CMA Industry Awards 2022
12 December 2022
NICM HRI’s Professor Dennis Chang and Dr Phoebe Zhou were awarded at the 2022 Complementary Medicines Australia (CMA) Industry Awards held in Sydney last week.
Professor Chang received the inaugural Marcus Blackmore Award for Most Outstanding Contrition to Research and Education. The award honours the most outstanding contribution or breakthrough by an individual or small team in education, research or training for the advancement and benefit of the complementary medicines industry.
Dr Phoebe Zhou was named Young Achiever of the Year. The award applauds young individuals and recognises the importance of celebrating and acknowledging exceptional individuals for today and for the future. Award recipients demonstrate leadership, innovation, and futuristic thinking.
Complementary medicine products are characterised by multi-component form, and the possible interactions (synergistic/antagonistic) among components play a pivotal role of the overall safety and efficacy. Such knowledge has been embedded in traditional formulations and many developed combination therapies, however, scientific evidence is largely lacking and often neglected.
Dr Zhou’s research defines herb interactions, develop mathematical tools to determine interaction, and deepen the knowledge of underlying mechanisms. Numerous publications from Dr Zhou have demonstrated that synergy is frequently presented in well-designed herbal formulae. Her research helps clarify the mystery of efficacy in herbal formulations and promotes combination therapy in complementary products.
“Dr Zhou is a postdoctoral researcher (5-year post PhD) who is dedicated to build scientific evidence for the mechanisms of complementary medicine products - it is great to see her research and work recognised by the industry body CMA,” said Professor Dennis Chang, Director, NICM Health Research Institute.
“These awards are a testament to our commitment to research excellence in advancing the science behind integrative and complementary medicine.”
