A SCIENTIST raised in Lavington has become just the 22nd Australian to receive an Eisenhower Fellowship.
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Associate Professor Phoebe Phillips has been awarded the honour, named after US President Dwight Eisenhower, in recognition of her work in the biomedical area which includes leading a team investigating treatment for pancreatic cancer.
“I really didn’t think I’d be chosen, there’s very few scientists that have been chosen because it’s a global leadership award,” Professor Phillips said.
The Sydney-based University of NSW academic will travel the US from March to May to learn about the commercialisation of basic research.
“Australia is really poor at commercialising our science opportunities so I really want to bridge that gap, create a small business and have the economic benefits stay in Australia,” she said.
A Lavington girl, Professor Phillips attended Albury North High School, now James Fallon High School.
“I didn’t get great marks in my HSC, I had a family drama and it was a tough time, but it didn’t stop me and it shouldn’t stop anyone,” she said.
After a science degree at the University of Western Sydney, Professor Phillips focused on the pancreas and has spent the last 13 years leading her team probing cancer’s impact on the organ.
“I wanted to make a difference in a cancer where no-one else was doing much in Australia,” she said.
Her research is centred on breaking down the scar tissue of the pancreas which blocks chemotherapy drugs from being delivered to tumours affecting the organ.
Previous Eisenhower fellows from Australia include ABC television broadcaster Annabel Crabb and Aboriginal actress Leah Purcell.