AWARDS

We recognise our stars.

What's Available?

The ASBTE is calling for nominations for the:

ASBTE Award of Excellence- deadline 14/3/2025
ASBTE Emerging Investigator Award- deadline 14/3/2025
ASBTE Early Career Research Award- deadline 14/3/2025
ASBTE Lab travel awards- deadline 22/1/2025

Note that the awards are not restricted to academics and nominations for biomaterials and tissue engineering professionals outside of academia are also encouraged.

ASBTE Award of Excellence

This award recognizes a member of the Australasian Society for Biomaterials and Tissue Engineering who has made a significant contribution to the Society and has an outstanding record in developing, maintaining and promoting the goals of the Society.

Full details here

The deadline for the nomination is 14 March 2025.

ASBTE Emerging Investigator Award

This award recognises an early to-mid career researcher, who has demonstrated outstanding research contributions and potential in regards to a future distinguished career in the field of biomaterials and/or tissue engineering.

Full details here

The deadline for the nomination is 14 March 2025.

ASBTE Early Career Research Award

This award recognises an early career researcher, who has demonstrated emerging research impact and potential for a distinguished career in the field of biomaterials and/or tissue engineering.

Full details here

The deadline for the nomination is 14 March 2025.

2025 ASBTE Travel Awards

The ASBTE will fund Lab Travel Grants up to $2,000 for international travel or up to $1000 for domestic/local travel each for postgraduate research students and early career researchers, for visits to academic collaborator and/or industry partner labs.

The major objectives of these travel grants are to provide students/ECRs with:

The opportunity to travel to other institutions to develop new collaborations or enhance existing collaborations;

Increased access to equipment and/or expertise that is not available in their own institution;

The opportunity to interact with groups outside their specific discipline area or culture.

These grants will not be allocated for conference travel alone, however, if applicants can organise their laboratory visit/s at times coinciding with relevant Biomaterials/Tissue Engineering conferences, support may be approved. The decisions on the Grants will be made by the ASBTE Committee and may vary at the Committee’s discretion.

Travel is to be commenced before 31st December 2025.

Eligibility

Full-time postgraduate student currently enrolled at a recognised higher education provider, or early-career researcher with less than 3 years of post-doctoral experience between date of award of PhD and date of application for grant (taking into account career breaks).

Current, paid, financial member of ASBTE for the 2024 & 2025 calendar years

Applicants should be enrolled/employed in Australia or New Zealand, but applications from expatriate ASBTE members will also be considered.

INCOMPLETE/LATE APPLICATIONS INELIGIBLE

Full details on the award, eligibility and the application process are available in the application guide.

Submission Details

Applications should be submitted online HERE no later than 5 pm (AEST) on Wednesday 22nd January 2025.

2024 Awardees

ASBTE Award of Research Excellence - Prof. Helmut Thissen
Helmut has provided service to the ASBTE (reflected by his roles as Executive Officer, VicePresident, President and IUSBSE Representative) as well as an exemplary commitment as a supervisor and mentor for many early career scientists (more than 40 Honours & Masters students, more than 20 PhD students and more than 15 postdoctoral fellows). Throughout his career in the interdisciplinary field of biomaterials science, which spans 2 continents and more than 25 years, Dr Thissen has made key contributions to the understanding of processes at the interface between biomolecules, cells and tissues on the one hand and material surfaces on the other. Specifically, his research has been focused on technologies for the control of biointerfacial interactions in the context of biomedical devices, ranging from biosensors to implantable medical devices. Several of the scientific advances that he has contributed to, such as the concept of high density polymer grafting to reduce biofouling (e.g. Biomaterials 23 (2002) 2043, >650 citations) or multifunctional antimicrobial device coating technologies (e.g. Trends in Biotechnology 32 (2014) 82, >330 citations), are now textbook knowledge and have found a broad range of industrial applications.

While his strong academic track record is reflected by approx. 200 journal publications and book chapters, more than 7,400 citations and a h-index of 45 (Google Scholar), his main focus throughout his career has been on the translation of biomedical device technologies.

Examples for the successful translation range from ophthalmic device technologies to biosensors and from antimicrobial coatings to pathology devices. This strong translationalfocus is also reflected by more than 10 patent families (comprising more than 70 patents), his authorship on approx. 200 confidential industry reports, as well as his contributions to establishing and directing CSIRO’s key infrastructure in this field, the Biomedical Materials Translational Facility (BMTF), which operates an ISO 7 cleanroom and a PC2 facility under a quality management system (ISO 9001 & ISO 17025) to serve the MedTech industry. His translational focus is also reflected by multiple awards, including the CSIRO Medal for Research Achievement and the Newton Turner Award for Exceptional Senior Scientists.His broad contributions to the field are further reflected by the volume of funding that he has attracted (more than $25,000,000), his contributions as a CSIRO Research Team Leader, his contributions as Program Leader ofthe Cooperative Research Centre (CRC) for Polymers, his contributions as a Standards Australia “Surgical implants” committee member, and his contributions as an Adjunct Professor at Monash University and NationalTaiwan University. Importantly, Dr Thissen is also highly respected internationally. This is reflected by more than 100 invited and keynote lectures at international conferences and symposia, by his extensive international collaborations with other scientists (particularly in Asia and Europe), by hosting more than 15 high profile international sabbatical visitors and by his role in organising and chairing more than 25 national and international conferences and symposia. His international standing in the field is also reflected by his recent election as a Fellow of Biomaterials Science and Engineering (FBSE).

ASBTE Emerging Leadership Award - Dr. Mark Allenby

Mark first joined ASBTE in 2018, when he first attended the Sydney strategy day. He was elected to the ASBTE executive in 2022- 2023 and re-elected in 2023-2024, in charge of membership and EMCR portfolios. He organises hugely successful regional research symposia each year in addition to his other executive responsibilities. The eight annual symposia (2 years, 4 regions) that Mark has organised have engaged 400 participants (50/showcase) and nearly 100 EMCR presentations (12/showcase). Mark works on these events in close collaboration with the ASBTE representative committee, they are extremely popular non-conference events showcasing the ASBTE’s national standing.
Further, Mark has organised 3 biannual mentorship rounds which have engaged >100 mentors and mentees across nearly 200 pairings ranging from professors mentoring senior lecturers on topics such as promotion packages to senior PhDs mentoring MPhil students on career paths. Prior to his executive roles, Mark has been a QLD representative for ASBTE (2020-22), an invited speaker, and symposia chair for ASBTE events, including prior ASBTE regional showcases and the ASBTE Pandemic Primetime Series.

Mark is an excellent researcher focussing on cell culture, imaging and simulation platforms to understand the effect of biochemical and mechanical factors on tissue behaviour. At 6 yrs post-PhD, Mark has 44 publications and 910 citations. Of his last 10 publications, 6 are corresponding authorships and 7 are in top-10% journals (Clarivate). Mark has authored two book chapters, and was an invited speaker at Georgia Tech, Ohio State, TERMIS-WC, and others. Mark is considered a rising authority in tissue engineering holding a DECRA in cell therapy biomanufacturing and an Advance Queensland Fellowship in medical device biofabrication. His translational contributions raised $2.8m total funding including $520k industry cash. End-user funding includes $200k for blood bioreactors with Ramaciotti Foundation and Red Cross, $270k for vascular surgery biofabrication
with Metro North Hospitals and 3D industries.

Mark is already a research leader whose intelligent, team-playing and supportive approach will set him up to become a global leader in his space; and one whom is liked and respected by all around him. Mark leads his independent research laboratory of 2 postdocs, 4 PhDs, and honours researchers and has mentored his HDRs to win start-up awards (Bionics Queensland; 2020, see channel 10 TV and the Brisbane Times, the Women in Technology Rising Star Award (2021), faculty ECR grants ($25k; 2023), and safety awards (2022-2023). Mark has 3 and 4 HDR completions as principal and associate supervisor, now in academia and industry (QUT, Rice University, Convergence Medical). Mark has a substantial academic leadership position at UQ as Convenor of Biomedical Engineering, he led UQ through our first Engineers Australia industry accreditation and curriculum redesign. In
2023, Mark received the TERMIS-AP’s Young Investigator Award and was shortlisted RegMedNet’s Rising Star.

ASBTE Conference Attendance Awards

Congratulations to everyone who received a Conference Attendance Award in 2024!

Tiffany Goh

Christopher Chong

Melanie Stamp

Ebrahim Vahabli

Shaveen Sasanka Bogahapitiya Gamage

Stephanie Belen Michelena Tupiza

Yong Hwee (Joe) Tan

Shirin Nour

See the full history of our award-winners here