Young Tall Poppy award to Dr Alex Tang
Postdoctoral scientist Dr Alex Tang (Perron Institute and UWA) has been recognised in the 2021 WA Young Tall Poppy science awards for his research in the field of neural plasticity.
The Tall Poppy campaign was created in 1998 by the Australian Institute of Policy and Science to recognise and celebrate Australian intellectual and scientific excellence and to encourage younger Australians to follow in the footsteps of our outstanding achievers.
Dr Tang is one of seven WA recipients this year. His research within the Perron Institute’s Brain Plasticity Lab aims to understand how neural plasticity – the ability of the brain to alter its structure and function – changes as we age or after brain injury.
Dr Tang is investigating how interventions such as non-invasive brain stimulation can be used to promote neural plasticity as a way of assisting healthy brain ageing or as a treatment for stroke. He is also researching how non-invasive brain stimulation, in the form of pulsed magnetic fields, can promote neural plasticity as a potential treatment for age-related neurological conditions such as dementia.
Dr Tang is active in promoting science literacy and STEM careers to school aged children. This has been through presentations to local high schools and as an international tutor with the Manai Institute of Science and Technology (Japan), an organisation that promotes STEM to high school students across 15 countries.
“To my knowledge, the Tall Poppy Award is the only Australian award that is judged with equal weighting to research achievements and commitment to science outreach, so I’m extremely grateful to have been selected,” Dr Tang said.
“I’ve been so lucky to have a rewarding research career so far and to have the opportunities to share that with the wider community.”
The awards ceremony will be held on Thursday 7 October at WA Museum Boola Bardip.
Congratulations on your latest award, Alex.