Michaelia Cash (WA, Liberal Party, Minister for Women) Share this | Hansard source

Thank you, Senator Reynolds, for that question. Like my colleague Simon Birmingham, I too would like to acknowledge the recipients of the Prime Minister's Prizes for Science, whom we celebrated last night in the Great Hall. It really is fantastic to have you joining us here in the chamber today. On behalf of all of us, congratulations. Last night, it really was a privilege to hear the stories of these scientists in pursuing their passion for human health and wellbeing. I'm going to describe each one to you, but describing them really does not in any way touch upon what really is their brilliance.

The winner of the Prime Minister's Prize for Science was Professor Jenny Graves AO. Jenny has pioneered the use of our distant marsupial relatives to better understand our X and Y sex chromosomes, our immune systems and the human brain. Professor Graves is also our first individual female winner of this top prize.

The winner of the Prime Minister's Prize for Innovation is Laureate Professor Eric Reynolds AO, who discovered a protein in milk that strengthens and repairs teeth. It's now sold as toothpaste and other dental products, and it has already generated in excess of $2 billion in sales.

Then there are the Malcolm McIntosh Prize for Physical Scientist of the Year and the Frank Fenner Prize for Life Scientist of the Year. This year's winners are Professor Dayong Jin, who has created new kinds of microscopes that view molecules at work inside living cells, and Professor Jian Yang, who has developed a new statistical method to analyse the human genome.

Critical for our young Australians are the teachers. The Prime Minister's Prize for Excellence in Science Teaching in Primary Schools and the Prime Minister's Prize for Excellence in Science Teaching in Secondary Schools went to Mr Neil Bramsen of Mount Ousley Public School, in Wollongong, and Mr Brett McKay of Kirrawee High School, in New South Wales, respectively.(Time expired).