MUSSE

Professor Frank Caruso, Federation Fellow in the Melbourne School of Engineering.

A world leader in polymer science research aimed at delivering advanced drug delivery systems and a leading expert in the impact of globalisation on higher education have won the University’s prestigious Woodward Medal.

The Woodward Medals, presented each year by the University, recognise staff for research considered to have made the most significant contribution in their field during the previous three years.

Professor Frank Caruso, Federation Fellow in the Melbourne School of Engineering, has been awarded the 2008 Woodward Medal in Science and Technology. The Medal recognises his outstanding body of published work exploring nanoengineered particles for a new generation of advanced drug delivery systems, aimed at improving healthcare and medical outcomes for the treatment of diseases such as cancer and AIDS.

His pioneering studies have led to successful collaborations with leading biomedical institutes, with outcomes such as: targeted imaging systems for cardiovascular disease (with the Baker Heart Medical Institute); drug delivery to the inner ear (with the Bionic Ear Institute); novel HIV vaccine delivery systems (with the Department of Immunology and Microbiology); and effective drug targeting of colorectal cancer cells (with the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research).

Professor Simon Marginson, Professor of Higher Education in the Centre for the Study of Higher Education, has been awarded the 2008 Woodward Medal in Humanities and Social Sciences in recognition of his large body of work examining the changes occurring in higher education and knowledge as the result of globalisation, including the global positioning of universities, international education, and the significance now given to global university rankings.

According to Professor Gary Rhoades, editor of the international journal Higher Education, Professor Marginson is “unquestionably one of the top two or three comparative higher education scholars in the world his involvement and impact extend way beyond the academic to the world of international, regional, and national policy organisations”.

Professor Marginson’s work combines an original theorisation of globalisation with focus on the practical consequences including the implications for university strategy. His nomination was based on a portfolio of three book chapters, nine journal articles, and two OECD policy research papers. This represents only a small fraction of his output in the past three years.