Liz’s medal quaddie

Dr Liz Paratz has had a medal haul to rival our Olympic swimmers in Paris. In the fortnight, Liz – who, incidentally, speaks French – received four prestigious awards:

• The TJ (Jack) Martin Medal from St Vincent’s Hospital Melbourne (SVHM)
• The Ralph Reader Prize at the Cardiac Society of Australia and New Zealand (CSANZ) in the clinical section for the EndUCD project
• The Chancellor’s Prize for Excellence in the PhD thesis – six medals are awarded across all faculties at the University of Melbourne
• The Dean’s Award for Excellence in the PhD Thesis, Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences, University of Melbourne.

Dr Paratz, who recently joined SVI’s Heart, Exercise and Research Trials (HEART) Lab as a Team Leader, said she was honoured, and that the recognition helps spotlight important work.

“Sudden cardiac arrest affects 26,000 Australians a year, with about 90 percent of these people dying. Not only is this a tragic outcome, but many of these people were completely unaware they were at risk.

“Current health interventions are directed at those diagnosed with disease, but there is an important window of opportunity in preventing disease among those at heightened risk. Risk identification for these conditions is currently poor,” said Liz.

Liz’s work focuses on accelerating and furthering the understanding of sudden cardiac arrest. She is also supported through SVI’s growing relationship with the Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute (VCCRI).  Both André and Liz are cardiologists with SVHM.

Professor André La Gerche, who established the HEART lab at SVI, and is a previous TJ Martin Medal and Ralph Reader recipient, said that Liz’s capacity for work is unrivalled.

“Her professionalism and ability as a clinician and researcher are advanced well beyond her years,” said André.

Much of Liz’s research has been dedicated to developing the EndUCD (End Unexplained Cardiac Death) Registry of cardiac arrests in Victoria of those aged under 50 years. This work has been generously supported by a Foundation initiated by Professor Lorraine Dennerstein.

“When my son Ross died suddenly, we were unable to get good information on what happened, why and how we can prevent similar tragedies for other families. We set out to get those questions answered for the benefit of all Australians. Liz took up the challenge and has exceeded all expectations.”

The TJ Martin Medal is named in honour of Professor Jack Martin AO FRS, the former Director of SVI (1988 – 2002) and Professor of Medicine at SVHM (1987 – 1998), who was recognised for his groundbreaking contributions in medical research, particularly in bone tumours and osteoporosis. The Medal is awarded annually for the best MD or PhD student for their research thesis. It is judged by an independent panel, during St Vincent’s Melbourne Research Week, an annual event hosted at St Vincent’s Hospital Melbourne to celebrate medical innovation and research excellence across the campus and the Aikenhead Centre for Medical Discovery (ACMD).

The Ralph Reader Prize (originally the Young Investigators Award) was first presented in 1980.  Named after Dr Ralph Reader, a tribute to his encouragement of young investigators during his time as Medical Director of the National Heart Foundation from 1961-70 and as Director and Chief Executive from 1970 until his retirement in 1980. The Ralph Reader Prize remains the most prestigious research award to young investigators by the Cardiac Society of Australia and New Zealand (CSANZ).

The Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences has, very recently, reintroduced the Dean’s Award for Excellence in the PhD Thesis.  The Dean’s award allows the faculty to recognise excellence across the breadth of our graduate research endeavours. This award recognises the top 5 theses from across the faculty’s schools and institutes.