The 2023 Professional, Research and Teaching Excellence Awards were announced at a joint awards ceremony on Tuesday 14 November. The event was a celebration of our people, their knowledge, passion and impact on the local, regional and global community. Congratulations to all nominees for the outstanding contributions you have made.

We are delighted to announce the Research Excellence Award winners and commendations for 2023.

Research Excellence

Winner of the 2023 Research Excellence Award is Professor Luis Salvador-Carulla. Luis' award was accepted on his behalf by Professor Rachel Davey, Director of the Health Research Institute.

Luis Salvador-Carulla is a Professor of Mental Health and the Deputy Director of the Health Research Institute. His main field of interest is decision support tools for the analysis of complex health systems and policy in public health with a special focus on mental health, ageing, disability and intellectual developmental disorders.

The tools developed by Luis and his team in HRI have been used in 35 countries, and research led by Luis has received outstanding awards in Europe and Australia bestowed because of its relevance to supporting planning in public agencies, for his advances in the classification of neurodevelopmental disorders and for his contribution to strengthening research links between Australia and Europe.

Unfortunately no photo was captured of Professor Rachel Davey receiving the award on behalf of Luis.

Early Career Researcher Excellence

The joint winners of the 2023 Early Career Researcher Excellence Award are Dr Bradley Moggridge and Dr Nathan D'Cunha. Nathan's award was accepted on his behalf by Dr Jane Kellet.

Associate Professor Bradley Moggridge (Faculty of Science and Technology) is a proud Murri from the Kamilaroi Nation and is a researcher in Indigenous water science. Brad engages externally through number of roles which is evidence of both his research achievements and his standing as Australia’s pre-eminent Indigenous water scientist.

His work with government on operationalising Indigenous engagement around water management is recognised internationally and has led to over 40 invited keynote presentations, including at the United Nations. In his time at the University of Canberra he has led or participated in grant applications totalling more than $4 million, and he has led substantive pieces of work for industry and government.

Image: Dr Brad Moggridge receiving his award.

Dr Nathan D'Cunha is a core member of the Ageing Research Group and as Assistant Professor in Human Nutrition in the Faculty of Health. Since graduating with his PhD in August 2021, Nathan has published 20 manuscripts, 5 industry articles, 20 conference presentations, and achieved $1.47 million in external funding as a CI. He received the 2022 Faculty of Health Early Career Research Award, and in 2023, he was awarded an ACT Health Research and Innovation Fellowship. He has a productive publication record and is an active HDR supervisor. Nathan has established several multidisciplinary projects that are already influencing the services available to people living with dementia and their carers in the ACT region.

Image: Dr Jane Kellet receiving the award on behalf of Nathan.

Excellence in Engagement and Impact

The winner of the 2023 Excellence in Engagement and Impact Award is the VIDEA Lab team, Health Research Institute, Faculty of Health.

The Vision and Decision Analytics (VIDEA) lab is Australia’s first lab to combine expertise from two related areas of knowledge, visual analytics and expert decision making, providing new opportunities to better plan public health care by engaging industry, Government, community organisations and consumers. The lab comprises a multidisciplinary team with nationally and internationally recognised experts with long standing experience both in academia, industry and public organisations.

Collectively the team has published over 110 peer-reviewed journal publications and received over $8M in research income since 2021. They have developed novel tools for visualisation and decision analytics, the integrated atlas of care, and a series of modelling tools that are being used in 35 countries around the world.

The aim of the VIDEA lab is to translate research to policy and practice. Over the past three years they have produces 5 integrated atlases in mental health, dementia, MS, and Indigenous health in Australia and an atlas of mental health care in Qatar, Spain and Brazil. The atlases have directly driven mental health planning in NSW, ACT and WA, and their work has influenced mental health policy in Finland, Spain and England.

Image: The VIDEA lab team receiving their award.

Excellence in Higher Degree by Research Supervision

The winner of the 2023 Excellence in Higher Degree by Research Supervision Award is Professor Moosung Lee. Moosung's award was accepted on his behalf by Professor Deborah Pino-Pasternak, Associate Dean Research, Faculty of Education.

Moosung is a highly regarded educational researcher and commentator on educational leadership, both in Australia and internationally. He manages the position of supervisor as professionally and successfully as he does all his Faculty responsibilities and leadership roles. He is a model of excellence, persistence, and determination; qualities that he instils in each of his PhD candidates.

Image: Professor Deborah Pino-Pasternak receiving the award on behalf of Moosung.

We received some outstanding nominees for this award, and have identified, in addition to a winner, a supervisors who deserves a commendation; Professor Paul Hetheringon.

Image: Dr Tracy Ireland receiving the commendation on behalf of Paul.

Outstanding Team Achievement in Research or Enterprise

The winner of the 2023 Outstanding Team Achievement in Research or Enterprise Award is the Re.Pete Design team, Faculty of Arts and Design.

Re.Pete is an industry engagement and research demonstration project undertaken by an interdisciplinary research team, demonstrating a circular, zero-waste approach to low-volume chair designed and manufacture enabled by robotic fabrication, a first in Australia. The Re.Pete commission showcases a research-informed design response to an industry-based challenge, and was the Winner of the 2022 MPavilion International Chair Competition, the leading architectural commission and annal design event in Australia. The project is the recipient of some of Australia’s most prestigious professional design awards, and has been acquired by the Powerhouse Museum for inclusion in its permanent exhibition of exemplary chair design.

Image: The Re.Pete Design team receiving their award.

The ceremony was MC'ed by Duncan Driver, and the Research Excellence Awards were presented by Professor Lucy Johnston, Deputy Vice-Chancellor Research & Enterprise. The award winners in selected Research Excellence Award categories will be finalists for the 2023 Vice-Chancellors Researcher of the Year Award, which will be presented in December.

A complete list of nominees for the 2023 Research Excellence Awards is below:

Research Excellence award nominees