History
THE 2012 REBECCA L COOPER MEDAL AND PRIZE
The prize was offered for the first time in 2004. It is made possible by a generous donation from the Rebecca L
Cooper Foundation, which supports biomedical research in Australia.
Intention
A medal and $500 prize may be awarded annually to a Postdoctoral Research Fellow working in the laboratory of a
member of Bosch Institute at the University of Sydney. The paper may be multi-authored, but the candidate must
be First or Senior Author and have made major contributions to both the practical aspects of the research and the
preparation of the paper.
Judgment of the Award
The Medal and Prize shall be awarded annually by the Dean of the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Sydney
on the recommendation of a Committee of the Bosch Institute established by the Executive Leadership Group
specifically for this purpose. The prize will be awarded at the Young Investigators Symposium of the Bosch
Institute – 7th December 2012 or the RL Cooper Foundation annual dinner in March 2013, or both.
Application
To be eligible, the paper must have been published or accepted for publication in the 12 months prior to 31st
October 2012. A paper previously submitted for consideration for this award, or the Bercovici Prize of the Bosch
Institute, is ineligible for consideration for the RL Cooper Award 2012. The successful applicant will be
required to give a short presentation on their paper at the Bosch Young Investigators Symposium Final Session,
being held on Friday, 7th December 2012.
To apply, please submit your application to Charean Adams, Chief Operating Officer, Bosch Institute, Sixth Floor,
Room N654, Anderson Stuart Building, F13, University of Sydney, by 9am on Wednesday 31st October the following:
• Cover Letter (including your contact details and discipline).
• 5 copies of the paper.
• 5 copies of a letter stating the contribution of the Postdoctoral Researcher and any other authors to all
phases of the work, signed by all authors of the paper. (Faxed signatures are acceptable from interstate or
overseas co-authors).
• 5 copies of the Editor’s letter of acceptance and the Referees’ Reports.
Previous recipients of the Medal and Prize
2004 Dr Janette Burgess, for her paper titled “Detection and characterisation of OX40 ligand expression in
human airway smooth muscle cells: a possible role in asthma?” Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology
2004;113:683-689.
2005 Dr Othon Gervasio, for his paper “Increased ratio of rapsyn to Ach receptor stabilizes postsynaptic
receptors at the mouse neuromuscular synapse”. Journal of Physiology 2005; 562: 673-685.
2006 Dr Andrea Markus for her paper “WT1 interacts with the splicing protein RBM4 and regulates its ability
to modulate alternative splicing in vivo”. Experimental Cell Research 2006; 312: 3379-3388.
2007 Dr Renae Ryan for her paper “The uncoupled chloride conductance of a bacterial glutamate transport
homolog”. Nature Structural & Molecular Biology Volume 14 Number 5 May 2007.
2008 Dr Rita Machaalani for her paper “Neuronal cell death in the sudden infant syndrome brainstem and
associations with risk factors”. Brain, 131:218-228
2009 Dr. Aaron Camp for his paper “Brief and prolonged adaptors reduce contrast sensitivity in the marmoset lateral
geniculate nucleus”. Journal of Neuroscience, April 15, 2009.
2010 Dr Paul Austin for his paper “Peripheral nerve injury differentially regulates dopaminergic pathways in the nucleus
accumbens of rats with either "pain alone" or "pain and disability Peripheral nerve injury differentially regulates
dopaminergic pathways in the nucleus accumbens of rats with either "pain alone" or "pain and disability”.
NEUROSCIENCE Volume: 171 Issue: 1 Pages: 329-343 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2010.08.040.
2011 Dr Zaklina Kovacevic for her paper “Novel thiosemicarbazone iron chelators induce up-regulation and
phosphorylation of the metastasis suppressor N-myc down-stream regulated gene 1: A new strategy for the treatment of
pancreatic cancer”. Molecular Pharmacology, October, 2011.