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Thursday 20 August 2026 Sheraton Grand Sydney Hyde Park 161 Elizabeth St, Sydney

PETER WILLS MEDAL & GSK AWARD FOR RESEARCH EXCELLENCE

DISCOVERY AWARD

HEALTH SERVICES RESEARCH AWARD Sponsored by Bond University Institute for Evidence-Based Healthcare

DIGITAL & DATA HEALTH INNOVATION AWARD Sponsored by Digital Health CRC

ADVOCACY & PHILANTHROPY AWARD Sponsored by AbbVie

FRONTIERS AWARD Sponsored by UNSW Sydney

WELCOME A very warm welcome to Research Australia’s 22nd Health and Medical Research Awards. As the national peak body for Australian health and medical research and innovation, we are thrilled to gather tonight to honour remarkable achievements in advocacy, discovery, philanthropy, and research excellence.

This evening unites professionals from the entire health and medical research & innovation pipeline as well as Parliamentarians and policymakers from both Federal and State governments, celebrating outstanding work across the sector. From laboratories and universities to clinics and boardrooms, we recognise the dedicated individuals and teams who translate science into tangible, transformative impacts on Australian lives.

on, but a strategy is only as good as what follows it. Health and medical research contributes close to a quarter of Australia’s national R&D spend and supports hundreds of thousands of jobs across the country, and we believe the sector’s next chapter must match that scale of contribution with the investment to sustain it. Tonight, we’ll be sharing more about what we think that next chapter should look like.

Born from the Australian Government’s strategic review led by Peter Wills AC, Research Australia was established to champion health and medical research. Tonight, we spotlight earlycareer researchers making their mark, established leaders in health services research, advocates and philanthropists whose generosity sustains our sector, and innovators pushing the frontiers of digital health, data, and scientific discovery.

It’s a privilege to celebrate every nominee, finalist and winner recognised tonight. Their skill, leadership, determination and innovation reflect the very best of Australia’s health and medical research sector.

We’re deeply grateful to the sponsors who make this evening possible: award sponsors AbbVie, Digital Health CRC, GSK, UNSW Sydney, and Bond University Institute for Evidence-Based Healthcare; award partner Burnet Institute; and supporter sponsors Calvary and Mater Research. Your support reflects a shared commitment to advancing health outcomes for all Australians. This year marks a genuine turning point for the sector. After years of advocacy, Australia now has its first ever 10-year National Health and Medical Research Strategy, something Research Australia has pushed for since our nationwide consultations back in 2019. It’s a milestone worth pausing

We take this evening to honour what our sector has achieved, recognise those driving its next breakthroughs, and look ahead to the opportunities still to come.

Nadia Levin CEO

Professor Dawn Freshwater Chair

THE PETER WILLS MEDAL The Peter Wills Medal was created in honour of a great leader whose work contributed to the Australian Government’s strategic review into health and medical research, resulting in the inception of Research Australia. The Peter Wills Medal is the flagship award and recognises someone who has made an outstanding, long-term contribution to building upon Australia’s international reputation in areas of health and medical research and fostering collaboration for better health.

GSK AWARD FOR RESEARCH EXCELLENCE The GSK Award for Research Excellence recognises outstanding achievements in medical research with a focus on improving human health.

Professor Edward Holmes 2025 Winner

This is one of the most prestigious and longstanding awards available to the Australian research community. GSK Australia is proud of its research legacy, having now presented the Award for Research Excellence for more than 40 years, supporting local research and helping to improve health outcomes for patients in Australia and around the world. This year’s award is accompanied by a grant of $150,000 AUD to advance the winner’s research.

GSK Award for Research Excellence The GSK Award for Research Excellence is one of the most prestigious and longstanding awards available to the Australian medical research community. Since 1980, this annual award recognises leading Australian researchers whose work is shaping patient care and health outcomes.

Discover past winners and learn more at au.gsk.com/en-au/innovation/gsk-australia-award-for-research-excellence

DISCOVERY AWARD The Health and Medical Research sector is committed to support and develop early career researchers. This award recognises an early career researcher whose paper/ patent/ discovery has already demonstrated its importance or impact on the sector. Finalists are in alphabetical order (by surname)

Dr Aidan Cashin NeuRA / UNSW Sydney

Dr Ashfaq Chauhan Macquarie University

Dr Aidan Cashin is an NHMRC Emerging Leadership Fellow, Deputy Director of the Centre for Pain IMPACT at Neuroscience Research Australia, and a UNSW Scientia Fellow in the School of Population Health. He is an emerging leader in chronic pain research whose internationally recognised work is improving the management of chronic back pain, one of the world's leading causes of disability.

Dr Ashfaq Chauhan is a registered physiotherapist, an early-career health services researcher, and a Fellow of the Kiani Global Interprofessional Patient Safety Program. As a refugee and member of the LGBTQI+ community, he is passionate about improving health outcomes for priority populations, with a vision to make healthcare safer and more accessible for all.

His research focuses on developing and translating innovative treatments that improve outcomes for people living with chronic pain. Dr Cashin co-led the development of Graded Sensorimotor Retraining, a cost-effective, safe and effective rehabilitation intervention that was the first shown in a placebo-controlled trial to provide sustained, clinically meaningful reductions in pain and disability for chronic back pain.

Dr Chauhan is developing a program of work that is equity focused, especially for multicultural communities affected by cancer. Embedding high levels of consumer engagement in his research, Dr Chauhan identifies range of systemic barriers that contribute to unsafe and poor-quality care for individuals from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. He uses inclusive co-design approaches to develop solutions ‘with’ end-users to make care safer and of better quality. One example is the Makingit-Meaningful medication management tool that he co-designed with Mandarin speaking patients to improve medication safety. The tool uses culturally appropriate images and simple language to promote shared understanding of medication instructions and care processes.

Driven to translate this breakthrough into routine care, Dr Cashin leads collaborations to adapt, implement and evaluate Graded Sensorimotor Retraining across healthcare settings, accelerating uptake of this evidencebased treatment to improve the lives of millions living with chronic pain worldwide. Nominated by Professor James McAuley, UNSW / NeuRA & Ainslie Cahill AM, Health Consumer Advocate

youtube.com/watch?v=3a-MF_iP-KY Nominated by Professor Reema Harrison, Australian Institute of Health Innovation, Macquarie University/ Ingham Institute & Dr Ramesh Walpola, UNSW Sydney

Dr Caitlin Jones The University of Sydney

Dr Angli Xue The Garvan Institute /UNSW Sydney

Dr Jinni Yan University of Technology Sydney

Dr Caitlin Jones is an early-career researcher at the Institute for Musculoskeletal Health, University of Sydney. As first author and PhD candidate, she played a central role in the OPAL trial — the first placebo-controlled trial of an opioid for acute back and neck pain — published in The Lancet in 2023. OPAL demonstrated that oxycodone is ineffective for acute spinal pain and is associated with worse long-term outcomes. Dr Jones led aspects including the statistical analysis plan, coordinated trial delivery during the COVID pandemic, and the dissemination strategy — achieving an Altmetric score of 2458 (99th percentile). Media experts estimated the findings reached 50 million people globally, with coverage across CNN, ABC, BBC, and NPR. OPAL directly informed WHO Clinical Guidelines on Chronic Low Back Pain and US federal opioid policy. At 3.5 years post-PhD, Dr Jones exemplifies how early-career researchers, working within strong collaborative teams, can produce evidence that changes global policy.

Dr Angli Xue is a leading expert in statistical genetics and human complex diseases. His research focuses on understanding how genetic variation influences immune function, particularly by identifying the cell types and regulatory mechanisms through which diseaseassociated variants act. His work integrates computational biology, functional genomics, and advanced single-cell technology to link genetic risk variants to the biological processes and cell types that mediate disease risk. He co-leads the TenK10K project, one of the world’s largest population-scale single-cell multi-omics cohorts, generating matched genomic and molecular data across thousands of individuals in Australia.

Dr Jinni Yan is a Lecturer in Analytical Chemistry and the Metabolomics Biomarker Discovery and Translation Program Lead. Her research investigates biomolecular mechanisms and therapeutics for neurological disorders, with a translational focus on improving the diagnosis and management of childhood brain disorders.

Nominated by Professor Chris Maher, University of Sydney & Associate Professor Angela Todd, Sydney Health Partners

Angli holds an NHMRC Investigator EL1 Fellowship and multiple national grants. He is also a conjoint lecturer at UNSW Sydney. His contributions have been recognised by the ASI Career Advancement Award, Garvan’s EarlyCareer Investigator Award, and the Reviewer’s Choice Award from the American Society of Human Genetics. His ultimate ambition is to build virtual cells that predict disease development from an individual’s genome and biomarkers. youtube.com/watch?v=fXOA0Nmsr28 Nominated by Professor Joseph Powell, Garvan Institute, UNSW Sydney & Dr Jian Zeng The University of Queensland

Dr Yan led the discovery and translation of the first multi-analyte neuroinflammation panel implemented in the Department of Biochemistry at the Children’s Hospital at Westmead, the national CSF referral centre. The panel has been validated across inflammatory and autoimmune disorders, infection-triggered encephalopathy syndromes, and childhood epilepsy under the clinical leadership of Prof. Russell Dale. This discovery has enabled earlier, more accurate, and mechanism-guided care for critically ill children in neurology and intensive care. It has been adopted into clinical testing protocols across four national children’s hospitals, including Randwick, Hunter, and Queensland, shaping diagnostic strategies for acute and chronic neurological disorders. These biomarkers have been incorporated into international consensus guidelines. Her work has been supported by grants from the Medical Research Future Fund and the Sydney Children’s Hospitals Foundation. Nominated by Professor Russell C Dale, The University of Sydney & Professor Steven Langford, University of Technology Sydney

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HEALTH SERVICES RESEARCH AWARD SPONSORED BY

This award is for an individual who has provided leadership and made an outstanding contribution to health services research; driven research that has led to a significant improvement in healthcare; and/or has championed the development of the health services research field. Finalists are in alphabetical order (by surname)

Distinguished Professor Andrea Driscoll Deakin University

Associate Professor Carlos Garcia Esperon John Hunter Hospital

Deakin Distinguished Professor Andrea Driscoll is the Chair in Nursing at Monash Health leading the Centre for Quality and Patient Safety Strategic Research, Monash Health Partnership in collaboration with Deakin University. She also continues to work clinically as a nurse practitioner. Deakin Distinguished Professor Driscoll occupies a rare translational leadership position. Her clinical role ensures that her research addresses real world healthcare priorities, thereby strengthening the translation of research findings into practice, while her academic leadership generates high quality evidence to underpin system level and service redesign. This dual perspective enables her to lead co designed, evidence based transformations in healthcare services from the point of care to the health system level, ensuring that innovations are both evidence based and sustainable.

A/Prof Carlos Garcia-Esperon is a stroke neurologist and mid-career researcher at John Hunter Hospital and Metro North Queensland. He undertook his clinical training in Spain, Switzerland and Australia. He completed a dissertation at the University of Bern, followed by a PhD at the University of Newcastle in the field of brain perfusion.

Her research has transformed workforce models of care through her pioneering work in nurse-led clinics and advanced practice nursing, for which she has received several national and international awards in recognition of her contributions to nursing through practice, research, and education.

He is currently the Director of the Acute Stroke Services at the John Hunter Hospital and the Director of Queensland Telestroke Services.

youtube.com/watch?v=mcHUw0MDRIo Nominated by Deakin Distinguished Professor Rachel Huxley, Deakin University & Dr James Theuerle Health 8

He is originally from rural Spain. This made him steer the focus of his career towards enhancing access to reperfusion therapies for rural Australians. Despite being in the early stages of his research career, A/Prof Garcia-Esperon has been involved in over 40 acute stroke clinical trials as co-investigator. He has published >150 peerreviewed journal papers in scientific journals and one book chapter. His stroke research has attracted >$15M (chief-investigator role).

Nominated by Professor Mark Parsons, UNSW Sydney & Professor Chris Levi, Hunter New England Local Health District

Associate Professor Chris Freeman The University of Queensland A/Professor Chris Freeman is a clinicianresearcher and health system leader whose work has reshaped medicines care. As one of Australia’s first pharmacists embedded in general practice, he led research that moved medication review from a siloed, reactive service to proactive multidisciplinary care within practice teams. His research program showed improvements in medication appropriateness, deprescribing, chronic disease management and continuity after hospital discharge. The NHMRCfunded REMAIN HOME trial demonstrated a 31% reduction in hospital presentations among high-risk patients. Through partnerships with universities, health services, professional bodies, Primary Health Networks and government, his evidence supported workforce redesign and funding reforms, including expanding the Workforce Incentive Program to pharmacists and the $333 million Aged Care On-site Pharmacist Program. Adopted in more than 356 Australian general practices, his model informed pharmacist integration internationally, including in the United Kingdom, where more than 8,500 pharmacists work in general practice, and national recognition of Quality Use of Medicines and Medicine Safety as Australia’s 10th National Health Priority Area. Nominated by Professor Danny Liew, The University of Queensland & Professor Mark Naunton, The Pharmaceutical Society of Australia

Collaborative research driving real-world impact Professor Sam Kosari RMIT University

Professor Evelien Spelten La Trobe University

Professor Sam Kosari is a pharmacist and health services researcher at RMIT University whose work has helped reshape medication safety across residential aged care in Australia. Much of this body of work was conducted during his time at the University of Canberra. Over the past nine years, Sam has led strong multidisciplinary teams to develop and test the Aged Care On-site Pharmacist model in Australia, progressing from an ACT pilot to a larger implementation trial and national scaleup research. Working with pharmacists, general practitioners, nurses, aged care providers, Primary Health Networks, government and professional bodies, these teams helped build the evidence for embedding pharmacists within aged care homes for the first time in Australia.

Professor Evelien Spelten is a leading health services researcher at La Trobe University’s Violet Vines Marshman Centre for Rural Health Research. Based in rural Victoria for over a decade, her work focuses on improving care for underserved populations through strong partnerships with community health organisations. Her research spans consumerled health research infrastructure, community paramedicine, and supportive care for people with rare cancers. She established Australia’s first Rural Health Consumer Panel, embedding sustained consumer partnership in research. She also led the Australian introduction of the international CP@clinic model, demonstrating how paramedics can address primary care gaps in disadvantaged communities. Professor Spelten’s work has contributed to $8 million in competitive funding and informed national and international policy, including WHO collaboration. A recognised leader, she has supervised multiple PhD candidates, including industry-based projects, and holds senior academic and editorial roles. Her work advances equitable, evidence-based healthcare systems through research that is deeply embedded in community need.

This research informed an ongoing government-funded service model, with the Australian Government providing $333 million for community pharmacies and residential aged care homes to employ pharmacists onsite. Its ultimate goal is to reduce medicationrelated adverse outcomes for older Australians and improve the quality of care for residents, families and the people we love. Nominated by Professor Sam Kosari, RMIT and Professor Nicole Freene, University of Canberra

Research is at the core of Bond University’s Faculty of Health Sciences & Medicine and is reﬂected through our comprehensive facilities and the exceptional staff that work on cutting-edge research every day. At Bond University, we are committed to supporting the dedicated individuals and teams who translate science into tangible, transformative impacts on Australian lives. Bond University’s Institute for Evidence-Based Healthcare is driving world-class applied health research with a focus on prevention, efficiency of care and delivering real-world impact. The Institute includes a vibrant team of HDRs, EMCRS, professional staff, healthcare consumers and research leaders with NHMRC fellowships and numerous major NHMRC and MRFF funded grants including Investigator, Synergy and CREs. IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN LEARNING MORE AND CONTRIBUTING TO OUR GLOBALLY IMPORTANT RESEARCH FROM AUSTRALIA’S FASTEST GROWING CITY AND ECONOMY ON THE GOLD COAST, PLEASE CONTACT US AT IEBH@BOND.EDU.AU

youtube.com/watch?v=E3W2RQtUxYE Nominated by Jane Mills, La Trobe Rural Health School & Simone Heald, North Richmond Community Health

CRICOS 00017B TEQSA PRV12072

DIGITAL & DATA HEALTH INNOVATION SPONSORED BY

The Digital and Data Health Innovation Award recognises an individual, team or organisation for an emerging, innovative use of digital health technology and/or data, data linkage or data matching, that advances the use of healthcare information, healthcare delivery and/or enables healthcare users and providers to improve health outcomes. Finalists are in alphabetical order

A-Eye: Seeing Brain Pressure Through the Eyes, A-Eye University of Technology Sydney When a patient arrives at an emergency department with a severe headache, one of the first things clinicians need to rule out is dangerously elevated brain pressure. Today, getting that answer can take hours and may require a needle into the spine. A-EYE is changing that. Developed over more than a decade of research at the University of Technology Sydney and led by Associate Professor Mojtaba Golzan, A-EYE is an AIpowered eye imaging platform that detects signs of elevated brain pressure from a 10-second video of the back of the eye. No needles. No radiation. No waiting. The project not only brings together researchers in AI and computer vision, clinicians and industry partners, but more importantly the patients who have made this innovation possible. Designed for a range of clinical settings, A-EYE addresses a critical diagnostic gap where current tools simply cannot reach. youtube.com/watch?v=iLxswfra0pc Nominated by Professor Angela Dawson, University of Technology Sydney & Professor Minas Coroneo AO, Prince of Wales Hospital / UNSW

Associate Professor John Kemp Mater Research Associate Professor John Kemp leads the Musculoskeletal Genomics Research Group at Mater Research. His research aims to identify genetic regulators of the skeleton that could serve as future targets for treating skeletal diseases. His team, in collaboration with Australian and UK researchers, recently generated a comprehensive single-cell atlas of bone cells and pinpointed the genes that regulate their function. By integrating data from human gene-mapping studies of both rare disorders and common skeletal traits, they identified new disease-associated genes and validated their function using over 1,000 genetic mouse models. This research expands the known repertoire of bone-regulating cells to include endothelial and vascular smooth muscle cells. Furthermore, it reveals hundreds of genes within this cellular landscape as potential drug targets. Together these new findings bridge critical knowledge gaps and are likely to accelerate the development of nextgeneration therapies for skeletal diseases. musculoskeletal-genomics.org Nominated by Professor Marc Ruitenberg, Mater Research & Professor David Evans, The University of Queensland

Australian Longitudinal Study on Women’s Health (ALSWH) The University of Newcastle & The University of Queensland ALSWH is an internationally recognised leader in digital and data health innovation. Since 1996, it has followed more than 57,000 women, pioneering the integration of survey data with large-scale linked administrative datasets, including Medicare, pharmaceuticals, immunisation, aged care and hospital records. ALSWH has developed secure, multi-jurisdictional data frameworks, and innovative digital survey platforms that support responsive, life-course research. Over 2,300 collaborations and 1,185 projects have been supported by ALSWH’s distributed data model, establishing it as a national benchmark for data access and interoperability. ALSWH evidence has informed key policies including the National Women’s Health Strategy 2020–2030, maternity care reforms, and mental health, reproductive health, and chronic disease prevention initiatives. With over 1,200 peer-reviewed publications, ALSWH continues to drive evidence-based policies that improve equity, enhance service delivery, and lead to better health outcomes for Australian women across the life course. alswh.org.au Nominated by Professor Deborah Loxton, University of Newcastle & Professor Gita Mishra AO The University of Queensland

The Digital Health Cooperative Research Centre (DHCRC) is advancing digital health innovation by linking academia, industry, and government to accelerate research implementation, enable effective use of data, connect care, empower the health workforce and support consumers to confidently be in control of their health and wellbeing. Data Connect Australia A National Infrastructure for Linked Data Innovation Data Connect Australia, formerly known as Population Health Research Network, provides Australia’s national data linkage infrastructure. This is the backbone of population health research that unlocks research that has not been possible before. Established in 2009 with just two data linkage units, Data Connect Australia has grown into a nationwide network spanning every state and territory, linking hundreds of datasets and billions of records in service of Australian health research. Data Connect Australia’s infrastructure has supported landmark research including tracking COVID-19 patients through the health system in real time to guide Australia’s pandemic response, proving that asbestosinsulated homes posed a genuine cancer risk to thousands of ACT families and helping shift Australia’s cervical cancer screening program to more accurate and less frequent HPV testing. Across thousands of publications and projects, and with zero privacy breaches in its history, Data Connect Australia turns fragmented health records into evidence that changes lives.

Unlocking Hidden Insight: Innovative Use of Health Administrative Data to Identify Dementia Risk Macquarie University Led by Professor Shlomo Berkovsky, who heads the Interactive Clinical AI stream at Macquarie University’s Centre for Health Informatics, alongside Professor Ruth Hubbard from the University of Queensland, Unlocking Hidden Insight shows how existing health data can be used in powerful new ways. Using one of Australia’s largest linked health datasets, the team analysed over 12 million hospital episodes across nearly two decades to investigate the link between delirium and dementia. The findings were striking: delirium was associated with a substantially increased risk of dementia, with each additional episode raising that risk further. Around 40 per cent of delirium cases are potentially preventable using interventions already available in the healthcare system. With dementia among Australia’s greatest public health challenges, identifying preventable risk factors offers a real chance to improve outcomes for future generations. This approach has the potential to accelerate discovery across many other health conditions.

youtube.com/shorts/COuzZrhjd2s

youtube.com/watch?v=eLdER70bhiw

Nominated by Professor Rebecca Glauert, Data Connect Australia, & Professor Fiona Stanley AC, The Kids Research Institute

Nominated by Professor Shlomo Berkovsky, Australian Institute of Health Innovation, Macquarie University & Professor Ruth Hubbard, The University of Queensland

As long-term supporters of the health and medical research sector, we are proud to celebrate the significant contribution of all Australian researchers.

ADVOCACY & PHILANTHROPY AWARD SPONSORED BY

This award recognises exceptional contributions made by individuals, teams, families, or organisations that have demonstrated excellence in advocacy and/or philanthropy to support and advance health and medical research and innovation in Australia. Finalists are in alphabetical order

Anne McKenzie AM & Belinda Frank The Kids Research Institute Australia Anne McKenzie AM and Belinda Frank have spent over two decades embedding consumer and community voices into Australian health and medical research governance, working from the principle that medical science is more impactful and ethical when co-designed by the people it affects. Anne, a consumer advocate of more than 30 years, and Belinda, Senior Manager of Community Engagement at The Kids Research Institute Australia, have together designed and delivered training reaching more than 3,800 researchers and community members across 193 workshops. Their leadership has driven 18 priority-setting projects shaping national research agendas, and their COVID-19 advisory group was cited by the NHMRC as national best practice for consumer engagement during a health crisis. Their advocacy has reshaped how research is funded at a structural level — guiding the Stan Perron Charitable Foundation to mandate effective consumer involvement for all grant applicants, embedding community voice permanently into the funding pipeline.

Amy Ruffle Amy Ruffle is a comedian, actor, podcaster and producer. She is best known as an ensemble member on Ch 10’s Thank God You’re Here and as Sirena on the NETFLIX series Mako Mermaids. She was recently seen in ABC’s Urvi Went To An All Girls School and is a trained improvisor, performing weekly in Something Good. Amy performed her debut stand up show VAMPIRE at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival this year. You can see her every week in the new hit interview series Sauna Sessions on Youtube and Spotify. As the host of The Shake It Up Show, Amy talks to a range of people in the Parkinson’s community about their experiences, from diagnosis to coping with change, research developments, and everything in between. She became a Shake It Up Australia ambassador in support of her Dad, Rob, and was inspired to create the podcast by her belief that we connect and learn through stories. Amy’s storytelling has created significant understanding about how research contributes to real people’s lives. shakeitup.org.au/the-shake-it-up-show Nominated by Vicki Miller, Shake It Up Australia & Rob Ruffle, Fundraiser & Advocate

youtube.com/watch?v=XzOqkbSnBks Nominated by Professor Jonathan Carapetis AM, The Kids Research Institute Australia & Catherine Hughes AM, Immunisation Foundation of Australia 16

Neil and Norma Hill Foundation Founded in 2004 by their namesakes, the Neil and Norma Hill Foundation has been committed to improving health outcomes in Australia, and globally, for more than two decades. Partnering with the University of Sydney and the Children’s Medical Research Institute, the Foundation focuses on earlystage, high-risk research into rare, chronic and life-threatening diseases often overlooked by traditional funding. Under the leadership of Mr John Sheather, the Foundation provides flexible seed funding that enables researchers, especially those early in their careers, to generate proof-of-concept data that can drive discovery and be leveraged to secure further funding. This model has contributed to world-first advances, including retinal organoid models published in 2025 and emerging gene therapy approaches for Rett syndrome, alongside a 2026 NHMRC-funded program in neurodevelopmental disease. In doing so, the Foundation helps turn bold, early ideas into meaningful progress toward better outcomes for patients and the future of medical research. Nominated by Elizabeth Jo, The University of Sydney & Isabella Andrews, Children’s Medical Research Institute

UsherKids Australia Transforming Rare Disease Advocacy into Research UsherKids Australia is a national charity supporting children and young people with Usher syndrome and their families. Usher syndrome is a rare genetic condition causing combined hearing and vision loss. Over the past decade, the organisation has become a recognised leader in lived-experience-led research and advocacy, ensuring the voices of people with Usher syndrome shape research, education and service development. Through partnerships with the University of Melbourne, the Melbourne Disability Institute and the Centre for Eye Research Australia, UsherKids Australia has co-designed pioneering research exploring the psychosocial impact of Usher syndrome, support needs across the lifespan, and pathways to thriving for young people. This work has increased clinical awareness, informed professional education and contributed to improved understanding of a highly under-recognised condition. By bringing together researchers, clinicians and people with lived experience, UsherKids Australia demonstrates how community-led research can generate meaningful change for individuals, families and the broader rare disease sector. youtu.be/FzqW-mqXfZc Nominated by Professor Lauren Ayton, University of Melbourne & Ms Emily Shepard, UsherKids Australia

abbvie.com.au

FRONTIERS AWARD SPONSORED BY

The Frontiers category showcases Australian research that pushes existing boundaries, answers difficult questions, or explores undeveloped fields of study that contribute to increased understanding of physical, living or social aspects of health or medical research. Finalists are in alphabetical order

AVATAR Medicine Platform: A Patient-Derived Organoid and Biomarker Framework for Precision Therapy Selection UNSW Sydney The AVATAR Medicine Platform, led by A/ Prof Shafagh Waters at UNSW Sydney, uses patient-derived stem cell organoids to test how an individual’s own tissues respond to therapy before treatment begins. By generating miniature functional models of human airway, gut and liver tissue, the platform enables therapeutic response to be measured directly in the laboratory rather than inferred from population-level data or genotype alone. Initially developed in cystic fibrosis and other rare respiratory diseases, AVATAR integrates functional assays, imaging, electrophysiology and multi-omic profiling to understand why patients with similar diagnoses can respond differently to the same therapy. This work creates a scalable “clinical trial in a dish” framework that can guide precision treatment selection, support drug development and build future pathways for regenerative medicine. Its broader vision is to shift healthcare from trial-and-error prescribing toward experimentally defined, patient-specific medicine, ensuring the right therapy reaches the right patient at the right time. youtube.com/watch?v=-3zBCjGJrPc

The Cancer Blueprint The University of Queensland Led by A/Prof Arutha Kulasinghe, Chair in Spatial Medicine at the UQ Frazer Institute, The University of Queensland, and the Queensland Spatial Biology Centre, The Cancer Blueprint reimagines oncology by mapping the spatial ecosystem of tumours. While traditional research identifies what molecules exist within a tumour, this breakthrough reveals where they’re organised and how their cellular neighbourhoods dictate treatment resistance or success. By integrating spatial instrumentation capable of analysing 18,000+ genes simultaneously with purpose-built AI, the project has established Australia’s first spatial precision oncology framework. Built on multi-omic tissue atlases across lung, breast, skin, and head and neck cancers, this technology generates precise spatial biomarker signatures — empowering clinicians to predict therapy responses before a drug is administered, ending the costly era of clinical trial-and-error. Backed by a global partnership with Microsoft Research on virtual patient modelling, this discovery sets a new international standard for targeted cancer care. youtube.com/shorts/o-eLNRd3HqY Nominated by Professor John Fraser AO, The Prince Charles Hospital / University of Queensland & Michel Itel OAM, Lung Foundation Australia

Nominated by Professor Jake Baum, UNSW Sydney & Professor Sarath Ranganathan, Melbourne Medical School 20

Dr Daniel Fernández-Ruiz UNSW Sydney

SCANNER team Deakin University

Dr. Daniel Fernández-Ruiz is a lab head at the UNSW School of Biomedical Sciences and UNSW RNA Institute. His research focuses on T cell immunity, vaccine development and malaria, one of the world’s deadliest infectious diseases.

Led by Professor Kathryn Backholer and Professor Asim Bhatti at Deakin University, the SCANNER team brings together public health and artificial intelligence to understand what people are exposed to online. The team has developed technology that can detect and classify digital marketing for products such as unhealthy food, alcohol, gambling, tobacco, vaping products and breast milk substitutes. By turning everyday digital exposure into powerful real-world evidence, SCANNER is helping governments and public health organisations design stronger laws, hold industries to account and create healthier digital spaces.

His work helped establish a recently discovered immune cell population, the tissue-resident memory T cells, as highly effective for protective immunity against malaria, and demonstrated that these cells can be intentionally induced through vaccination. His current research investigates the mechanisms that control memory T cell formation and persistence, with a particular focus on the role of non-coding RNA in these processes. Building on these discoveries in preclinical models, he is now investigating how tissueresident T cell immunity develops in humans, particularly in populations living in malariaendemic regions. His goal is to use this knowledge to design more effective vaccines for those most affected by the disease. These immunological principles are broadly applicable to vaccines against other infectious diseases, as well as cancer and autoimmunity. youtu.be/XQ4iqtTMZlM Nominated by Associate Professor Izzy Jayasinghe, UNSW Sydney & Associate Professor Mireille Lahoud, Monash Biomedicine Discovery Institute 22

r esearchaustralia.org/wp-content/ uploads/2026/07/SCANNER_example.jpg Nominated by Professor Suzanne Robinson, Deakin Health Economics, Institute for Health Transformation & Professor Anna Peeters, Victorian Health Promotion Foundation

Cervical cancer can be prevented. Every Pacific woman deserves the chance. UNSW’s Kirby Institute is turning research into population-level impact by supporting country led efforts to provide 180,000 women with access to life-saving screening and treatment by 2030.

Find out more

KEYNOTE SPEAKER

MASTER OF CEREMONIES Professor Kathryn North AC

Professor Tracey O’Brien AM

Professor Kathryn North AC MBBS MD DMedSc is Director of the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute (MCRI) and the David Danks Professor of Child Health Research, University of Melbourne.

Professor Tracey O’Brien AM is the NSW Chief Cancer Officer and CEO of the Cancer Institute NSW.

Kathryn is a clinician-scientist, trained as a paediatrician, neurologist and geneticist. At MCRI, Kathryn leads a diverse team of over 1800 researchers with a dedicated focus to improve the health and wellbeing of children and their families. Kathryn led Australian Genomics (20162025) and is Vice Chair of the Global Alliance for Genomics and Health (2014-), a collaborative network across over 100 countries, focussed on the responsible sharing of clinical and genomic data. In 2019 she was awarded Companion (AC) of the Order of Australia, in recognition of her eminent service to genomic medicine and medical research. She was the 2019 recipient of the Peter Wills Medal. Kathryn is a member of the Scientific Advisory Boards of Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health (UK), the Singapore National Precision Medicine Program and Toronto Sick Kids Research Institute. In October 2025, she was appointed Chair of the Australian Medical Research Advisory Board (AMRAB).

An internationally respected paediatric and adolescent haematologist and oncologist, she brings more than 25 years of experience across clinical care, research, and senior health system leadership. What distinguishes Professor O’Brien is her ability to connect worlds that too often sit apart: science and service delivery, clinical care and public policy, research ambition and system reform. She is widely recognised for translating evidence into action at scale, while keeping equity, community voice and patient experience at the centre. Alongside her medical qualifications, she holds an MBA and a Master of Health Law, and academic appointments at UNSW, Macquarie University and Western Sydney University. A committed mentor to emerging clinician researchers and health leaders, she was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia in 2024, named NSW Premier’s Woman of Excellence in 2026, and recognised among the top influential CEOs in oncology globally in 2025.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

RESEARCH AUSTRALIA STAFF

Professor Dawn Freshwater Chair Research Australia

Nadia Levin Managing Director Chief Executive Officer Research Australia

Professor Russell L. Grue MBBS PhD FRACS Associate Provost (Health and Medical Sciences), Chair Professor, Clinical Professor, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology

Nadia Levin Managing Director Chief Executive Officer Research Australia

Dr Talia Avrahamzon Head of Policy Projects and Advocacy

Amanda Stonestreet Communications & Partnerships Manager

Assoc. Prof Annette Schmiede Chief Executive Officer Digital Health CRC

Elizabeth Koff AM Managing Director Telstra Health

Professor Bronwyn Fox AO Deputy Vice Chancellor Research and Enterprise University of New South Wales

Emily Milton Smith Member Manager

Hayden Nichols Government Relations Advisor

Sabrina Stone Executive Assistant to the CEO & Office Manager

Professor Patricia M. Davidson PhD, MEd, RN, FAAN Vice-Chancellor’s Fellow University of New South Wales

Dr Michael Wilson Senior Vice President, Head of Research CSL

Professor Sarah Larkins MBBS, BMedSci, MPH&TM, PhD, FRACGP, FARGP, GAICD Dean, College of Medicine and Dentistry and Professor, Health Systems Strengthening, James Cook University

Oluwafunmilayo Vaughn Policy Officer

Anica Milic Project Officer

Charlie Taylor Non Executive Director Healius Healthcare 26

Damien Bruce National Chief Executive Officer Calvary Healthcare

Find our more about our team

Find out more about our board

RESEARCH AUSTRALIA PATRONS

Peter Wills AC Founding Patron, Research Australia

Sir Gustav Nossal Patron, Research Australia

Mr Peter Wills AC has a background in architecture, business and local government, and has been a driving force in Australia's health and medical research sector for over two decades. In 1996 he chaired the committee formed by the Minister for Health and Aged Care, Dr Michael Wooldridge, to assess Australia's health and medical research. The resulting Wills Report, The Virtuous Cycle: Working Together for Health and Medical Research, was released in 1999 and was instrumental in raising the profile of medical research and increasing funding for Australian science. It led directly to the formation of Research Australia, and Mr Wills remains an active and valued member ofour board.

Sir Gustav Nossal is an internationally renowned scientist and has been a significant figure in Australia’s medical and scientific community. He was Director of the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute (1965-1996), and is currently Professor Emeritus of Medical Biology at the University of Melbourne and President of the Australian Academy of Science, a consultant for the World Health Organisation and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation; and a Principal of Foursight Associates Pty Ltd.

Mr Wills was appointed a Member in the General Division of the Order of Australia in June 1996 for service to the community, and a Companion in the General Division of the Order of Australia in June 2001 for service to social and economic advancement through the development of public policy in relation to biomedical research and biotechnology. He has held a number of influential roles across the sector, including Chairman of the Garvan Institute of Medical Research and Chairman of the Australian Research Council, from which he retired in 2002. He was a member of the Biotechnology Consultative Group, formed in 1999 to guide the National Biotechnology Strategy, and served on Chief Scientist Dr Robin Batterham's 2001 committee that shaped the Federal Government's Innovation Statement. In 2011/12 he chaired the NSW Health & Medical Research Review, most of whose recommendations were adopted by the NSW Government, and in 2016 he was appointed Chairman of the $500 million Biomedical Translation Fund.

Gustav Nossal has received numerous awards and recognition throughout his career. He was knighted in 1977 for his ground-breaking work in immunology and made a companion of the Order of Australia in 1989. He was awarded the Albert Einstein World Award of Science in 1990 and in 1996 he won the highly prized Koch Gold Medal for major advances in biomedical science. He has been identified as one of Australia’s national living treasures. Sir Gustav Nossal has been listed in annual Australia Day Honours four times, including as Companion of the Order of Australia in 1989 “For services to medicine, to science and to the community” and a Centenary Medal Winner “For distinguished service to the study of antibody formation and immunological tolerance” in 2000, when he was also named Australian of the Year.

Emeritus Professor Christine Bennett AO Patron, Research Australia Serving as both a past Chair and CEO of the organisation, Professor Christine Bennett AO has been an integral part of Reasearch Australia’s growth. Research Australia Chair, Associate Professor Annette Schmiede, said “Christine’s appointment as Patron is an important acknowledgement of her ongoing contribution to our organisation and thehealth and medical research sector more broadly.” Professor Bennett has maintained an active leadership position as a commentator andstrategist on health reform in Australia and internationally. In 2008, the Prime Minister appointed her to be Chair of the National Health and Hospitals Reform Commission that provided advice to governments on a long-term blueprint for the future of theAustralian health system and aged care. Annette Schmiede said “Christine’s continuing affiliation with Research Australia over these last 20 years has enabled us to achieve NHMRC funding reform, progress towards a National Health and Medical Research Strategy and so much more. Research Australia is pleased, honoured and proud to have her take up this patronage.

We are honoured to have such a remarkable and pioneering figure as Research Australia’s Patron.

We are honoured to have such a distinguished and influential figure as Research Australia's founding patron. 28

PREVIOUS AWARD WINNERS Peter Wills Medal 2024 Mr Clyde Campbell AM 2023 E meritus Professor Caroline Isabel Bower AC 2022 Professor Ian Alexander 2021 Dr Brendan Murphy, Secretary of the Department of Health 2020 Award postponed 2019 Professor Kathryn North AC FAHMS 2018 Laureate Professor Nicholas Talley AC 2017 Professor Kim Mulholland 2016 Prof Ian Gust AO 2015 Prof Sharon Lewin AO, FRACP, FAHMS 2014 Prof Alan Lopez AC 2013 Professor Paul Zimmet, AO, FRACP 2012 Sir Gustav Nossal, AC, CBE, FAA, FRS 2011 Professor John Shine, AO, FAA

Discovery Award 2024 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008

Dr Mustafa Atee Dr James Pang Dr Caleb Dawson Dr Mo Chen Award postponed Dr Christine Keenan Dr Sarah Best Dr Avnika Ruparelia Dr Rebecca Coll Dr Andrew Gardner Dr Genevieve Healy Dr Franziska Bieri Dr Motoko Koyama Dr Oliver Baumann Dr Mark S Pearson Dr Sarah Whittle Dr Jeff Holst

Digital & Data Innovation in Health & Medical Research Award 2024 Deteriorating Aged Care Resident Index – RMIT, Telstra Health & Digital Health CRC* 2023 Professor Georgina Chambers 30

2022 The AusVaxSafety Team 2021 Dr Tracy Dudding-Byth 2020 Award postponed 2019 Professor John Lynch FAHMS 2018 Dr Craig Dalton 2017 Professor Helmut Butzkueven 2016 Capital Markets CRC, Health Market Quality Team *Name and criteria updated in 2024. Previously the Data Innovation in Health & Medical Research Award.

Great Australian Philanthropy Award 2024 Mr and Mrs Paul and Sue Taylor 2023 Mr Geoff Cumming 2022 Mr and Mrs Roy and Nola Thompson 2021 Andrew and Jean Miller (Miller Foundation) 2020 Award postponed 2019 Mrs Pamela Galli, The Lorenzo and Pamela Galli Charitable Trust 2018 The Bill & Iris Burges Trust 2017 Andrew Forrest AO and Nicola Forrest 2016 McCusker Charitable Foundation 2015 John Gandel AO & Pauline Gandel 2014 Len Ainsworth & Gretel Ainsworth; Charles Feeney (two Awards in 2014) 2013 Susan Alberti AO 2012 Harold Charles Mitchell AC 2011 The Sylvia & Charles Viertel Charitable Foundation 2010 Greg Poche AO 2009 Clive Berghofer AM 2008 Judy and Jack Gibson OAM 2007 Frank Lowy AC 2006 Carlo Salteri AC 2005 The Myer Family 2004 Lady Mary Fairfax 2003 Dame Elisabeth Murdoch AC DBE

Frontiers Research Award 2024 Centre for Microbiome Research 2023 Professor Jake Baum 2022 Scientia Prof Justin Gooding 2021 Dr John Parker 2020 Award postponed 2019 Associate Professor Jeremy Crook & Team

Health Services Research Award 2024 Professor Christobel Saunders AO 2023 Professor Michele Sterling 2022 Professor Johanna Westbrook 2021 Professor Brett Mitchell 2020 Award postponed 2019 Professor Libby Roughead 2018 Professor Sue Kildea 2017 Australian and New Zealand Hip Fracture Registry (AMZHFR) 2016 Prof Michael Barton OAM 2015 Prof Jeffrey Braithwaite 2014 Prof Robert Sanson-Fisher AO

The Advocacy Award 2024 Dr Jane Tiller 2023 Mr Col Reynolds OAM 2022 ghd 2021 The Chimera Legacy Foundation 2020 Award postponed 2019 Professor Gordon Lynch 2018 Matthew Grounds 2017 Sanfilippo Children’s Foundation 2016 Brenda King 2015 Connie Johnson & Sam Johnson 2014 Karen Livingstone 2013 Mark Beretta 2012 Ita Buttrose AO, OBE 2011 Stephen R Leeder 2010 Li Cunxin 2009 Professor Ian Hickie AM 2008 Dr James O Little AO, musician

Leadership in Corporate Giving Award To recognise and foster involvement of Australian businesses, both small and large, in advancing health and medical research in Australia. 2018 2017 2016 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009

MACA Limited The QBE Foundation Volvo Car Australia Bupa Rio Tinto Xstrata Coal David Jones Not awarded Macquarie Group Foundation 2008 Pfizer Australia 2007 Wesfarmers Ltd 2006 L.J. Hooker 2005 Estee Lauder 2004 Coco’s Fresh Food Market, Queensland 2003 Channel Seven Perth

Leadership and Innovation Award This award recognises an individual or organisation that has shown exceptional leadership and/or innovation towards making health and medical research a higher national priority. 2014 Alastair Lucas AM 2013 Simon McKeon AO 2012 Will Delaat AM 2011 Professor Doug Hilton, PHD, FAA, FTSE 2010 Professor John Funder AO 2009 Professor Joseph Sambrook 2008 Professor Fiona Stanley AC 2007 Professor J. Coghlan AO 2006 Sir Gus Nossal AC CBE 2005 The Hon John Brumby, Minister for State & Regional Development Minister for Innovation 2004 The Hon. Peter Beattie, Premier of Queensland 2003 The Hon. Bob Carr, Premier of New South Wales

Celebrity Advocacy Award This award recognises an Australian celebrity who has used their fame and influence in advocacy, fundraising or building awareness of health and medical research. 2007 Lisa Wilkinson, television personality 2006 Ricky Ponting, Australian cricket captain 2005 Delta Goodrem, musician, singer and actress 2004 Michael Milton, Paralympian and supporter of children’s cancer research 2003 Sarah Murdoch, Model and Patron for the National Breast Cancer Foundation

Health Research in the Media Award This award recognises journalists/ media personalities who have dedicated their time and efforts to promoting health and medical research through the media and raising the profile of research in the Australian community. 2007 Carol Nader, The Age newspaper 2006 Dr Norman Swan, Health Reporter, ABC Radio National 2005 Sophie Scott, National Health Reporter, ABC Television 2004 Belinda Hope, Medical Reporter, National Nine News

National Leadership in Advocacy Award (Special award category)

The National Leadership in Advocacy Award was a special award presented to the Federal Minister for Health and Ageing Hon. Tony Abbott for his personal commitment to raising funds the Westmead Millennium Institute through the Pollie Pedal bike ride. 2006 Hon. Tony Abbott MP

Lifetime Achievement Award This award honours a significant lifetime commitment to supporting and promoting health and medical research. 2015 Prof Perry Bartlett FAA 2014 Carol Langsford & Roy Langsford 2013 Bill Ferris AC 2012 Professor Philip Sambrook (posthumous) 2012 Professor Hugh R Taylor AC 2011 Laureate Professor Peter C Doherty, AC, FAA, FRS 2010 Professor Colin Binns 2009 Elaine Henry OAM 2008 Professor the Hon. Barry Jones AO 2007 Ken Roberts AM 2006 The Hon Neville Wran AC 2005 Sir Bruce Watson AC 2004 Dr Susan Alberti AM 2003 Mrs Mickie Hardie and Mrs Leila Schmidt (posthumous)

SPONSOR ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

JOIN RESEARCH AUSTRALIA

A heartfelt thank you to our sponsors for their generous support in making this event not just possible, but truly unforgettable. Your commitment and contributions have made a significant impact, and we are grateful for your partnership!

Research Australia is the national peak for health and medical research and innovation.

AWARD SPONSORS

For more than 25 years, we have been Australia’s only whole-of-system convenor for the sector. Our sector is worth over $250 billion in both private and public investment. Our 120+ member organisations span researchers, scientists, industry leaders, engineers, clinicians, funders, innovators, and advocates. We advocate for a health and medical research and innovation system that works for everyone. By elevating, showcasing and connecting the expertise of our members, Research Australia: • Shapes the national narrative by advancing an evidence-based policy agenda for health and medical research and innovation • Activates our networks to broker high-impact partnerships and accelerate cross-sector solutions • Strengthens public understanding of the value and impact of health and medical research and innovation.

AWARD PARTNER

SUPPORTER SPONSORS

For more information on membership please contact us P 61 2 9295 8546 E admin@researchaustralia.org researchaustralia.org

If you are interested in becoming a sponsor for our 2027 awards please reach out to the team at admin@researchaustralia.org

Research Australia Sydney 384 Victoria Street Darlinghurst NSW 2010 P 02 9295 8546 Research Australia Canberra John Curtin School of Medical Research Australian National University 131 Garran Rd, Acton, ACT 2601 E admin@researchaustralia.org W researchaustralia.org ResAustralia research-australia ResearchAustralia #resausawards