Professor Mark Febbraio wins the 2020 GSK Award for Research Excellence

Professor Mark Febbraio from the Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences (MIPS) has become the 40th winner of the prestigious GSK Award for Research Excellence.

The former professional athlete turned medical researcher – who is Head of the Cellular and Molecular Metabolism Laboratory within the Drug Discovery Program at MIPS – is leading the development of a new potential treatment for obesity, type 2 diabetes and muscle mass loss.

Professor Febbraio’s ground-breaking research synthesized a protein (called IC7Fc), which has the potential to treat metabolic diseases that are known to be protected by exercise, by improving glucose metabolism and preventing weight gain.

Professor Febbraio and his team are preparing for phase one clinical trials to determine the application of this discovery in developing a treatment to address currently unmet treatment needs. The $80,000 prize that comes with the GSK Award for Research Excellence will support this research.

Professor Febbraio has been on a winning streak of late, having recently being awarded the 2020 Australian Museum Eureka Prize for Scientific Research and the Society of Endocrinology International Medal.