2021 South Australian Award Winner

Dr Hannah Wardill

University of Adelaide Research Field: Supportive care, oncology There is an ever-growing number of people surviving cancer, and as such, we are starting to understand the long-term consequences of this disease and its harsh treatment. These consequences can be physical, psychosocial and financial. Hannah Wardill’s research aims to improve the quality of life of people…

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Dr Dominic McAfee

University of Adelaide Research Field: Marine Ecology Oysters formed enormous reef networks over thousands of kilometres of Australian coastline 200 years ago, underpinning the health and wealth of our coastal seas, but are all but extinct today. The restoration of our lost oyster reefs can help recover the declining productivity and resilience of our coastal…

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Dr Catia Malvaso

University of Adelaide Research Field: Justice, Child protection, prevention Dr Catia Malvaso works to identify evidence-based approaches to prevent children and young people from coming into contact with the criminal justice system, and to improve the outcomes of those who do. Dr Malvaso focuses more specifically on identifying when, how and for whom experiences of…

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Dr Vitomir Kovanovic

University of South Adelaide Research Field: Learning analytics, education How do we best use digital technologies for learning? While twenty years ago students used handwritten notes and textbooks, today, they are instead using their laptops, learning from digital textbooks and YouTube videos. Dr Vitomir Kovanovic works in the learning analytics field, which involves analysing student…

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Dr Alice Jones

University of Adelaide Research Field: Marine, Costal ecology Dr Alice Jones studies the human impacts on coastal habitats and nature-based solutions to climate change.  Her research focuses on ‘blue carbon’, which is the uptake and storage of carbon in coastal ecosystems like mangroves, seagrasses and tidal marshes. She is focused on the potential to increase…

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Dr Brenton Hordacre

University of South Australia Research Field: Neuroscience, Stroke recovery Stroke is a global leading cause of permanent adult disability. With one in four people over the age of 25 experiencing a stroke in their lifetime, we need to identify better solutions to improve stroke recovery. Recovery from stroke is underpinned by neuroplasticity, which describes an…

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Dr Ashley Hopkins

Flinders University Research Field: Medicine, Clinical cancer epidemiology 1 in 3 Australian’s get cancer during their lives. There are many emerging treatments for cancer however the response of specific patients can differ greatly, both in terms of benefit and side-effects. As a pharmacist and clinical epidemiologist, Dr Ashley Hopkins aims to unleash the potential of…

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Dr Yee Lian Chew

Flinders University Research Field: Neuroscience, molecular biology Dr Yee Lian Chew seeks to uncover new treatments for chronic pain, a debilitating condition affecting 20% of Australians. Opioids – the most common treatment for chronic pain – are highly-problematic due to addiction and reduced efficacy over long-term use, thus new therapeutics are urgently required. An important…

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Dr Eddie Banks

Flinders University Research Field: Geoscience, water Freshwater resources are finite and there’s an increasing proportion of the global population that are struggling to access safe and reliable sources of water. Dr Eddie Banks investigates the availability and long-term sustainability of freshwater resources and works to understand the physical processes that lead to their existence. He…

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Dr Linda Armbrecht

University of Adelaide Research Field: Marine Ecosystems With ongoing climate change, research into Earth’s resilience is a matter of urgency, particularly in rapidly melting polar regions. Key to understanding how climate change might affect marine life are records of the past. We can look at marine sedimentary records to find out who existed before our…

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