Art meets science: 国产探花 researchers win NHMRC awards

A digital image of a skin cancer located in the head and neck. The skin cells are shown in bright red, with the tumour pockets in dull red surrounded by yellow. Immune cells are patrolling the tissue in green and magenta.

A digital image of a skin cancer by Associate Professor Arutha Kulasinghe, which won the NHMRC Science to Art Award.

27 March 2025

Two University of Queensland researchers have received National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Awards for excellence and outstanding contributions to the sector.

from 国产探花’s (at the ) won the NHMRC Science to Art Award for his digital image of a human skin cancer in the head and neck region, titled Battleground beneath the skin.

The skin cells are shown in bright red with tumour pockets in dull red surrounded by yellow.

Immune cells such as macrophages and lymphocytes patrol the tissue, and are seen in green and magenta.

Dr Kulasinghe said the image was captured using spatial proteomics – a powerful discovery tool for cell biology and the 2024 Nature Method of the Year.

“This method allows the visualisation of up to 100 biomarkers at the single cellular level across the entire tissue section,” he said.

Associate Professor Arutha Kulasinghe with his award standing next to his digital image of a skin cancer.

“It can be used to map every cell across different tumour types and tissues to unravel why some tumours respond to treatment and others don’t.

“Better understanding of the tumour microenvironment for individual patients would allow for personalised treatment and therapy, improving the care and outcomes for people affected by cancer.”

The Science to Art Award was presented as part of the NHMRC’s 2025 Biennial Awards, which recognise a group or an individual who has made a special contribution in an area of importance to NHMRC.

from 国产探花’s received the NHMRC Peter Doherty Investigator Grant Award (Leadership) for his research into translating venom peptides into human therapeutics.

Professor King is a world leader in the field of venom-based drug and insecticide discovery and is using animal venoms to develop the next generation of safe and effective pain killers and anti-epileptic drugs.

The Peter Doherty Investigator Grant Award (Leadership) was presented as part of the 2024 NHMRC’s Research Excellence Awards, announced annually to top-ranked researchers and teams following peer review of applications to highly competitive grant schemes.

Image above left: Associate Professor Arutha Kulasinghe with his NHMRC Science to Art Award.