Recognising two outstanding researchers with the 2025 Lea Medal
04 March 2025
Dr Jennifer Devlin and Dr Maria Ftanou have been awarded the 2025 Lea Medal.
The Lea Medal was first awarded at Peter Mac nine years ago in response to historic gender imbalances in the senior ranks of health and science.
With generous support from the Peter Mac Foundation, the award is designed to help raise the profile of Peter Mac’s female-identifying, early to mid-career researchers as many of them face barriers and lack support at this critical time in their career.
Dr Devlin, a post-doctorate researcher in the Johnstone Lab, said her research studies a process called transcription – which is how the genes in our cells are expressed.
“This process often goes wrong in cancer cells, particularly in aggressive cancers,” she said.
“I aim to advance our understanding of how gene transcription is controlled as this insight will then allow us to discover new treatment strategies and drugs to improve outcomes for people living with cancer.
“The Lea Medal means a great deal to me, and I am very excited about how it will help me pursue my scientific ambitions.
“The award reflects the strong commitment the Research Executive and the entire Peter Mac community has towards supporting and championing women across all stages of their scientific careers.
“It also provides key opportunities and positive exposure for women researchers who want to pursue leadership positions,” Dr Devlin said
Director of Psychosocial Oncology at Peter Mac, Dr Ftanou, will use the funds from the Lea Medal to develop guidelines to support healthcare professionals working in oncology to detect, prevent and manage suicidal ideation in cancer patients.
“Currently guidelines don’t exist so this project will fill a gap in evidence and the award will also allow clinically necessary research to be undertaken, as well as help strengthen collaboration with national and international colleagues working in this space,” she said.
“On a professional level, this award is an incredible recognition for my research contributions and my potential in the field.
“Notably it also validates the importance of mental health research at Peter Mac and enhances the visibility of this area of research in the Peter Mac community.
“Awards like this help create visibility for female clinical researchers. Our psychosocial oncology program has amazing colleagues with higher degrees, and I’d love to create a path that helps boost leadership in research and encourage more people to engage with it,” Dr Ftanou said.
This award was made possible through the generosity of donors to the Peter Mac Foundation and this year’s medals were presented at the Women in Science Symposium.