A winning week for Australia's women scientists

Women scientists in Australia and New Zealand have hit the jackpot, with 25 outstanding female figures receiving recognition across three different sets of awards.

Women in Science

Tuesday saw the announcement of the 2016 L’Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science Australian & New Zealand Fellowships. For the past 10 years, the program has recognised the achievements of exceptional female scientists at different stages of their careers and awarded them with $25,000 fellowships to help further their research. This year’s four fellowship winners are as follows:

Dr Angela Crean, The University of Sydney

With 40% of infertility cases in Australia linked to the male and the quality of their sperm, Dr Angela Crean wants to know if the quality of sperm could be adjusted. She is investigating the manipulation of environmental factors in order to boost sperm quality and hopes to lead an emerging field of research that uses evolutionary theory to develop novel and innovative treatments for infertility.

Dr Jenny Fisher, University of Wollongong

With many different emissions from both human and natural activities, the ability to control air pollution relies on understanding how different emissions interact. Jenny plans to develop an Australian atmospheric chemistry model, similar to those already used in North America and Europe, to assist in predicting pollution amounts and their responses to future change.

Dr Camilla Whittington, The University of Sydney

Camilla investigates the evolution of pregnancy and how the placenta has evolved independently in many different species to transport large quantities of nutrients to the foetus. She will compare the placenta transport mechanisms of critical nutrients in mammals, reptiles and fish. She will then identify the genes specific to this nutrient transport and those common across all three species.

Dr Erin Leitao, University of Auckland

While the majority of synthetic chemistry is targeted at making molecules and materials containing carbon, Erin wants to make use of other main-group (inorganic) elements such as silicon, phosphorus, nitrogen, oxygen and sulfur to synthesise polymers. She plans on developing new, efficient synthetic routes by focusing on catalytic reactions that will open doors to the next generation of functional polymers and materials.

Women in Innovation

Also announced on Tuesday were the Women in Innovation (Winnovation) Awards, celebrating the successes of female innovators changing the game in South Australia. The awards are run by Winnovation SA, a community of volunteer professionals striving to elevate South Australia’s innovative women. This year’s winners include:

Emerging Innovator: Claudine Bonder, Centre for Cancer Biology

Claudine has helped develop a patented process to save the lives of patients with heart disease, whose bodies are at risk of rejecting the metal stents inserted to help them manage the disease. The technology developed by Claudine is supported by a multinational company with an aim to improve the performance of implanted medical devices.

Science: Alison Cowin, University of South Australia

Allison has spent the past 20 years researching a protein called Flightless, which she realised could have an important role in cancer formation, progression and metastasis. She has since developed a patented antibody-based therapy for skin cancer treatment, which is now ready for clinical translation and commercialisation.

Engineering: Karen Reynolds, Flinders University

Karen Reynolds developed the Medical Device Partnering Program, an innovative model for collaboration between researchers, end users and commercial partners, which is now helping catalyse the medical technology industry in South Australia.

Technology: Shelley Elder, Axeze

Shelley has developed a range of technological devices which improve access and security at sites ranging from healthcare settings through to hospitality venues. Early clients included Clipsal, Dick Smith and Harvey Norman.

Rural, Regional and Remote: Bronwyn Gillanders, University of Adelaide

Bronwyn has developed tools and data to assist with development approvals to unlock the wealth of South Australia’s Spencer Gulf while also providing information on how to protect its significant environmental assets.

Other winners included Chloe Gardner (Art); Gemma Munro (Initiative in Women’s Business); Gail Fairlamb (Innovation and Intrapreneurship within Government); and Bianca Peta (Open).

Women in Research

The trifecta was completed on Wednesday with the inaugural Women in Research Citation Awards, presented by Clarivate Analytics and The Australian National University (ANU). Honouring the outstanding achievements of 12 early- to mid-career women researchers across a variety of research disciplines, the awards are based on a methodology and analysis of source data from the Web of Science Core Collection, said to be the world’s most trusted source of citation databases.

One such awardee was Jin Teng, who was recognised for her work investigating climate impact on water, including water availability, floods and droughts through CSIRO Land and Water. Teng explained, “My research is to help society to make informed decisions on how we can adjust our behaviour around issues related to water so that we can preserve the earth for future generations.”

Another award recipient was anthropologist Dr Emma Kowal, from Deakin University, whose research on the use of genetics in Indigenous Australian communities has led to the formation of the National Centre for Indigenous Genomics at ANU. Emma said, “Underlying all my research is an interest in cultural, ethnic or racial difference: how we perceive and respond to difference, and the implications of this for individuals and for building a diverse and equitable society.”

The full list of awardees is below:

Name	Organisation	Research discipline
Dr Zoe Bainbridge	James Cook University	Environmental science & management
Dr Alize Ferrari	University of Queensland	Psychiatric epidemiology
Dr Ute Knoch	University of Melbourne	Applied linguistics
Professor Emma Kowal	Deakin University	Cultural & medical anthropology
Dr Delphine Lannuzel	University of Tasmania	Chemical & biological oceanography
Dr Annie Lau	Macquarie University	Health informatics
Dr Margaret Mayfield	University of Queensland	Plant ecology
Dr Eugenia Sampayo	University of Queensland	Marine ecology
Dr Julie Schneider	University of Sydney	Health sciences
Dr Susan Sharma	Deakin University	Financial econometrics
Jin Teng	CSIRO	Climate modelling
Dr Rachel Wood	Australian National University	Archaeological science