Dr Valery wins NHMRC Excellence

QIMR’s high calibre of research was demonstrated at the National Health and Medical Research Council’s (NHMRC) Excellence Awards in Canberra on Wednesday 15 December 2010.

Dr Patricia Valery from QIMR’s Indigenous Research Program was awarded the highest ranking Career Development Award in the category of population health.

The NHMRC established these Excellence Awards to recognise and reward achievement in the highly competitive health and medical research field.

Dr Valery has been working in Indigenous Health Research for the last 11 years. Her current work focuses on two critical health needs for Indigenous Australians, namely cancer and infectious diseases. Her work in cancer will inform service provision on how to best facilitate a multidisciplinary supportive care approach for Indigenous cancer patients. It will also evaluate an antibiotic in treating infectious diseases in Indigenous children. These findings may guide the medical management of such patients.