordination of a national, long-term, randomised trial - involving 16 tertiary hospitals and 164 patients - has confirmed that the treatment works and offers hope of a better quality of life for patients.
The outcome of the trial was recently published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
As a physiotherapist, Mark developed a personal interest in the treatment of cystic fibrosis through his close contact with patients. It was the relationships he developed with these patients, and the experience he gained of their battle with the disease, that drove him to investigate the new treatment.
Cystic fibrosis used to be considered as a paediatric disease; it was seen only in children, because they died before reaching the adulthood. Now the average age at death has risen to approximately 30 years, thanks to the development of life-sustaining treatments. Many experts in the field point to treatments aimed at the respiratory system as the key to preventing early deaths.
Reporting on the trial Mark said, "The results of our trial were revolutionary. We saw a sustained improvement in lung function, a major reduction in the number of acute lung flare-ups, a reduced need for antibiotics to treat the flare-ups, and fewer days off school or work due to illness."
The trial is the culmination of a decade of research overseen by Associate Professor Peter Bye from the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Sydney. Co-incidentally, it was in Jerusalem at the XIIth International Cystic Fibrosis Congress in 1996 that Professor Bye made one of the earliest presentations of the concept behind hypertonic saline.
Mark was nominated for the award by Professor Iven Young, from the Department of Respiratory Medicine at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital.
The award, worth $5,000 was presented to Mark by the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Sydney, Professor Gavin Brown, at a special ceremony held at the University in August.
2006 nominations for the Award are being called for from scientists at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem where the first award will be presented in 2007.
The Sir Zelman Cowen Universities Fund, initiator of the award, also encourages mutual visits between students and academic staff at Sydney University and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem through its Academic and Student Exchange Fellowships as well as continuing to support medical and scientific research at both universities.
Information about the Fund and application details for both the Prize and Fellowships are available at www.szcuf.org.usyd.edu.au or by contacting the Fund on 9351 6558 or at szcuf@anatomy.usyd.edu.au.
