Tony Burgess Medal 2026

About the award

The Tony Burgess Medal has been established to honour the significant contribution of Professor Burgess AC FAA FTSE¹ as a founding member of the VCCC Alliance Board, including the visionary role he played in bringing the integrated model of cancer care to Victoria to establish the Victorian Comprehensive Cancer Centre.

This is a competitive opportunity. The successful recipient will be awarded a $5000 prize.

The prize is available to early- to mid-stage career researchers, including laboratory group leaders (5-15 years post PhD, or equivalent as per the Australian Qualifications Framework Level 10 descriptor), who are currently working within a VCCC Alliance member organisation².

The successful applicant will showcase their innovative program of cancer-focused research, highlighting collaboration as a key priority, with a short plenary address at the VCCC Alliance Awards Ceremony later this year.

What will be assessed?

When awarding the prize, the selection committee will consider the strength of the entire application including the CV and assessment criteria. 

Potential Impact: Innovation, Creativity and Significance ~35%

• Does the program of work showcase innovative information, or present a new area of work?
• Is the work original?
• Is the application written clearly and organised well?
• Is the significance of the work clearly stated?
• Is there clear potential for translation?

Collaborative Approach: Alignment with VCCC Alliance priority of collaboration ~30%

• Is the program of work cancer-focused?
• Does the program of work demonstrate a collaborative, integrated and comprehensive approach?
• Does the program of work involve local, national or international collaborators?
• Does the program of work identify synergies and leverage existing strengths across Alliance member organisations?

National and International Recognition: Including research quality and capability ~20%

• Does the program of work have clearly stated aim(s) and outcome(s)?
• Are the methods well-designed/appropriate to the question(s) addressed, and interim conclusions justified in relation to the data and/or analyses/description?
• Strength of the applicant's CV (relative to opportunity) including publications

Inclusion: Including alignment with VCCC Alliance values of “for all” and “patient-centred” ~15%

• Has the program of work involved consumers?
• Does the program of work pursue equitable access to cancer care and outcomes?

Eligibility requirements

Applicants must be an early- to mid-career researcher, including laboratory group leaders (5-15 years post PhD, or equivalent as per the Australian Qualifications Framework Level 10 descriptor) with a VCCC Alliance member².

The committee will only consider applicants who:

• satisfy all of the eligibility requirements noted above, and
• submit a complete application by 5.00pm (AEST) Monday 15 June as a single PDF, via email to: [email protected]

Retrospective applications will not be considered.

Application

The complete application will consist of the following:

1. Completed application form
2. Curriculum Vitae - Please include the following sections: 1-page maximum, with current and prior positions (last five years), positions of responsibility (last five years), top 10 publications (last 10 years) and a 100-word statement of impact of the applicant’s research or work.

For queries please contact [email protected].

Background

¹Professor Tony Burgess AC FAA FTSE is one of Australia’s top cancer researchers, the former Director of the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research in Melbourne, Professor of Surgery at the Royal Melbourne Hospital, University of Melbourne and Laboratory Head at WEHI. He has an illustrious research history with over 300 publications to his name and has given numerous keynote speeches at Institutes and conferences around the world. He discovered the haemopoietic growth factor G-CSF and was part of the team which cloned murine GM-CSF. Much of his research involved the study of epithelial cancers and he was a leader of the team which solved the 3D structures of the EGFR and HER2 extra-cellular domains.

Throughout his career, Professor Burgess was also a strong force in the advancement of cancer management and research, having been involved in at least thirty scientific committees, boards and funds. In 1998 he was appointed a Companion of General Division of the Order of Australia (AC) for his outstanding services to science and medicine, especially in the field of cancer research.

²VCCC Alliance members: Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, the Royal Melbourne Hospital, University of Melbourne, the Royal Women’s Hospital, the Royal Children’s Hospital, Western Health, St Vincent’s Hospital (including St Vincent’s Institute), Austin Health (including Olivia Newton-John Cancer Research Institute), Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, Albury Wodonga Health, and Bendigo Health 

Submission deadline: 
5.00pm AEST,  Monday 15 June