Dr Lara Herrero, research leader at Griffith University’s Institute for Glycomics, has been honoured with the Creating Change Award at the 2020 Gold Coast Women in Business Awards.

The highly prestigious Women in Business Awards of Australia recognises and honours exceptional businesswomen and industry achievers who are making a difference across Queensland.

“I am both honoured and humbled to receive this award in recognition of my research expertise and leadership in helping to create change that is good for the environment and community,” Dr Herrero said.

“Research is a team effort, and I am fortunate to lead a remarkable team of scientists who have contributed greatly to this work so far. I am very grateful to my team and the Institute for Glycomics and Griffith University for the ongoing support.”

Dr Lara Herrero with her Creating Change Award

Dr Herrero’s research focuses on vector-borne diseases; primarily mosquito-transmitted viruses which cause a range of clinical manifestations including encephalitis, arthritis, arthralgia and myalgia.

She is particularly interested in alphaviruses associated with arthritis such as chikungunya virus (CHIKV) and Ross River virus (RRV), having suffered from RRV arthralgia herself.

“We have discovered a potential new treatment for viral arthritis which has successfully completed phase II clinical trials and is now entering phase III clinical trials,’’ Dr Herrero said.

Director of the Institute for Glycomics, Professor Mark von Itzstein AO, said the award was very well deserved for a research leader who has so aptly demonstrated the importance of translational research.

“It’s wonderful to see our researchers recognised for their many years of hard work and research efforts, which mostly happens behind the scenes and out of the spotlight.

“On behalf of everyone at the Institute for Glycomics, I would like to congratulate Dr Herrero on this outstanding achievement. We are very proud!”

The annual Women in Business Awards of Australia initiative was created to honour women who possess vision, innovation, entrepreneurial drive, leadership, individuality and tenacity, with the ultimate goal being to present role models for other women to aspire to.