Congratulations to three of our academic best, who were honoured at the Thomson Reuters Australian Citation and Innovation Awards, which recognise leading scientific research and innovation in Australia.

Professor Bill Griffin and Professor Sue O’Reilly from the National Key Centre for Geochemical Evolution and Metallogeny of Continents (GEMOC) were honoured on the topic of ‘Tectonic Setting of the North and South China Cratons’.

“The CCFS team’s contribution to understanding eastern China’s geological complexities and evolution has been seminal across several fronts including unravelling the destruction of the deep continental mantle root about 250 million years ago,” said Professor Griffin.

“This award reflects a very high level of peer recognition for research spanning many years, and brought to fruition through the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Core to Crust Fluid Systems administered by the University, with Curtin University and the University of Western Australia as collaborating institutions,” said Professor O’Reilly.

Professor Rick Kefford from the Melanoma Institute Australia at Macquarie was also honoured in research into BRAF-Mutated Melanoma.

“I was honoured to receive the award in recognition of the work I have done with collaborators at Melanoma Institute Australia and the Precision Cancer Therapy Laboratory under Professor Helen Rizos, investigating powerful new treatments for metastatic melanoma. We have recently made massive inroads into this disease, which kills 1500 Australians annually, many of them young adults. Our work has deciphered mechanisms of resistance to these new drugs, opening strategic pathways to build on our treatment successes and extend the benefits to more patients,” said Professor Kefford.

The scientific research awards are part of Thomson Reuters Citation Awards and are determined by analysing the volume and impact of a researcher’s contribution to their subject area.

“We are very pleased to have the opportunity to honour the individuals and institutions making significant contributions in Research and Innovation,” said Jeroen Prinsen, senior director for Australia and New Zealand, Thomson Reuters.

“Australia plays an important role in the global scholarly and commercial ecosystem and it is through the use of Thomson Reuters data that we are able to qualify and quantify this contribution, and give credit where credit is due. Congratulations to all of the honorees.”