Obesity expert becomes Life Scientist of the Year

Professor Michael Cowley has received the prestigious Science Minister’s Prize for Scientist of the Year.

Professor Cowley was presented with his award from the Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Industry, Senator the Hon Kim Carr on 28 October, at Parliament House, in Canberra. This prize is granted to an internationally renowned scientist who has completed their PhD within the last 10 years, and whose research has the potential to advance human welfare or society.

He received a silver medallion, lapel pin, and $50,000.

“I am tremendously grateful to receive this award,” said Professor Cowley, from the Department of Physiology.

 “It’s wonderful to know that my team and I are being recognised for the therapies we are developing for obesity.”

Professor Cowley, who returned to Australia recently after 10 years abroad in the US, has shown that neural circuits in the brain sense blood glucose and fat levels in the body. However, a broken “internal thermostat” can impair appetite regulation and lead to obesity, increasing the risk of Type 2 diabetes.

Professor Cowley has gone on to develop a combination anti-obesity drug called Contrave that can reactivate the fat “sensor” in obese patients and help them lose weight. In a large clinical trial in the US, participants who took Contrave lost between five and ten per cent of their body weight in one year, with minimal to moderate side effects. The cocktail combines new formulations of two existing drugs: Bupropion, an antidepressant; and Naltrexone, an addiction medication.

If the Food and Drug Administration approves the drug for prescription use in the US, Contrave could potentially be licensed in Australia, subject to regulatory approval.

Professor Cowley’s award caps off a successful year. He has received a Pfizer Australia Senior Research fellowship, Austin Doyle Lectureship, and Victorian Endowment for Science, Knowledge and Innovation Fellowship. Professor Cowley is also the inventor of 85 patents; co-founder and former Chief Scientific Officer of US-based biotechnology company, Orexigen Therapeutics; and has published 40 papers in peer-reviewed journals. His research has been profiled in Men’s Health, New Scientist, and Time magazines.