In the News

Dentons Honours Scholarship recipient Laura Milton named UQ School of Biomedical Sciences Valedictorian

In a whirlwind year of setbacks and lockdowns, QIMR Berghofer’s Laura Milton managed to make 2020 an amazing year!

The Dentons Honours Scholarship recipient for 2020, Laura was thrilled to graduate with a Bachelor of Advanced Science with First Class Honours, and be named Valedictorian of the School of Biomedical Sciences at
The University of Queensland.

In February 2020, Laura commenced her Honours project working in the QIMR Berghofer Cellular and Molecular Neurodegeneration group, examining the role of dysfunctional immune cells, known as microglia, in the brain in Alzheimer’s disease (AD).

“Recently, we identified two proteins that may play a role in the dysfunction of microglia in AD. We hope that with further study, this data may assist in generating new AD drug treatments to target this dysfunction,” Laura said.

Her Honours research in this area was accepted for a poster presentation at the 2020 Australia Dementia Forum, (subsequently cancelled due to COVID-19) and her research paper, The Potential Impact of Bushfire Smoke on Brain Health was published in Neurochemistry International in July 2020.

Laura attributes much of her success during a difficult time to the Dentons’ Scholarship, which enabled her to commit entirely to her research.

“It was an honour and privilege to receive this philanthropic scholarship at the commencement of my Honours year. My achievements would not have been possible without this scholarship and I thank Dentons for their encouragement, faith and support,” Laura said.

“I now look forward to completing a PhD in neurodegeneration, a field I am extremely passionate about.”

Congratulations Laura and thank you to Dentons for supporting the next generation of biomedical researchers.