Genetics Society of AustralAsia

D.G Catcheside Prize

The D. G. Catcheside Prize has been established to honour the memory of the late Professor David Guthrie Catcheside (1907-1994) by recognizing the achievements of the top Australasian doctoral student in the field of Genetics.

Professor Catcheside was an eminent geneticist who carried out research on mutation, cytogenetics, biochemical genetics and the genetics of recombination in plants and fungi. He was recruited from Cambridge University to spearhead a strategic plan to introduce fundamental genetics research into Australia. He established Australia's first Department of Genetics at the University of Adelaide in 1952. Professor Catcheside proposed that the Research School of Biological Sciences (RSBS) be established at the Australian National University and served as its first Director. Professor Catcheside was a founding member of the Australian Academy of Science and was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society (London).

Professor Catcheside was renowned as an outstanding mentor of postgraduate students. Many of his former students now hold positions of leadership in the Australian and International Genetics research communities. This prize is a most fitting way to mark this legacy and to encourage excellence in postgraduate scholarship. The prize is made available by a generous bequest to the Genetics Society of AustralAsia from Professor Catcheside's family.

A detailed description of the scientific contributions of Professor Catcheside can be found at the Australian Academy of Science web site. See the following URL
http://www.asap.unimelb.edu.au/bsparcs/aasmemoirs/catcheside.htm

Administration of the Prize

The prize will be administered by the Committee of Management of the Genetics Society of AustralAsia Inc.
Specifically this committee will be responsible for:-

1. Fundraising to sustain the prize

2. Setting the value of the prize

3. Advertising and promotion

4. Appointment of adjudicators

5. Presentation of the prize

Rules of the Prize are as follows

The prize will be awarded to one individual on an annual basis.

Entries will close on 31st January each year

The prize will be open to entrants whose doctoral thesis has passed examination in the preceding calendar year.

A panel of three adjudicators will be responsible for selecting the prize winner.
The following rules shall apply:

1. The prize will be awarded for research that has led to the award of a doctoral degree by an Australasian university.

2. The doctoral research must be substantially in the field of Genetics. The adjudication panel retains the right to determine whether a particular thesis is in the field of Genetics. For the purposes of this prize 'Genetics' is defined as 'a discipline that uses inherited variation, either natural or induced, to solve biological problems.'

3. In reaching their decision the adjudicators will consider:-

...... a. A Supervisor's citation pertaining to the significance of the research (maximum length of two type written pages)

...... b. The Thesis Examiners' Reports - In exceptional cases where two applications are considered equal on the basis of the first two criteria, the thesis itself

4. Membership of the Genetics Society of AustralAsia Inc. is not required and will not be one of the criteria considered by the adjudicators in selecting a prize winner. However, the prize winner will be offered the opportunity to present their doctoral research at the Genetics Society of AustralAsia Conference following the award.

The adjudicators reserve the right not to award the Prize in a given year.

The D. G. Catcheside Prize for the year 2008

1. Candidates should submit their application to:-

Dr. Alex Andrianopoulos
Secretary GSA
Department of Genetics
University of Melbourne
Victoria, 3010, Australia

2. The application must include:-

a. A brief covering letter
b. A citation pertaining to the significance of the research (maximum length of two type written pages) from the doctoral supervisor. In the case of joint supervision only one citation should be submitted· evidence that the thesis has been passed by an Australasian university in the calendar year 2007
c. The thesis examiners' reports

3. The closing date for applications is the 31st January 2008. (Late applications will not be accepted under any circumstances)

4. The prize will be valued at $1000

Genetics Society of AustralAsia