Proudly sponsored by Functional Plant Biology, the official journal of ASPS.
Applications for the Goldacre Award should be lodged with the Honorary Secretary, ASPS Inc. secretary@asps.org.au
Applications for the 2024 Goldacre Award are open.
The closing date for the 2024 award has been extended to 28th April 2024.
Nominations are invited for this Award every year. The background of the Award is given below, together with candidate prerequisites and procedures to follow in making a submission.
Peter Goldacre was an enthusiastic researcher who was held in great respect by his peers. His tragic death in 1960 from stomach cancer at age 34 shocked and saddened all his friends and colleagues. The Goldacre Medal was subsequently established as a lasting tribute to his contributions in plant physiology, and as an encouragement to young researchers.
1. The Award
1. The Award honours the memory and attainments of Peter Goldacre – a young scientist and foundation member of this Society.
2. The Award will be made on the merit of original research in one area, the findings of which have been published, or accepted for publication. The papers presented for the Award must have been published, or accepted for publication, since the applicant received their PhD and must NOT encompass research performed during their PhD. More than one paper may be submitted (maximum of five), but these should clearly be related to one theme. The candidate need not be the sole author, but it should be evident that they have played a major role in both the design and the execution of the work. Review papers are not considered. The work should have been done within 10 years of the candidate submitting their PhD – see Rule 2.2)
3. The work presented for assessment shall be in any branch of plant science represented by the Society.
4. The Award shall not be made for work carried out under supervision while the applicant was a candidate for a research degree.
5. The work need not have been carried out in Australia, if the candidate has Australian nationality (see Rule 2.4).
6. The Award will be made at intervals specified by the Society. Normally, an award will be considered yearly.
7. The value of the Award will be determined by the Society. The current value is $2,000, and is sponsored by Functional Plant Biology. A medal is also presented.
8. The Award need not be made on any occasion when the Society considers that there is no candidate of sufficient merit.
9. The successful applicant will be invited to present their work in a plenary Goldacre Lecture at the annual ComBio meeting, and to submit this presentation, with additional material as appropriate, for subsequent publication in Functional Plant Biology (continuing Australian Journal of Plant Physiology).
2. The Candidate
1. A person may apply for the Award or a nomination may be made on their behalf.
2. Candidates are not restricted as to the number of occasions on which they apply for the Goldacre Award. Previous recipients of the Goldacre Award cannot reapply. Previous recipients of the Anderson Award are ineligible to apply for the Goldacre Award.
3. To be eligible for this early career award, the candidate cannot exceed 10 cumulative years of employment subsequent to the year their PhD was submitted at the time of applying (excluding career breaks).
4. A candidate must have carried out the research within 10 cumulative years of employment subsequent to the year in which their PhD thesis was submitted. The papers presented for the Award must have been published, or accepted for publication, since the applicant received their PhD and must NOT encompass research performed during their PhD.
5. The candidate should be an Australian citizen, a permanent resident, or have carried out all the research for the Award in Australia.
6. A joint application or nomination from two or more persons, each fulfilling all requirements, will be considered.
7. Candidates should be members of the Society, and their nominators also should be members of the Society.
8. Candidates are not restricted as to the number of occasions on which they apply for the Award.
3. Application Procedure
1. Application for the Award will be made to the Secretary of the Society by a time specified, normally at least six months before the annual ASPS meeting at which the Award is announced to enable the Awardee to present their work in a Goldacre Lecture.
2. Each application shall consist of a one-page statement describing the merits of the applicant’s work, a full CV (including date of birth and employment history), and copies of each of the published papers forming the basis of the application. It shall also include a summary limited to 100 words that can be used as a citation at the Award ceremony. Career breaks should be specified within the application (in terms of nature and length of the break). All of the above application materials should be submitted as a single electronic file.
3. The Secretary of the Society only will maintain a register of applications. Thus those assessing applications will not know whether they have originated as nominations or direct applications.
4. The Award will be made by the Society on the recommendation of its Committee who may co-opt expert assessors for this purpose. The Secretary and President will select appropriate Australian and international assessors, whose identity will remain known only to them. In cases where more than one candidate receives a strong recommendation, the President or Secretary will decide on the Award on the basis of the advice received.
Past Recipients of the Peter Goldacre Award
1965 Joe Giovanelli
1968 Bob Smillie
1970 Roger Slack
1972 Barry Osmond
1974 Andrew Smith
1976 John Andrews
1977 Ray Rose
1978 TJ Higgins
1979 Brian Loveys
1980 Graham Farquhar
1981 Margaret Sedgley
1982 Murray Badger
1984 Simon Robinson & Joe Wolfe
1986 Jim Burnell
1987 Steve Tyerman
1988 Adrienne Hardham
1989 Ian Dry
1990 Geoff McFadden
1991 John Evans
1992 Bob Furbank
1994 Mark Thomas
1995 Jon Lloyd
1997 Peter Ryan
1998 Jim Whelan and Adrienne Clarke
1999 Daniel Schachtman
2000 Barry Pogson
2001 Christine Beveridge
2002 Spencer Whitney
2003 Harvey Millar
2004 Stephen Swain
2005 Yong-Ling Ruan
2006 Peter Dodds
2007 Ulrike Mathesius
2008 Jason Able
2009 Ben Trevaskis
2010 Christopher Cazzonelli
2011 Chanyarat Paungfoo-Lonhienne
2012 Josh Mylne
2013 Min Chen
2014 Brett Ferguson
2015 Mark Waters
2016 Sam Periyannan
2017 Jonathan Plett
2018 Dr Caitlin Byrt
2019 Dr Simon Williams
2020 Dr Alex Wu
2021 Dr Joanna Melonek
2022 Dr Maria Ermakova
2023 Dr Tatiana Soares da Costa
2024 Dr Peter Crisp