SA Movie Night

The ASMR SA Committee is delighted to invite you to an interesting movie night where we explore the origins of the HeLa cell line and the importance of bioethics in the movie “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks”.

In January 1951, Henrietta Lacks suffered complications while giving birth and a biopsy was taken. The biopsy confirmed that that Henrietta had cervical cancer, and she died the following October aged just 31. The medical staff did not tell Henrietta that cells from her tumor were removed for use in medical research, which was common practice in the United States at the time. Unlike other cells, Henrietta’s cells did not die after a few days and they have been replicated ever since for use in medical research. This cell line is now the longest lived and most commonly used in all medical (not just cancer) research. The movie follows Henrietta’s daughter as she learns about her mother and the role of the immortal cell line named HeLa in her honour in advancing medical research. 

Movie: The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
Rating: M15+ (children under 15 can only access this material if accompanied by a parent or adult guardian). 
Venue: Adelaide University Union Cinema
Date: Wednesday, 23 July 2025
Time: 6pm
Cost: ASMR Members: $5 (plus 50c booking fee) and Non-Members: $7 (plus 50c booking fee)
Includes pizza, popcorn and drinks!

SA Annual Scientific Meeting

Planning for this year’s SA Annual Scientific Meeting has already begun, and this site will be updated as details become available. We look forward to seeing you there.

Venue: Adelaide Convention Centre
Date: Wednesday, 10 September 2025
Time: 8am – 5pm
Cost: ASMR Members: Students $90, ECRs and MCRs $130
Non-Members: Students $110, ECRs and MCRs $150

Important dates are:
Abstracts Close: 5pm on Friday, 4 July 2025
Registrations Close: Wednesday, 3 September 2025

Download the 2025 Instructions for Authors here!

There are cash prizes for students, RAs, PhDs and ECRs, see details in the Instructions for Authors.

Special prizes also available:
The ASMR Communication Excellence Award – this new award consists of a $2,000 cash prize plus more (all orals by registrants from Hons up to three years post PhD are eligible unless being considered for the Ross Wishart Memorial Award)
The Instats Skills Development Prize – this new award is a 12 month membership of the Instats global education platform worth $1,500 (all orals by registrants from Hons up to three years post PhD are eligible unless being considered for the Ross Wishart Memorial Award)
The Ross Wishart Memorial Award – $1,000 cash prize plus invitation to speak at the SA Gala Dinner (applicants must be in final year of PhD or up to one year post conferral, see application process in the Instructions for Authors)

SA Gala Dinner on Monday, 20 October 2025

Please join us for a convivial evening celebrating the achievements of SA’s health and medical researchers at the
2025 ASMR Medical Research Week® Gala Dinner

Venue: Adelaide Pavilion
Date: Monday, 20 October 2025
Time: 6:00 to 10:30pm

Cost: Students $110, Non-students $140 per ticket or $1,200 for a table of 10 – table bookings can be made online using the link below or by invoice using the table order form. 

The Gala Dinner is a formal dinner uniting esteemed researchers, students, industry professionals, politicians and our ASMR Medallist. Prize recipients at the SA Annual Scientific Meeting will also be recognised at the Gala Dinner.

As well as celebrating the best and brightest researchers in our state, the dinner will feature the 2025 ASMR Medallist, Dr Daniel Timms. Dr Timms is an innovative biomedical engineer whose journey began in Brisbane, where he spent countless hours alongside his plumber father, tinkering with water pumps and constructing imaginative devices. A personal tragedy ignited Dr Timms’ unwavering commitment to revolutionise cardiovascular care.

A graduate of the Queensland University of Technology, Dr Timms’ research journey took him from Brisbane’s Prince Charles Hospital to prestigious institutions worldwide. Collaborating with Germany’s Helmholtz Institute – one of Europe’s foremost cardiovascular engineering research centres – and the Texas Heart Institute, he contributed to groundbreaking work in the TAH design and development. In 2023, he was nominated for Queensland’s “Australian of the Year” award.

Dr Timms continues to collaborate with global experts to develop cutting-edge cardiovascular medical devices, and his unwavering dedication underscores his pivotal role in advancing cardiac care and saving lives.

Secondary school events

In the lead up to ASMR Medical Research Week®, we will be holding two events for high school students who are interested in health and medical research. Dates for the following events will be announced in July 2025:

• ASMR MRW® Online High School Science Quiz 
• ASMR MRW® High School Careers Evening