Dr Ross Waller has won the 2000 Premier's Award for Medical Research for his role in work to develop new drug treatments against malaria and similar parasitic diseases.
Malaria is an intractable global health problem.
Each year it kills around two million or more people and infects a further 500 million. Knowing this about the parasite's growth and survival has led him to successfully apply a herbicide-like drug that kills malaria parasites cultured in human red blood cells. His findings may provide the basis for developing new ways of treating malaria and similar parasitic diseases. Dr Horwood received her High Commendation for work on bone remodeling, the process, which occurs when cells lay down or reabsorb bone. She has significantly increased knowledge of the complex interactions between the cells involved in this process, raising implications for bone diseases such as osteoporosis and rheumatoid arthritis.