Award Recipients

Current and past recipients of the Obesity Society Young Investigator Award are:

2008 - Dr Alexia S Pena Vargas

The worthy recipient of the prestigious Obesity Society Young Investigator Award for 2008 was Dr Alexia S Pena Vargas. Alexia was presented this award at the 2008 ANZOS ASM where she gave a summary presentation of her work. Her research was undertaken whilst she was training in Paediatric Medicine. In August 2008, she was awarded her PhD in "Vascular endothelial and smooth muscle function in children at risk of cardiovascular disease (obesity and type 1 diabetes) and the effects of folic acid supplementation". In March 2009, she also became a fellow of the RACP as a specialist in Paediatric Endocrinology.

References:
Pena AS, Wiltshire EJ, Gent R, Hirte C, Couper JJ. Folic acid does not improve endothelial function in obese children and adolescents. Diabetes Care 2007; 30: 2122-7.
Pena AS, Wiltshire EJ, Gent R, Hirte C, Cooper JJ. Folic acid improves endothelial function in children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes. J Pediatr 2004; 144: 500-4.

2007 - Dr Leonie Heilbronn

The worthy recipient of the prestigious Obesity Society Young Investigator Award for 2007 was Dr Leonie Heilbronn. Leonie was presented her award at the 2007 Obesity Society Annual Scientific Meeting where she gave a short presentation on her work.

2005 - Dr Nuala Byrne

The worthy recipient of the prestigious Obesity Society Young Investigator Award in 2005 was Dr Nuala Byrne. Dr Byrne was awarded the Doctor of Philosophy in 2001 for her dissertation titled Adaptation to weight loss in obese adults. In 2001-2002, Dr Byrne undertook a Post-Doctoral Fellowship in the Department of Nutrition Sciences, Division of Physiology and Metabolism, University of Alabama at Birmingham and worked with international experts Professors Roland Weinsier and Gary Hunter. Dr Byrne provided expertise in the area of exercise training in the conduct of NIH funded diet and exercise interventions.
Since returning to Australia to the Queensland University of Technology, Dr Byrne has continued to collaborate on a number of NIH projects dealing with the role of metabolism and exercise in the aetiology of obesity. In addition, Dr Byrne has been successful in obtaining NHMRC Project Grant funding, is a collaborator on a large NHMRC Research Partnership in Type 2 diabetes and was a key player in the development of the ATN Centre for Metabolic Fitness. A willingness to challenge existing scientific maxims in energy metabolism has given rise to further high-impact publications. In addition to her strengths in research Dr Byrne has extensive experience as a clinician having worked as an exercise physiologist at both QUT and UAB.

2004 - Dr Kylie Hesketh

The worthy recipient of the prestigious Obesity Society Young Investigator Award in 2004 is Dr Kylie Hesketh. Kylie was presented her award at the 2004 ASSO Annual Scientific Meeting where she gave a short presentation on her work. The key paper she submitted for judging was titled \"Body mass index and parent-reported self-esteem in elementary school children: evidence for a causal relationship\", which has been currently published as an advance online publication, and should be available in the print version of the International Journal of Obesity by the end of the year. Her affiliations when she wrote the paper were Centre for Community Child Health, University of Melbourne, and Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, Royal Children’s Hospital Melbourne. The paper was written in conjunction with her colleagues, Drs Melissa Wake and Elizabeth Waters, of the MCRI in Melbourne.

Reference (advance online publication):
Hesketh K, Wake M & Waters E. Body mass index and parent-reported self-esteem in elementary school children: evidence for a causal relationship. International Journal of Obesity. 2004: 1-5.

2003 - Dr Natalie Luscombe

Reference:
Luscombe ND, Clifton PM, Noakes M, Farnsworth E, Wittert G. Effect of a high-protein, energy-restricted diet on weight loss and energy expenditure after weight stabilization in hyperinsulinemic subjects. International Journal of Obesity. 2003; 27: 582-590.

2002 - Dr Amanda Sainsbury-Salis

Reference:
Sainsbury A et al. Y4 receptor knockout rescues fertility in OB/OB mice. Genes and Development. 2002; 16: 1077-1088.

2001 - Dr Adamandia D Kriketos

Reference:
Lapsys NM, Kriketos AD, Lim-Fraser M et al. Expression of genes involved in lipid metabolism correlate with peroxisome proliferator-activated g receptor expression in human skeletal muscle. Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism. 2000; 85: 4293-4297.