MJD White Medal
2024 Melanie Bahlo
2023 Eddie Holmes
2022 Marianne Frommer
2021 Kathy Belov
2020 Vanessa Hayes
2019 Ary Hoffmann
2018 Neil Gemmell
2017 Richard Frankham
2016 Elizabeth Dennis
2015 Phil Batterham
2014 John Bowman
2013 [Not awarded]
2012 Des Cooper
2011 David Smythe
2010 Michael J. Hynes
2009 Jenny A. M. Graves
The MJD White Medal was established in 2009 by the Genetics Society of AustralAsia to recognise outstanding contributions to the field of genetics research by Australasian scientists. The medal commemorates Michael White who proposed the formation of the Genetics Society of Australia in 1953. This award is intended to recognise excellence in genetic research and may be awarded for a lifetime’s contribution to genetic research or for work by a mid-career scientist either leading to a paradigm shift in genetics or for a large body of work that is recognised as of major significance in a specific field of genetics.
Ross Crozier Medal
2024 Steven Zuryn
2023 Bastien Llamas
2022 Clare Holleley
2021 Camilla Whittington
2020 Marnie Blewitt
2019 Christen Mirth
2018 Simon Ho
2017 Peter Fineran
2016 Aleksandra Filipovska
2015 Melanie Bahlo
2014 Peter Dearden
2013 Katherine Belov
2012 Elizabeth McGraw
2011 Coral Warr
The Ross Crozier Medal was established by the Genetics Society of AustralAsia to recognise outstanding contributions to the field of genetics research by mid-career Australasian scientists. The medal commemorates Ross Crozier, an evolutionary geneticist who was a past President and an avid lobbyist for the Society. The award is intended to assist the recipient in advancement of their career and will be awarded for work completed within the period five to 15 years from graduating with a PhD. Career interruptions will be taken into account in exercising the 15 year limit.
Alan Wilton Award
2024 Emily Roycroft
2023 Charles Foster
2022 Livia Gerber
2021 Seth Cheetham
2020 Sonia Shah
2019 David Duchêne
2018 Emily Wong
2017 Jemma Geoghegan
2016 Sambasivam Periyannan
2015 Catherine Grueber
2014 Katie Ayers
2013 [Not awarded]
2012 Ryan Garrick
2011 Simon Ho
The Alan Wilton award was established by the Genetics Society of AustralAsia in honour of the late Associate Professor Alan Wilton, to recognise outstanding contributions to the field of genetics research by Australasian scientists early in their career. The award is intended to assist the recipient in advancement of their career and will be awarded for work completed within five years of graduating as a PhD. Career interruptions will be taken into account in exercising this five year limit.
D.G. Catcheside Prize
2024 Monica Fahey
2023 Sarah Whiteley
2022 Karissa Barthelson
2021 Emily Roycroft
2020 Theresa Cole
2019 Jakob Butler
2018 Ira Deveson
2017 Katherine Harrisson
2016 Sebastián Duchêne
2015 Michaela Blyton
2014 Dong Wang
2013 Kynan Lawlor
2012 Camilla Whittington
2011 Catherine Grueber
2010 Anna Sheppard
2009 Timothy Hore
2008 Ryan Garrick
2007 Mark de Bruyn
2006 Marnie Blewitt
2005 Peter Papathanasiou
2004 W. Greg Somers
The D. G. Catcheside Prize has been established to honour the memory of the late Professor David Guthrie Catcheside (1907–1994) by recognising the achievements of the top Australasian doctoral student in the field of genetics.
The prize is made available by a generous bequest to the Genetics Society of AustralAsia from Professor Catcheside’s family. A detailed description of the scientific contributions of Professor Catcheside can be found at the Australian Academy of Science website.
Genetics Society of AustralAsia Award for Excellence in Education
2024 [Not awarded]
2023 Masha Smallhorn
2022 Miloš Tanurdžić
2021 Phillip Wilcox
2020 Richard Edwards
2019 [Not awarded]
2018 Jenny Donald
2017 Jaime Gongora
2016 Dawn Gleeson
The Genetics Society of AustralAsia Award for Excellence in Education has been established by the Genetics Society of AustralAsia to recognise an individual who has made outstanding contributions to genetics education in AustralAsia. Candidates must be at least five years post the awarding of their PhD.
Spencer Smith-White Travel Award
2024 Ana Parra Nuñez
2023 Soleille Miller
2022 Harrison Eyck
2021 Stephanie Chen & Nynke Raven
2020 Katarina Stuart
2019 Sonu Yadav
2018 Joshua Li and Dan Selechnik
2017 Isobel Ronai
2016 Joshua Penalba and Isobel Ronai
2015 Florencia Camus
2014 Chelsie Rohrscheib
2013 [Not awarded]
2012 Jennifer Morrow
2011 Shannon Smith
2010 Kerensa McElroy
2009 Angelique Riepsamen
2008 Anna Sheppard
2007 Timothy Hore
2005 Melinda Pickup
2004 Julia Jones
The Spencer Smith-White Travel Prize is granted annually to assist PhD students who are members of GSA to attend the annual conference. The GSA committee may elect to offer more than one award in a given year.
Spencer ‘Spinny’ Smith-White was a founding member of the Genetics Society of AustralAsia. Spinny was a Professor of Genetics at School of Biological Sciences at Sydney University. His work was in the field of cytogenetics. Spinny was a strong supporter of the Society and student participation in it.
Philip Batterham Conference Prize
2024 Maddison Howie
2023 Morgan Kelly
The Philip Batterham Conference Prize is granted annually to assist Honours and Masters students who are members of GSA to attend the annual conference. The GSA committee may elect to offer more than one award in a given year.
Phil Batterham has been a strong supporter of the Genetics Society of AustralAsia, serving as President from 2010–2012 and the Victorian Representative on the committee from 1996–2022. Phil was awarded the Genetics Society of AustralAsia MJD White Medal in 2015 for his research excellence in the field of insecticide resistance. Phil is an Emeritus Professor of Genetics at the School of BioSciences at The University of Melbourne.
The Mayo Prize for best student presentation
2023 Georgia Cullen
2022 Harrison Eyck
2021 Katarina Stuart
2020 [Not awarded]
2019 Elspeth McLennan & Jack Scanlan
2018 Olga Zaytseva
2017 Catriona Campbell
2016 Nicky Rollings
2015 Nicky Rollings
2014 Isobel Ronai
2013 Ryan Catchpole
2012 Yee Lian Chew
2010 Shannon Smith
2009 Andrew Lloyd
2008 Camilla Whittington
The prize is named for George and Jean Mayo, prominent Australian geneticists who were founding members of the first genetics department in Australia, at the University of Adelaide. Jean Mayo was also President of the Genetics Society of Australia from 1979–80.
The Mayo Prize is awarded annually for the best student talk at each year’s GSA conference.
The Sidney James Prize for best student poster
2023 Elize Ng
2022 Nicholas O’Brien
2021 Toby Kovacs
2020 [Not awarded]
2019 Laura Cook
2018 Jason Ji
2017 Sarada Ketharnathan
2016 Sally Mortlock
The prize is named for Sidney James, who was for many years the sole geneticist at UWA, working on plant population cytogenetics in the Botany School. Sid passed away in 1998. Several articles appeared later that summarise his important contributions to Australasian genetics (James 2000 Aust J Bot 48, 341-347; Bussell et al., 2002 Evolution 56, 1296-1302).
The Sidney James Prize is awarded annually for the best student poster at each year’s GSA conference.
The Jenny Graves Prize for best student lightning presentation
2023 Grace Day
2022 Himal Shrestha
2021 Cadel Watson
The prize is named for Jenny Graves, a prominent Australian geneticist who has made seminal contributions to the understanding of vertebrate genome organisation and evolution. Jenny Graves served as President of the GSA from 1995–97 and received the inaugural MJD White Medal in 2009 from the GSA. She was elected a Fellow of the Australasian Academy of Science in 1999 and was the first woman to win the Prime Minister’s Prize for Science solo.
The Jenny Graves Prize is awarded annually for the best student lightning talk at each year’s GSA conference.