TWO young Willetton residents have been recognised in the Western Australian Young Achievers Awards on the weekend.
Ciara Duffy (23) won the Innovation Award for her research investigating the potential of bee venom to treat breast cancer, while Dockers player Kara Donnellan (25) won the Sports Award.
Radheya Jegatheva, of Joondanna, won the major Young Achievers award as a filmmaker, artist, poet and writer.
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READ NOWCategory winners each won a $1000 Bartercard account, $1000 cash and a trophy.
Kara Donnellan has captained the Dockers women’s team and the midfielder came runner-up fairest and best.
She was rewarded with All Australian selection following an outstanding debut season last year.
Ciara Duffy is in her third year of a PhD, supported by the Cancer Council WA, and is looking at the effects of honeybee venom as a potential treatment for aggressive breast cancer cells.
While effective drugs have been developed for some types of breast cancer, there are no drugs to specifically target triple-negative breast cancer cells.
“What I can say is that my research is using Perth honeybees, which are some of the healthiest bees in the world due to our isolation, and I am testing the effects of Perth honeybee venom on various types of breast cancer,” she said.
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