Awards & Honours

Professor Simpson has a BSc (Hons) and a PhD in Veterinary Science from the University of Sydney. She was a Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Sydney and the University of New South Wales and has held the position of Professor of Biochemistry in the School of Life Sciences, University of Technology Sydney (UTS) since 2002. Prof. Simpson was Co- Director of the Centre for Health Technologies (UTS) (2006-2022) and Head of School (2009-2013). Her research interest is the Gene Therapy of Diabetes. To this end she has developed a number of insulin-secreting liver cell lines, one of which, the Melligen cells was licenced for development to PharmaCyte Biotech. She was also the first to show permanent reversal of diabetes using a lentiviral vector system in chemically diabetic rats and autoimmune diabetic mice and humanised mice. She is currently pursuing this technology using a lentiviral vector system. She is the founding Treasurer and Public Officer of the AGCTS and was made a life member of the Society in 2019 at the Brisbane conference in recognition of her contributions to the AGCTS. Prof. Simpson is also a Board member of the Australian College of Biomedical Scientists. As of July 2026 she is now an Emeritus Professor at UTS.

Professor Steve Wilton AO is the Director of the Perron Institute, Foundation Chair of Molecular Therapy at Murdoch University and Deputy Director of Murdoch University’s Personalised Medicine Centre. In collaboration with Professor Sue Fletcher, Professor Wilton has pioneered the use of antisense oligonucleotides (AOs) to overcome some of the most common dystrophin gene defects causing Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). Over a research journey spanning more than two decades, the Molecular Therapy Laboratory took the idea of using AOs to treat DMD from the laboratory to clinical application, through a partnership with the US pharmaceutical company, Sarepta Therapeutics (Cambridge, Ma). Three drugs for DMD have now been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and are relevant to nearly 30% of the DMD population. With co-leader Dr May Aung-Htut at Murdoch University, the Molecular Therapy Laboratory is exploring therapeutic interventions for more than 50 different inherited and acquired conditions affecting human health. Professor Wilton has received multiple awards for his research on DMD and other diseases, including the Eureka Prize for Medical Research Translation, the Western Australian Innovator of the Year award and Officer of the Order of Australia.

Professor Ian Alexander BMedSci MBBS (Hons) PhD FRACP (Paeds) HGSA Clinical Geneticist, FAHMS, Director Laboratory Research and Senior Staff Specialist, The Children’s Hospital at Westmead, Professor in Paediatrics and Molecular Medicine, University of Sydney — is Head of the Gene Therapy Research Unit, a joint initiative of Children’s Medical Research Institute and The Children’s Hospital at Westmead (CHW). Professor Alexander has since established a translational research program and developed the specialised infrastructure and skill sets required to take promising novel therapies through to clinical application. His specific expertise and interests include virus-mediated gene transfer with a focus on target organs including the liver and bone marrow, both of which have immense promise as target organs for the treatment of genetic disease in children. His team became the first in Australia to treat a genetic disease (SCID-X1) by gene therapy and are recognised leaders in the establishment of this exciting field in Australia. Professor Alexander chaired the NHMRC Cellular Therapies Advisory Committee (CTAC). In addition, he helped establish the Australasian Gene Therapy Society, was elected as the inaugural president and was made a life member in 2009. His international recognition extends to positions as Chair of the International Committee of the American Society of Gene and Cell Therapy, Australasian Regional Editor of Current Gene Therapy and Associate Editor for Human Gene Therapy and The Journal of Gene Medicine. In 2015 he was appointed as a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences and a Visiting Professor at University College London.

Gerry Both made significant contributions to the understanding of molecular virology in Australia. He is highly cited for his research on gene expression and the development of viral vectors to deliver vaccines. Beyond his metrics and highly cited publications, Dr. Both is celebrated by colleagues for his mentorship of early-career scientists and his dedicated efforts to ensure that transformative medical technologies reach patients safely and ethically. AGCTS proudly presented this award to Dr. Gerry Both in recognition of a lifetime of brilliance, leadership, and enduring impact on genetic medicine.

Emeritus Professor Pamela Russell, AM (PhD, Dip Ed) built an international reputation for her work in urological cancers - in particular bladder and prostate cancers. In 2003, she was awarded Membership of the Order of Australia (AM) for her research on bladder and prostate cancer and, in 2015, she was made a fellow of the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences, Limited. Her later research focus was on developing new methods for prostate specific-membrane antigen (PSMA) targeted imaging using 19F-MRI, and studying new biomarkers in exosomes, which may indicate/predict the response of CRPC to chemotherapy. Nationally, she helped to initiate the Australian Genitourinary Oncology Group and the Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia (PCFA) (of which she is a life member). From 2007 to 2010 Prof Russell served as an inaugural Director/Secretary of the Australasian Urological and Prostate Cancer Clinical Trials Group (ANZUP). She was also an Australian editor for Urological Research and a member of Movember’s Global Scientific Committee. In 2006 she received a prize for outstanding research alumnus of Sydney’s Kolling Institute of Medical Research, was made a life member of the Australasian Gene Therapy Society in 2009, and in 2010, PCFA’s Prostate Cancer Researcher of the Year in Australia. She also served on Movember’s Global Action Plan Scientific Committee (2010-14) and Research Advisory Committees. She was Professor of Medicine, University of New South Wales (UNSW) and Director of the Oncology Research Centre at the UNSW School of Medicine at Prince of Wales Hospital, Sydney from 1992-2008. She passed away in February 2022.

Awarded for her presentation on AAV Gene Therapy for Maple Syrup Urine Disease. Kathryn is a paediatric doctor working in the Gene Therapy Research Unit at the Children's Medical Research Institute.

Awarded for her presentation on targeted gene editing in the bone compartment. Alexandra pursued her PhD in the Bioengineering & Molecular Medicine Lab under A/Prof Aaron Schindeler at the University of Sydney.

Awarded for her presentation on therapeutic modulation of modifier genes in genetic diseases. Her PhD research focused on novel antisense oligonucleotides for spinal muscular atrophy and retinitis pigmentosa.

Awarded and presented research at the 24th Annual Meeting of the Japan Society of Gene and Cell Therapy. Supervised by Ian Alexander at the Gene Therapy Research Unit, Children's Medical Research Institute.

Chantelle McIntyre recently completed her PhD thesis at The University of Adelaide and is now a postdoctoral fellow in the Adelaide Cystic Fibrosis Gene Therapy Research group. She presented her PhD project which developed lentiviral gene therapy for the metabolic disorder Sanfilippo Syndrome.

Supervised by Professor Ian Alexander. Prize money supported travel to the Japan Society of Gene Therapy 19th Annual Meeting in Okayama, Japan.

Joined the Bruce Lefroy Centre for Genetic Health Research at the Murdoch Childrens Research Institute, focusing on therapies for Friedreich ataxia.

Since completing my PhD, I have applied my research-based skills to the field of gene therapy and was one of the first researchers in Australia to utilise lentiviral vectors for gene transfer protocols. I was a key member of the team involved in treating an infant with X-linked severe combined immunodeficiency at The Childrens Hospital at Westmead, an Australian biomedical first. Here, I characterised the molecular basis for the disease and analysed patient samples following gene therapy. I have a strong research focus in the field of gene therapy and am interested in targeting the bone marrow to treat immunodeficiency diseases.

Dominic J. Glover is originally from Queensland. He graduated with a B.Sc. (Hons) in biochemistry from the Queensland University of Technology in 2001. His honours thesis was performed in the laboratory of Prof Martin Lavin at the Queensland Institute of Medical Research, which involved the characterization of radiation-inducible promoters for application in targeted gene therapy. For his honours thesis he was awarded a QUT Deans Award for Excellence. He then joined the Dept. of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at Monash University to carry out his Ph.D. in the laboratory of Prof David Jans. Dominics doctoral thesis is focused on developing novel non-viral vectors that mimic the ability of viruses to be actively transported to and maintained in the cell nucleus.

Recognised for collaborative research developing AAV vectors from human liver-tropic capsids. Attended the BSGCT/ESGCT 2020 meeting in Edinburgh.

Inaugural award recipient. Attended the BSGCT Annual Meeting in Sheffield, highlighting haemophilia trials and novel genome editing applications.

CSIRO/CMRI. Inaugural travel award recipient at the 2019 Brisbane meeting.

Westmead Institute for Medical Research. Inaugural travel award recipient at the 2019 Brisbane meeting.

Best Student Poster

Best Member Poster

Best Student Oral Presentation

Best Member Oral Presentation

People’s choice Student Award