Congratulations to the 2023 MDHS Staff Excellence Award winners!
The Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences is delighted to announce the winners of the 2023 MDHS Staff Excellence Awards.
On 14 December, the faculty gathered in the newly developed Arts & Cultural Building to announce the winners of the Staff Excellence Awards and to celebrate the hard work and successes of staff over the past year.
The awards recognise and reward outstanding work by academic and professional staff and teams across the faculty, schools, departments, centres and institutes. The awards are aligned with the Advancing Health 2030 Strategy and the faculty’s values of respect, accountability, compassion, integrity, and collaboration and teamwork.
After receiving the largest number of applications in recent years the faculty extended the winners’ pool and awarded a total of 27 prizes.
The awards cover three themes:
- Global, Place and Community
- Discovery
- Education
MDHS Global, Place and Community Awards
Award for Building an Inclusive, Values-Driven Student Community
Associate Professor Katherine Johnson and Dr Antoinette Poulton from the Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences for excellence in the development of the ADHD Study Skills Group to support students.
Award for Indigenous Health and Wellbeing
Dr Grace Nixon, Dr Kelley Graydon, Associate Professor Anthea Cochrane, Stephanie Weir, Anne-Marie Banfield, Sowmya Rao, Associate Professor Bryony Nayagam, Dr Julien Zanin, Dominic Power, Dr Chris Waterworth, Dr Lauren Story, Dr Michelle Todorov, Jocelyn Phillips, Lucy Shiels, Alexandra Walchhueter and Professor Gary Rance from the Department of Audiology and Speech Pathology, Melbourne School of Health Sciences for excellence in advancing knowledges through the development of a “First Nations Yarning Circle.”
Dr David Gallant and Aunty Lorraine Parsons from the Department of Social Work, Melbourne School of Health Sciences for excellence in work across education, research and collaboration leading to improved outcomes for Indigenous and non-Indigenous students.
Professor Marcia Langton from the Melbourne School of Population and Global Health for outstanding work on the Aboriginal Voice to Parliament.
Award for Mentor Excellence
Professor Nicholas Haslam from the Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences for excellence in effective mentoring with the School, University, discipline and the community.
Dr Rachel Toovey from the Department of Physiotherapy, Melbourne School of Health Sciences for excellence in the mentorship of colleagues across the faculty.
Dr Richard Frampton from the School of Biomedical Sciences and Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences for excellence in fostering positive cultures within the Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences and the School of Biomedical Sciences.
Award for Partnership and Collaboration for Public Benefit
Dr Christopher Waterworth and Professor Nathan Grills from the Department of Audiology and Speech Pathology, School of Health Sciences for excellence in enriching academic experiences that cultivate global perspectives in the Master of Clinical Audiology course.
Dr Kit Huckvale, Dr Mady Mani, Dr Debbie Passey, Dr Mahima Kalla, Mr Gary Wong, Dr Olivia Metcalf, Dr Hasan Ferdous, Dr Omar Dabash, Dr Kara Burns and Dr Teresa Wulandari from the Centre for Digital Transformation of Health for excellence in supporting academic, clinical and industry teams to develop health ideas and products.
Dr Esther Schroeder, Weilun Nien, Miriam Cahir, Nicole Bishop and Professor Nathan Grills from the Nossal Institute for Global Health for excellence in establishing the inaugural Indo-Pacific Global Health Case Competition.
Award for Professional Excellence and Innovation
Tammy Esmaili, Milly Yim, Annie Rodoni, Nicole Leach, Anne-Marie Hutchins, Paurnami Chandran, Asmini Athman, Rob Walker, Cheryl Augustine, Samantha Cassar, Dale Baum, Silvia Pasquote Abreu, Emma Dalton, Susan Hisheh, Gene Venables, Swaved Marcinski, Melanie Ho, Vince Kalangi from the Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences for excellence in laboratory management to support teaching, research and collaborative activity.
Monique O’Callaghan, Barbara Slattery, Anna Coppel, Urmi Dhagat, Hayley Shaw, Tim Crockett, Monica Vidal and Tessa Grimmon from the Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences for excellence in commitment to service and passion for supporting research.
Gillian Waters, Kim Williams, Aradhana Deoki, Deeya Jankee, Charlie Chua, Aiden Langford, Carolyn Clarkson, Lauren Christian, Julie Yip, Bevan Hempseed and Alex Saville from the School of Biomedical Sciences for excellence in delivering professional services that benefit all stakeholders to enhance our student’s educational journey.
MDHS Education Awards
Award for Education for Collaboration Practice
Dr Mariam Bebi Tokhi, Maxine Beneba Clarke, Dr Fiona Reilly, Dr Melanie Cheng, Professor Tony Birch, Anna Spargo-Ryan, Dr Catherine Scarff and Eileen Cheong from the Department of Medical Education for excellence in innovation in subject development for Narrative Medicine: ‘The Pen and the Stethoscope’.
Award for Learning and Teaching Achievement
Dr Anurika Priyanjali De Silva from Melbourne School of Population and Global Health for excellence in learning and teaching that influences, motivates, and inspires students.
Award for Program Innovation
Professor Karena Waller, Associate Professor Diana Stojanovski, Dr Graham Mackay, Dr Daniel Clarke, Dr Jennifer Fox, Associate Professor Teresa Jones, Dr Lisa Godinho, Dr Yu May Soh, Dr Charlotte Clarke and Dr Amber Willems-Jones from the Department of Microbiology and Immunology, School of Biomedical Science for excellence in coordinating two new subjects Discovering Biomedicine and Exploring Biomedicine.
Dr Roisin Bhamjee, Dr Rebecca Starkie, Associate Professor Caroline Johnson, Anneliese Willems, Laura Burns and Jane Henty from the Department of General Practice and Primary Care, Melbourne Medical School for excellence in the inaugural second-year medical degree Discovery subject: Making Healthcare Work: From home to hospital and back again.
Dr Tandy Hastings-Ison, Dr Tara FitzGerald, Nadine Crane, Dr Martina Tassone, Dr Debra Virtue, Associate Professor Karen Donald, and Associate Professor Fiona Dobson from the Department of Physiotherapy, Melbourne School of Health Sciences for excellence in collaborating across the University to develop partnerships and learning modules for the community-based Paediatric Experiential Placement program.
Award for Sustained Excellence in Learning and Teaching
Dr Kelley Graydon, Associate Professor Dani Tomlin, Patrick Bowers, Dr Peter Carew, Donella Chisari and Dr Grace Nixon from the Department of Audiology and Speech Pathology, Melbourne School of Health Sciences for excellence in developing innovative approaches to learning and teaching in the Master of Clinical Audiology course.
Associate Professor Lisa Chesire, Associate Professor Christine Jackman, Elizabeth Hu, Associate Professor Louisa Ng, Sarah English, Dr Kesha Rana, Professor Anna Ryan, Dr Justine Blistza, Associate Professor Kate Reid, Dr Charlotte Denniston, Dr Ngaree Blow, Kylie Fitzgerald, Paul Large, Associate Professor Jonathon Knott, Michelle Curtis, Dr Cate Scarff, Amanda Geddes, Louisa Palmer, Associate Professor Justin Tse, Tamara Clements, Associate Professor Stephen Lew, Dr Morgan Rayner, Dr Anousha Yazdabadi and Professor Julian Wright from the Department of Medical Education, Melbourne Medical School for excellence in the team’s innovative approach to the Doctor of Medicine program redesign and successful AMC accreditation.
Professor Rosemary McKenzie from the Melbourne School of Population and Global Health for excellence in creating exceptional learning and teaching content and activities to inspire students in their educational journey.
MDHS Discovery Awards
Award for Graduate Researcher Supervision
Associate Professor Catherine Granger from the Department of Physiotherapy, Melbourne School of Health Sciences for excellence in supervision resulting in graduate researchers receiving high-quality scholarships and grants.
Award for Interdisciplinary Research
Professor Jeanie Cheong, Professor Katherine Lee, Professor Peter Anderson, Dr Rheanna Mainzer, Associate Professor Rosemarie Boland, Marion McDonald, Dr Joy Olsen, Dr Noni David, Dr Gillian Opie, Professor Kim Dalziel, Lauren Pigdon, Professor Lex Doyle, Associate Professor Gehan Roberts, Dr Julianne Duff, Dr Leah Hickey, Professor Alicia Spittle, Dr Elisha Josev, Dr Penelope Stevens and Dr Alice Stewart from the Department of Obstetrics, Gynaecology and Newborn Health, Melbourne Medical School for excellence in leading the Victorian Infant Collaborative Study.
Dr Gemma McKibban, Professor Cathy Humphreys, Professor Lisa Gold, Professor Stuart Ross and Professor Ben Mathews from the Department of Social Work, Melbourne School of Health Sciences for excellence in multidisciplinary team collaboration through DICE (Disrupting Child Sexual Exploitation).
Award for Research Achievements
Professor Katherine Kedzierska, Dr Thi Hoang Oanh Nguyen and Dr Louise Rowntree from the Department of Microbiology and Immunology, School of Biomedical Sciences for excellence in establishing 'ready-to-go' immune protocols for understanding immunity to newly-emerging potential pandemic viruses.
Dr Ang Li from the Centre for Health Policy, Melbourne School of Population and Global Health for excellence in research into housing and social wellbeing.
Associate Professor Kate Hayward from the Department of Physiotherapy, Melbourne School of Health Sciences for excellence in research to deliver new standards of care for stroke recovery.
Read about previous winners of the MDHS Staff Excellence Awards.