In October 2011, the prestigious 2011 Ramaciotti Medal for Excellence in Biomedical Research was awarded to Professor Michael Parker of St Vincent's Institute of Medical Research in Melbourne for work that has led to a breakthrough in a potential treatment for certain leukaemias and significant developments in the quest to treat Alzheimer's disease.

The Ramaciotti Foundations are collectively one of the largest private contributors to biomedical research in Australia, granting more than $51 million to research projects since 1970. Michael Parker previously received Ramaciotti grants in 2000, 2004 and 2007.

Michael also received the 2011 Lemberg Medal from the Australian Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology in March this year.

Michael’s career spans more than 25 years. He has made major advances in the field of protein crystallography, determining protein structures that have provided the basis for designing drugs to treat serious diseases such as Alzheimer’s, leukaemia and other cancers, and infections.

Michael’s research group are regular visitors to the Australian Synchrotron, where they use x-ray crystallography to determine the three-dimensional structures of key proteins implicated in the diseases they are studying.

Interviewed earlier this year for a synchrotron feature article in Chemistry in Australia, Michael said that: “Pharmaceutical companies around the world see structural biology, particularly crystallography, as a mandatory part of drug development. The Australian Synchrotron has been absolutely essential for many of the drug development activities of Australian medical research institutes in collaboration with commercial companies such as Biota and with the CRC for Cancer Therapeutics. All major biotech and pharmaceutical companies actively developing drugs in Australia now use or aspire to use the Australian Synchrotron.”