2019 South Australian Award Winner

Dr Jia Tina Du

University of South Australia  Research Field: Information Studies, Information Technology Using technology to find information and participate in society is playing an ever-increasing role in modern life. While many of us are more empowered by having more access to information, some have become more vulnerable. Dr Du’s research seeks to enhance the interplay between people,…

Read More »


A/Prof Sarah Cohen-Woods

Flinders University Research Field: Psychology, Neuroscience  While we know that behaviours, including psychological disorders, are heritable, we know this is also not deterministic. Just because we have a genetic risk for depression does not mean we will become depressed.  Associate Professor Cohen-Woods’ research works on understanding how nurture influences our nature by studying how environments can…

Read More »


Dr Nigel Rogasch

The University of Adelaide & SAHMRI Research Field: Neuroscience Schizophrenia is associated with numerous cognitive defects closely linked to many poor functional outcomes. Many of these debilitating symptoms, including impaired memory and inability to concentrate, currently have no effective treatments. Dr Rogasch’s research combines non-invasive brain stimulation and neuroimaging methods to uncover differences in prefrontal…

Read More »


Dr Danny Wilson

The University of Adelaide Research Field: Malaria Biology, Parasitology Every year more than 400,000 children globally die of disease caused by malaria parasites. The mosquitoes that transmit the parasite are becoming resistant to our best insecticides, and in some places, the parasite is becoming resistant to many of the drug therapies that were previously effective….

Read More »


Dr Daniel King

The University of Adelaide Research Field: Psychology, Behavioural addictions While digital technologies can have many benefits, they can also be overused and generate problems for many individuals and their families. Video gaming becomes problematic when players develop an online identity that demands a daily playing schedule, always meeting social obligations to play, and striving for…

Read More »


Dr Marnie Winter

University of South Australia Research Field: Biomedical Engineering From 5 weeks into a pregnancy, fetal cells that naturally break off from the placenta can be found in the mother’s blood stream. These rare cells, occurring about 1 in a billion of the mother’s cells, enable the non-invasive testing for a range of pregnancy conditions. However,…

Read More »


Dr Giang Nguyen

The University of Adelaide Research Field: Mathematics, Applied Probability Randomness affects the world around us every day. In order to make decisions, it is important to predict and understand the range of possible outcomes, and their likelihoods. Dr Nguyen’s research uses probability and statistics to develop models to gain insight, and aid in decision-making processes…

Read More »


Dr Oren Griffiths

Flinders University Research Field: Psychology The world is a complex place and our brains can only concentrate on a few things at once, however the brain is continuously and passively monitoring our surrounding environment for change. The disruption of these “pre-attentive” processes, subtle, low-level components of attention, are disrupted in people with schizophrenia or Parkinson’s….

Read More »