HMRI Awards Night 2007 - Thursday 8th November, Newcastle City Hall, 6pm

The Hunter Medical Research Institute (HMRI) will tonight announce the Hunter region's leading researcher and an honour roll of early career achievers at its annual awards night.

The HMRI Award for Research Excellence, supported by the Sparke Helmore / NBN Television Triathlon, recognises the Hunter's leading researcher. This year's recipient is breast cancer researcher Professor John Forbes from the University of Newcastle.

Professor Forbes is an internationally recognised researcher who leads a number of national and international clinical trials in breast cancer that span the prevention of the disease, through to early detection and optimal treatment. Over the last 20 years his research has improved the treatment and survival outcomes of women with breast cancer. He is a Professor of Surgical Oncology at the University of Newcastle and heads the ANZ Breast Cancer Trials Group, based at Calvary Mater Newcastle, which is recognised as one of the premier breast cancer clinical research organisations in Australia.

The HMRI Award for Early Career Research, sponsored by PULSE, supports a promising researcher in the early stage of their career. This year's winner is stroke researcher Dr Mark Parsons from Hunter New England Health.

Dr Mark Parsons is regarded as one of Australia's leading clinical stroke researchers and a leading early career researcher in brain imaging. His brain imaging research is already being adopted in clinical practice to improve the selection of patients for acute stroke therapies including clot dissolving treatments which can reduce stroke patients' levels of disability and lead to a quicker recovery when administered immediately after a stroke. Dr Parsons is a Staff Specialist in Neurology at Hunter New England Health, Director of the Acute Stroke Unit at the Calvary Mater Newcastle Hospital and a conjoint appointment of the University of Newcastle.

Three emerging early career researchers from the University of Newcastle working in the areas of male infertility (Dr Mark Baker), asthma (HMRI Port Waratah Coal Services Research Fellow Dr Vanessa Murphy), and multiple sclerosis (Mathew Cox) will be recognised with PULSE sponsored awards.

The 2007 HMRI Awards Night is sponsored by Newcastle Innovation. HMRI is a partnership between Hunter New England Health, the University of Newcastle and the community. PULSE is a group of young professionals that organises social events to support HMRI's early career researchers.

Further information on each winner and photographs are available on request (a photo of Professor John Forbes is available today. Photos of other winners will be available from 9am tomorrow). HMRI Director Professor Maree Gleeson is available for interview regarding the winners.