2016 Victorian Award Winner

Associate Professor Brian Abbey

La Trobe University  Physics X-ray crystallography allows science to ‘see’ the structure of molecules so that we may better understand biological processes. Yet to collect crystallography data we need to make high-quality crystals made up of the molecules we are trying to image, and unfortunately for some molecules this can be extremely difficult. Associate Professor…

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Dr Kim Jacobson

Monash University Immunology   Human health and longevity are possible only when the body’s immune system functions well, clearing foreign pathogens and ‘remembering’ them to provide ongoing protection. Long-lived memory B-cells and antibody-secreting plasma cells are produced during the body’s initial response to infection and are capable of persisting long after the infection has resolved,…

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Dr Maria Kaparakis-Liaskos

The Hudson Institute of Medical Research Microbiology, host-pathogen interactions   Our body contains approximately 39 trillion bacteria and everyday we come into contact with countless others, some of which are capable of causing disease in humans. Dr Maria Liaskos’ research seeks to alleviate the enormous impact of bacterial infections by determining how bacteria causes disease…

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Dr Paul Lasky

Monash University  Astrophysics   Gravitational waves are tiny ripples in the fabric of spacetime that are generated during cataclysmic events in the universe. These include the collision of massive, stellar corpses such as black holes and neutron stars. Dr Paul Lasky’s research focuses on the astrophysics of these phenomena. He is a member of the…

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Dr Katherine Locock

CSIRO Manufacturing  Chemistry   The impeding antibiotic resistance crisis is arguably the greatest current threat to the world’s healthcare systems. Dr Katherine Locock’s research focuses on novel antimicrobial polymers that take inspiration from naturally occurring antimicrobial peptides (AMPs). These peptides, which are typically produced as part of an organism’s immune system, are of particular interest…

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Dr Laura Mackay

University of Melbourne  Immunology Infections are generally acquired though barrier tissues such as the skin, gut and lungs. Combatting infection at the earliest stages, whilst pathogens are still localised to these body surfaces represents the best opportunity for successful immune intervention and disease prevention. Dr Laura Mackay was involved in the identification of tissue-resident memory…

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Dr Ivan Poon

La Trobe University  Cell Biology and Biochemistry   Programmed cell death, or apoptosis, occurs in essentially all tissues in the body as part of normal development. During apoptosis, dying cells can disassemble into smaller vesicles called apoptotic bodies. Despite being an important process, the mechanism underpinning apoptotic body formation is poorly defined. Dr Ivan Poon…

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Dr Benjamin Rubinstein

The University of Melbourne Statistical Machine Learning   Dr Benjamin Rubinstein investigates the robustness of the Artificial Intelligence used in today’s cyber-defences, and the impacts on user privacy of big data analysis. Ben is internationally recognised in adversarial machine learning, which seeks to answer: How can machine learning algorithms and statistical estimators be manipulated? And…

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Dr Emma Sciberras

Deakin University  Child Psychology   About 300,000 young people in Australia have Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Although medication helps to manage the main symptoms of ADHD, those affected continue to have poorer outcomes over time. Dr Emma Sciberras aims to develop new treatment approaches to promote positive future outcomes for those people living with the disorder….

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Dr Ke Wang

University of Melbourne  Electrical and Electronics Engineering   High-speed wireless communication is critical to our modern lives, yet we are reaching the limits of conventional WiFi technology. Dr Ke Wang has developed a technology known as ‘optical wireless personal area communications’. This utilises near-infrared light to carry data directly to users at wireless speeds up…

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