The National Foundation for Medical Research and Innovation offers the Dr John Raftos AM Award for Advancing Innovation every two years to an existing NFMRI grant recipient for an outstanding contribution towards the development and advancement of a biomedical innovation related to the nature, prevention, diagnosis, treatment and incidence of disease and other health problems that have a significant impact on the health of humans.
The medal is awarded with a prize of $50,000, in the form of a grant to support the research activities of the recipient.
About Dr John Raftos AM
Dr John Raftos was a leading cardiologist and hypertension researcher who served our Foundation from 1982-2007.
As a cardiologist, he was instrumental in the development of revolutionary treatments using anti-hypertension drugs, including beta-blockers. A world expert in his field, he was widely published in international medical journals and was made a life member of the High Blood Pressure Council of Australia. He was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia in 1991 for his “services to medicine, particularly in the field of hypertension and cardiology”.
Dr Raftos became president of Sydney Hospital in 1978 and shortly afterwards joined our Foundation, many years of which he served as Chairman of the Board.
Dr Raftos passed away at the age of 87 and will be remembered as a determined and passionate individual who was not afraid of a challenge and happy to advocate for change.
About the Award
The award is presented to the researcher judged by our Research Advisory Committee (RAC) and Board to be responsible for outstanding contributions to biomedical innovation advancement following the review of the acquittal forms and other supporting materials including published papers, patents, evidence of translation etc. Innovations will include Australian research and discoveries into new medicines, vaccines, biologicals, devices, tools or diagnostics.
The Directors of the Foundation are the final judge of the award. The award may be shared if the judges agree that more than one applicant is equally worthy of the award. If there aren’t any suitable candidates, the Foundation may elect not to offer the award in any particular year.
The recipient of the award will be invited to present at the NFMRI annual award ceremony, which is normally held in November or December each year.
2026 Dr John Raftos AM Award Winners: Prof. Roger Chung and Prof. Nicholas Huntington
Prof. Roger Chung (Macquarie University) and Prof. Nicholas Huntington (Monash University) are the recipients of NFMRI’s 2026 Dr John Raftos AM Award for Advancing Innovation. The Board of NFMRI awarded the medal to:
- Prof. Roger Chung for his successes with the development of novel therapeutics to help treat ALS/MND through spin-off company Celosia Therapeutics, and
- Prof. Nicholas Huntington for his research program into NK cells and Cytokine, which have driven meaningful progress in Audax Bioscience’s early-stage oncology portfolio and have informed new immune-oncology initiatives pursued by prominent past collaborators such as Gilead Sciences.
Both candidates have achieved tremendous success in their own right, and as both were equally worthy of the Award, it was resolved by the Board to present two Awards in 2026. Each recipient will receive a prize of $50,000 in the form of a research grant to continue supporting their research activities.
Some of the key highlights from both recipients can be found below.
L:R – Prof. Nicholas Huntington, Alison Gartner (NFMRI RAC), A/Prof. John Raftos, Dr. Jennilee Davidson (accepting award on behalf of Prof. Roger Chung)
Prof. Roger Chung, Macquarie University
“Preclinical evaluation of novel therapeutics for clearance of TDP-43 in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis” ($183,488, 2019-2021)
Indication: ALS/MND | Type: therapeutics
Key achievement: Prof. Roger Chung has developed novel therapeutics to help treat ALS and MND. He has since successfully established a spin-off company with a substantial Series A capital raise for a significant disease with a major unmet need where therapeutics will be developed through his spin-off company.
Funding leveraged from NFMRI grant:
- Fight MND Foundation Drug Development Grant, $1,000,000
- Fight MND Foundation Impact Grant, $250,000
- NHMRC Ideas Grant, 2023-2025, “Developing novel gene expression control mechanisms for ALS (MND) gene therapies”, $794,115
- Seed and capital raised amounted to $18.75m combined
Awards received post grant:
- Recipient of the 2023 NHMRC Marshall and Warren Innovation Award
Translational achievements:
- Spin-off company, Celosia Therapeutics, $2,000,000 seed funding raised, followed by a series A of $16.75 million led by Uniseed
Health impact: ALS/MND is a rare, progressive and debilitating neurological disease that is ultimately fatal. There is currently no known treatment that stops or reverses the progression of ALS. Current estimates suggest there are around 140,000 people globally living with ALS and around 400,000 living with MND.
Prof. Nicholas Huntington, Monash University
“Dr. John Dixon Hughes OAM Medal – Genetically modified NK cells for cancer immunotherapy” ($50,000, 2019)
Indication: cancer | Type: immunotherapy
Key achievements: Prof. Nicholas Huntington used the Medal prize grant to boost significantly his existing research program into NK cells and Cytokine, as well as to build his drug development acumen. These advances have driven meaningful progress in Audax Bioscience’s early-stage oncology portfolio and have informed new immuno-oncology initiatives pursued by prominent international past collaborators, including Gilead Sciences, as well as the immune-oncology strategies of organisations benefiting from his advisory board memberships.
Funding leveraged from NFMRI grant:
- NHMRC Next General Cell Therapies grant, $2,200,000
- NHMRC NK cell immunotherapies grant, $2,800,000
- Cancer Council Victoria grant, $333,000
- Has attracted ~$100m of industry/academic funding generating >100 scientific jobs across multiple organisations (this amount includes funding leveraged from both NFMRI and other sources)
Awards received post grant:
- 2019 Australian Academy of Science Jacques Miller Medal
Translational achievements:
- 3 PCTs licensed and industry collaborations with Paranta Bioscience, Anaxis, Servier, CRC CTX, oNKo-Innate (Gilead Sciences + Kite Pharma
- Co-founded oNKo-Innate (now Audax Biosciences Pty. Ltd) & won Australian Emerging Company of the Year (2021)
- Member of the External Advisory Board (EAB) for the Institute of Cell Therapy Discovery and Innovation (MD Anderson Cancer Centre) & Scientific Advisor to Bristol Myers Squibb (Tumor Microenvironment Modulation)
- 145 research articles with >18,000 citations on NK cells and cancer immunotherapy
- CISH edited TIL in Phase I clinical trials for advanced solid cancer
- Pre-clinical proof-of-concept for clinical trial investigating the safety and efficacy of venetoclax in combination with non-myeloblative conditioning for patients with hematological malignancies who are scheduled for allogeneic stem cell transplantation
Health impact: The overall prevalence of cancer is a growing concern, with predictions suggesting the number of new cases could rise significantly by 2050. There are approximately 20 million new cancer cases and around 9.7 million cancer related deaths every year.
