ASCEPT Prizes and Mentorship Information Session
Please see below instructions on how to apply for the awards and prizes listed below.
The 2024 Prize Coordinator is Betty Exintaris.
ASCEPT Member Awards
ASCEPT offers a number of prestigious prizes to both full and student members the majority of which are awarded at the Annual Scientific Meeting. The call for nominations for these awards are made via the ASCEPT E-newsletter.
Eligibility – member status
Please note a member of ASCEPT is defined as a person whose application for ASCEPT membership has been approved by the ASCEPT Board and has paid all membership fees up to and including the current year. To be eligible for an ASCEPT Award, you must already be a member according to this definition. If you are unsure of your ASCEPT membership status please click here to contact the ASCEPT Executive Officer.
New members must have submitted an application for membership and paid the membership fee before attending the ASM for consideration for prizes and/or travel grants. Undergraduate Student members are not eligible for prizes, however they can upgrade to Graduate Student member if they wish to apply.
Full Member Awards
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. The award is made on the basis of the quality and impact of the candidate’s published work. Each nominee should be nominated and seconded by two ASCEPT members. Nominations are from March – May.
The ASCEPT Lectureship is awarded biennially to a member of ASCEPT who has made a significant and sustained contribution to the development of pharmacology and/or toxicology in Australasia. Each nominee should be nominated and seconded by two ASCEPT members.
The nominee must have made substantial scientific or service contributions to Australasian Pharmacology, Clinical Pharmacology, Toxicology or Clinical Toxicology over a sustained period (i.e. >7 years). The nominee must have shown leadership in the advancement and promotion in one of the disciplines of Pharmacology, Clinical Pharmacology, Toxicology or Clinical Toxicology and must be a member of ASCEPT. Each nominee must be proposed by 2 ASCEPT members, with at least one from outside the nominee’s institution. Previous winners are ineligible for a period of 7 years after receiving the award.
Click here for the 2024 award guidelines.
The nominee for this respected award must be a member of ASCEPT and have made significant contribution to education and/or training in one of the disciplines of Pharmacology, Clinical Pharmacology, Toxicology and Clinical Toxicology in Australasia.
Such contributions may include for example:
• Sustained excellence in teaching that promotes student engagement and effective learning
• Innovative teaching methods and assessment strategies
• Contributions to the scholarship of teaching and learning
• Fostering interdisciplinary and inter-university teaching collaborations
• Excellence in supervising and mentoring research students
• Leadership in the enhancement of teaching and learning in the disciplines of Pharmacology, Clinical Pharmacology, Toxicology or Clinical Toxicology
• Each nominee must be proposed by 2 ASCEPT members (one must be from outside the nominee’s institution)
• Previous winners are ineligible for a period of 5 years after receiving the award.
Click here for the 2024 award guidelines.
ASCEPT Prizes
In order to be eligible for any award, nominees must be financial members of ASCEPT prior to the judging of the specific award. Abstracts will be considered for the following prize categories:
- Bellberry New Investigator Awards
- ASCEPT Gillian Shenfield Early Educator Award
- ASCEPT Early Achievement Award for Women
- ASCEPT Garth McQueen Prize (oral prize)
- ASCEPT Clinical Pharmacology Trainee Prize (oral prize)
- ASCEPT Neville Percy Prize (student eposter prize)
- ASCEPT Robert Whelan Prize (student eposter prize)
- ASCEPT Integrative Pharmacology/Toxicology Prize (student eposter prize)
- ASCEPT Special Interest Group Prizes (student eposter prize)
These prestigious awards are presented at the Annual Scientific Meeting of ASCEPT during a symposium designed to showcase New Investigators in clinical and experimental pharmacology and toxicology. Nominations of suitable New Investigators must be made by a member of ASCEPT, who should ensure that the nominee is also a member of the Society.
The application must contain a letter of support and up-to-date Curriculum Vitae of the nominee, and should be forwarded to the ASCEPT Executive Officer at ascept@ascept.org The selected nominees will be invited to present their research at the Annual Scientific Meeting, where they will also be presented with a certificate recognising their Award.
Click here for the 2024 award guidelines.
The ASCEPT Gillian Shenfield Early Educator Award was established in 2012 and is awarded annually to a full member of ASCEPT and is presented at the ASCEPT Scientific Meeting to recognise and reward initiatives in pharmacology education that lead to enhanced student outcomes. The award is aimed at those in the early stages of their academic career. The recipient will be invited to present at the ASCEPT Gillian Shenfield Early Educator Award dedicated session at the Annual Scientific Meeting.
Applicants for the award must have been members of ASCEPT for at least 2 years prior to the Annual Scientific Meeting and at the level of Lecturer Level B (or equivalent) or below. Applicants can be involved in any aspect of teaching in pharmacology or toxicology, either basic or clinical, and should demonstrate that they have changed their teaching practices to improve learning outcomes amongst their students and gathered evidence to assess the impact of the change.
To apply for this prize applicants must:
- select I wish to be considered for ASCEPT Gillian Shenfield Early Educator Award and select oral presentation as the presentation preference during the online abstract submission process
- in addition to submitting a standard abstract, upload an Application Package (in PDF format) as part of the abstract submission process.
All applications will be judged by a panel nominated by the ASCEPT Education Forum. The successful applicant will be invited to present at the ASCEPT Gillian Shenfield Early Educator Award dedicated session at the Annual Scientific Meeting. Dependent on the final program other applicants may be allocated a poster or oral presentation as decided by the Scientific Advisory Committee.
Click here for the 2024 award guidelines.
This award, to be presented at the Annual Scientific Meeting of ASCEPT, is to be made to a woman within five years of the award of her PhD, or longer if combined with periods of significant career interruption, for significant achievement in research and scholarship in pharmacology or toxicology.
The award is to recognise the early achievements of women pharmacologists and toxicologists, and to assist ASCEPT to achieve gender equality in ASCEPT’s senior awards and office bearers.
To apply for this prize applicants must:
- select I wish to be considered for ASCEPT Early Achievement Award for Women 2024 and select oral presentation as the presentation preference during the online abstract submission process
- in addition to a standard abstract, upload an Application Package (in PDF format) as part of the abstract submission process.
ASCEPT Student Member Prizes
Several student prizes are on offer each year at the Annual Scientific Meeting of ASCEPT. Prizes are open to all Honours and Higher Degree (i.e. PhD and Masters) students and clinicians in an accredited training program, or clinicians who have worked for less than seven years full-time since completing their undergraduate degree. To be eligible for ASCEPT prizes, students must be financial members of ASCEPT by the time of judging at the ASM. Undergraduate Student members are not eligible for student prizes – should they wish to be considered for SIG prizes then they are encouraged to upgrade to Graduate Student membership upon acceptance of their abstract for the Annual Scientific Meeting.
The ASCEPT Garth McQueen Prize was established in memory of Professor Garth McQueen, a member of the original steering committee that established ASCEPT. It is awarded annually for the best oral communication by a Higher Degree student member of ASCEPT. A Higher Degree student includes anyone undertaking a Masters Degree or PhD in a relevant biomedical discipline. Clinicians in an accredited training program and who have worked for less than seven years full-time since completing their undergraduate degree, are also eligible.
To apply for this prize students must:
- select I wish to be considered for ASCEPT Garth McQueen Prize and select oral presentation as the presentation preference during the online abstract submission process
- in addition to a standard abstract, submit an 800 word project description (in PDF format) as part of the abstract submission process.
The ASCEPT Clinical Pharmacology Trainee prize is awarded for the best research presentation by a Clinical Pharmacology Trainee at the Annual Scientific Meeting of ASCEPT. Eligible trainees will be current ASCEPT members and currently enrolled as trainees in Clinical Pharmacology under the Specialty Training Committee for Clinical Pharmacology. This prize recognises the importance of research to the discipline of Clinical Pharmacology and the importance of experience in presenting at scientific meetings to training in the discipline. All trainees are encouraged to submit abstracts.
To apply for this prize clinical pharmacology trainees must:
- select ASCEPT Clinical Pharmacology Trainee as the abstract theme and indicate trainee status
The six highest ranked abstracts (the number may vary depending on the conference program) will be invited to make oral presentations which will be judged on the basis of scientific merit, relevance to the discipline and quality of presentation. The remaining abstracts will be considered for poster presentation or oral presentations at other sessions at the discretion of the Scientific Advisory Committee.
The ASCEPT Integrative Pharmacology/Toxicology Prize was established in 2010 and is awarded at the Annual Scientific Meeting to an Honours OR Higher Degree student for the best poster communication in this category. To receive the criteria and guidelines contact the ASCEPT Executive Officer at ascept@ascept.org
To apply for this prize students must:
- select I wish to be considered for ASCEPT Integrative Pharmacology/Toxicology Prize during the online abstract submission process.
- in addition to a standard abstract, submit a 500 word statement as per the prize guidelines (in PDF format) as part of the abstract submission process.
Click here to view the 2024 award guidelines.
ASCEPT Poster Prizes
All students who submit their abstract prior to the submission closing date and become student financial members of ASCEPT by the time of prize judging at the ASM will automatically be considered for the ASCEPT Neville Percy or ASCEPT Robert Whelan Prizes and any relevant Special Interest Group prizes. All posters will be required to use a standard poster format. Each nominated student will be judged during the ASM and it is recommended that students prepare a short 2-3 minute presentation to describe their project. Each student member must be a Graduate Student member of ASCEPT to be considered for these prizes.
The ASCEPT Neville Percy Prize was established in memory of Dr Neville Percy, one of the founding members of the Society, and is awarded annually to a Higher Degree student for the best poster communication at the Annual Scientific Meeting. Finalists for this award will be nominated by SIG chairs after SIG prize judging is completed.
The ASCEPT Robert Whelan Prize was established in memory of Professor Robert Whelan, a co-founder of the Society, and is awarded annually to a BSc Honours, BMedSc Honours, or equivalent fourth year (e.g. Grad Dip Sci) degree student for the best poster communication at the Annual Scientific Meeting. Finalists for this award will be nominated by SIG chairs after SIG prize judging is completed.
Special Interest Group Prizes
Students whose research falls under an area of interest of one of ASCEPT’s Special Interest Groups (SIGs) will automatically be considered for the relevant SIG Prize. Note that SIGs covering clinical research areas (i.e. the Clinical Pharmacology and Toxicology SIGs) may also consider registrants in an accredited training program and non-students who have worked for less than seven years full-time since completing their first undergraduate degree, for their prizes. Undergraduate Student members are not eligible for student prizes – should they wish to be considered for SIG prizes then they are encouraged to upgrade to Graduate Student membership upon acceptance of their abstract for the Annual Scientific Meeting.
The following Special Interest Groups award a prize annually to the student who gives the best overall presentation in their specific research field.
- Cardiovascular Prize
- Clinical Prize
- Drug Disposition and Response Prize
- Drug Discovery Prize
- Education Prize
- Gastro Urogenital Prize
- Pharmacogenomics Prize
- Toxicology Prize
- Pharmacoepidemiology
- Neuro Pharmacology Prize
- Respiratory and Inflammation
- Industry and Innovation
Congratulations to the following 2023 Prize and Award recipients
Special Interest Group (SIG) Prizes
| Clinical Pharmacology Trainee | Joshua Inglis, Flinders Medical Centre |
| Clinical Pharmacology | Nicki Kyriacou, University of Sydney |
| Cardiovascular | Sharenya Chelvaretnam, Monash University |
| Drug Discovery | Ishika Jaitly, University of New South Wales |
| Drug Disposition and Response | Sean Mangion, University of South Australia |
| Education Forum | Arani Dasanayake, Monash University |
| Gastrointestinal-Urogenital | Elouise Tye, Bond University |
| Innovation and Industry | Ticomporn Luangwattanawilai, Mahidol University |
| Neuropharmacology | Michaela Kaoullas, Monash Institute Of Pharmaceutical Sciences |
| Pharmacoepidemiology | Edward Chun Yin Lau, University of Sydney |
| Pharmacogenomics | Eman Wehbe, University of Sydney |
| Respiratory and Inflammation | Madison Coward-Smith, RMIT |
| Toxicology | Ratchanon Sukprasert, Burapha University |
ASCEPT Prizes and Awards
| ASCEPT Garth McQueen Prize | Alice Terrill, Monash University |
| ASCEPT Neville Percy Prize | Ratchanon Sukprasert, Burapha University |
| ASCEPT Robert Whelan Prize | Eman Wehbe, University of Sydney |
| ASCEPT Integrative Pharmacology/Toxicology Prize | Sharenya Chelvaretnam, Monash University |
| ASCEPT Early Achievement Award for Women | Dr Sujita Narayan, University of Sydney |
| ASCEPT Achievement Award | Professor Michelle Glass, University of Otago |
| ASCEPT Elizabeth Davis Teaching Excellence Award | Dr Paul Chin, Canterbury District Health Board |
| ASCEPT Gillian Shenfield Early Educator Award | Dr Jennifer Irvine, Monash University |
| Bellberry New Investigator Award | Dr Christopher Draper-Joyce, The Florey Institute Of Neuroscience And Mental Health Dr Maria Jelinic, La Trobe University Dr Mouna Swan, University of Sydney Dr Elena K. Schneider-Futschik, University of Melbourne |
| BPS-ASCEPT Outstanding Young Investigator Award | Dr Maria Jelinic, La Trobe University |