The Edgeworth David Medal for 2019 has been awarded to Professor Si Ming Man, of the John Curtin School of Medical Research (JCSMR) at the Australian National University.

The Edgeworth David Medal is awarded each year for distinguished contributions by a young scientist under the age of thirty-five for work done mainly in Australia or contributing to the advancement of Australian science.

Professor Man gratefully acknowledged his team and their contributions to this award.  

“This award also recognises the outstanding work of my research team and colleagues at the John Curtin School of Medical Research at the ANU.”  he said.

The below is the citation about Professor Man, taken from The Edgeworth David Medal website.

Professor Si Ming Man is an outstanding young researcher in the field of innate immunology, attaining a full professorship only six years after his PhD graduation. Six of his recent papers are recognised as “highly cited”, being in the top 1% of the field. His research has identified a class of disease-fighting “killer” proteins, produced by the cell, which can directly attack bacteria, causing these pathogens to die and release signals that can rapidly trigger activation of the immune system. Further studies have shown that immune receptors have critical roles in preventing gut inflammation and the development of colorectal (bowel) cancer, while most recently he has discovered that toxins from foodborne bacteria can be detected and blockaded by immune receptors to prevent sepsis.

Professor Man is a group leader in the Department of Immunology and Infectious Disease at JCSMR.