A SCIENTIFIC officer at the University of the South Pacific has been given the Greg Urwin Award.
The Greg Urwin Award is an annual award for emerging Pacific leaders in a range of disciplines.
USP confirmed in a statement that Rohitesh Kumar, based at the USP's Centre for Drug Discovery and Conservation at the Institute of Applied Science (IAS) had been honoured with the award.
USP said Mr Kumar's primary research focused on marine sponges, algae and micro-organisms for the discovery of new bioactive compounds.
The award was established in 2008 in memory of Mr Urwin who was secretary general of the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat.
USP said the award supported the Pacific Leadership Program on behalf of the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID).
The award provides Mr Kumar with an opportunity to continue his research at Griffith University's Eskitis Institute for Cell and Molecular Therapies in Australia from May to November this year.
He said he intended to improve his research knowledge with a wide range of techniques in natural product discovery and expertise in the various instrument handling for drug discovery.