Dr Lachlan Harris, Team Head at QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, has been awarded the 2025 Metcalf Prize for Stem Cell Research by the National Stem Cell Foundation of Australia at the Australasian Society of Stem Cell Research Annual Scientific Meeting.
Dr Harris received $60,000 to advance his research in brain stem cells and their sleep-like state, known as quiescence. His work focuses on understanding how these cells wake up, with implications for improving cognition, combating neurodegenerative diseases, and developing new treatments for brain cancer.
On being awarded, Dr Harris said “I'm incredibly grateful to receive this award from the National Stem Cell Foundation of Australia. The prize will fund an exciting experiment to understand how neighbouring cells control the dormancy of brain stem cells - insights that could help us develop better treatments for brain cancer and interventions for healthy aging.”
Each year, more than 1,000 Australians are diagnosed with high-grade glioma, commonly known as glioblastoma, the most prevalent primary brain tumour in adults. Tragically, only around 5% survive beyond five years after diagnosis.
Dr Harris began exploring the biology of healthy brain stem cell quiescence during his postdoctoral research at the Francis Crick Institute in the UK. Today, he continues and expands this important work in his laboratory at QIMR Berghofer.
He established the Cancer Neuroscience Laboratory at QIMR Berghofer, the first in Australia dedicated to studying quiescent glioma stem cells through a neuroscience lens. Dr Harris’ team has discovered that some brain cancer stem cells exist in an ‘almost awake’ state, making them primed for rapid reactivation – findings that could one day open up new therapeutic strategies.
The Metcalf Prize will help Dr Harris pursue his aim of fundamentally changing how we understand stem cell dormancy and brain plasticity and how we design therapies for brain cancer.
Director and CEO of QIMR Berghofer Fabienne Mackay shared “We are immensely proud of Dr Harris and his groundbreaking work on brain stem cells. This recognition highlights the global significance of his research and its potential to transform how we treat brain cancer and support healthy brain aging.”
The awards honour Professor Donald Metcalf AC, a pioneer in blood cancer treatment and stem cell therapy. The National Stem Cell Foundation of Australia supports research into untreatable diseases, fosters a community interested in stem cell science, and provides reliable information on stem cell medicine.
QIMR Berghofer researchers Dr Siok Tey, Professor Steven Lane and Professor James Hudson are among the past 22 Metcalf Prize winners.