“Exceptional students make a good supervisor” was Professor Greg Monteith’s humble reaction when commended at the 2015 Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences Research Awards.
The School of Pharmacy researcher and mentor, who has helped guide 22 PhD students, was a finalist in the Research Higher Degree (RHD) Supervision Award.
It was a satisfying occasion for Professor Monteith, as research student Dr Felicity Davis also earned a commendation in the Early Career Research Excellence Award.
“Felicity receiving her commendation was a great example of why we devote our time to student supervision,” Professor Monteith said.
“It’s critical we foster the next generation of researchers seeking to address major health problems.
“Of course it is easier to be a good advisor when you have exceptional students.
“We’re fortunate the School of Pharmacy, based at the Pharmacy Australia Centre of Excellence, is able to attract some of the best postgraduate pharmacy students in the world.”
An advocate of co-publishing and travelling in order to enhance knowledge and career development, Professor Monteith has featured PhD students as co-authors on 59 out of 65 publications since 2002.
He is a member of the editorial board for the Journal of Biological Chemistry and received previous honours which include a UQ Foundation Research Excellence Award.
Professor Monteith’s particular present focus is on subtypes of breast cancer with poor prognosis, and the relationship to calcium channels and pumps.
It was work in this field that also saw Dr Davis among the finalists for a HaBS Research Award.
Currently at the University of Cambridge on a National Health and Medical Research Council CJ Martin Early Career Fellowship, Dr Davis has already published 10 papers in high-quality journals.
Dr Davis’s research focuses on intracellular signalling pathways in the regulation of adult mammary stem cells, and their contribution to the growth and development of the breast.
Previously she has received the Martin Rodbell Award for the best oral presentation by a Postdoctoral Fellow at the National Institutes of Health, and the Denis Wade J&J Young Investigator Award.
In 2016 Dr Davis will return to UQ to complete her Early Career Fellowship.
