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Sir Zelman Cowen Universities Fund Prize for Discovery in Medical Research Award
Is awarded in alternate years at the University of Sydney and at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. This prize recognises discovery in medical research by a researcher under 45 years of age who has made a major contribution to the understanding or treatment of disease. The inaugural award was made in Sydney, in 2006.
The 2010 award of the Sir Zelman Cowen Universities Fund Prize for Discovery in Medical Research is sponsored by The Schwartz Foundation.
It was awarded to Dr Rachel Codd of the School Of Medical Sciences, University Of Sydney. Dr Codd was nominated for the development of a range of compounds that may be effective in treating iron overload disease. Each year, about 300,000 to 500,000 babies are born with severe blood disorders, including sickle-cell anaemia and the thalassemias. To prevent life-threatening anaemia, patients with beta-thalassemia undergo blood transfusions every 2-4 weeks. Regular blood transfusions cause an excess of iron to accumulate in the body (iron overload disease) and since humans do not have an active iron excreting mechanism, patients must undergo additional treatment to remove the iron (chelation therapy). The current treatment for iron overload disease is effective only when administered by intravenous infusion. To improve the quality of life of thalassemia patients, there is a need to develop iron chelation agents that are orally active.
Dr Codd has discovered that simple modifications to the currently available iron chelation therapy produce new compounds which retain the favourable iron-binding properties yet have new properties that indicate potential for improving treatment options for thalassemia. In addition, the compounds may have application in neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s disease, in which irregular iron levels have been implicated as contributing factors.
Dr. Jerry Schwartz presenting the award to
Dr. Rachel Codd at the Tattersals Club, Sydney at a
function luncheon on Wednesday 05 May 2010.
