The University of Western Australia has a continual roll call of awards, scholarships and prizes presented to staff and students.

To recognise these achievements, an article is published on the UWA news page on the website and in UWA Forward on the first week of every month. If you know of great awards or achievements across the University please email [email protected].

Name: Andrew Guzzomi, Todd Erickson and Monte Masarei

Achievement:  UWA spinout Emergence Ecotech has been named a finalist for Best Spinout Company at the 2025 KCA Australasian Research Commercialisation Awards.  Founded by Associate Professor Andrew Guzzomi, Dr Todd Erickson and Dr Monte Masarei, with commercialisation led by Gillian Ravlic, Emergence Ecotech is transforming large-scale ecological restoration with patented seed enhancement and precision planting technologies. It is boosting native seedling emergence from less than 5 per cent  to levels ranging between 40 per cent and 80 per cent.

Name: James Ledger

Achievement: UWA Chair of composition Dr James Ledger has been awarded the national 2025 Paul Lowin Prize for Orchestral Composition for his work The Last Thing  - a set of three songs for soprano and orchestra with text by Irish poet and playwright, Paula Meehan. The work premiered last year at the Perth Concert Hall, performed by UWA lecturer Sara Macliver (soprano) and WASO conducted by Alpesh Chauhan. The work examines the ways in which grief manifests in varied relationships: the titular The Last Thing looks at the death of a father; Mother unravels the aftermath of a “poisoned relationship” with a late mother; and Child Burial explores the loss of a child. The Paul Lowin Prizes are presented every two or three years and is the richest prize for Australian composers. In 2025, the Australian Music Centre pledged an increased prize pool in celebration of its 50th anniversary and this year’s Orchestral Prize is $30,000.

Name:  Glenda Kickett

Achievement: Social Work and Social Policy Senior Lecturer Glenda Kickett, from the School of Health and Clinical Sciences, won the Aboriginal Allied Health Award at the 2025 WA Excellence in Health Awards. Ms Kickett’s contributions to allied health span more than three decades, with her expertise in culturally grounded social work, trauma-informed care and Indigenous-led research shaping policy and practice. As CEO of Karla Kuliny Aboriginal Corporation and senior lecturer at UWA, she bridges allied health community practice and academia, advocating for systemic change in child protection and family support. She fosters culturally safe spaces for Aboriginal patients, staff and communities and embeds cultural safety into curriculum and practice. Her involvement in the Galup Name Restoration Project and the Festival of Perth’s ‘Galup’ play highlight her commitment to truth-telling and cultural recognition. WA Centre for Rural Health lecturer Lennelle (Lenny) Papertalk was a finalist in the same category.

Name:  Ivan Lin

Achievement:  Associate Professor Ivan Lin, from UWA’s WA Centre for Rural Health, was named Allied Health Researcher of the Year at the 2025 WA Excellence in Health Awards. Associate Professor Lin is a clinician-researcher-educator and specialist musculoskeletal physiotherapist at the Geraldton Regional Aboriginal Medical Service, where he established a physiotherapy service nearly 20 years ago. He is recognised internationally for his research in musculoskeletal pain, to improve care in Aboriginal communities, and clinical communication in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health care. His pain management research has shaped international guidelines and been translated into five languages. Associate Professor Lin co-developed the Clinical Yarning framework currently being implemented in WACHS-Midwest. The Clinical Yarning eLearning program has been completed by nearly 10,000 clinicians and students around Australia since mid-2022.

Name: Lindi Pelkowitz

Achievement: School of Health and Clinical Sciences lecturer Lindi Pelkowitz has been named Allied Health Educator of the Year at the 2025 WA Excellence in Health Awards. Ms Pelkowitz was recognised as an experienced social worker and passionate educator who exemplifies excellence in clinical education through leadership in student supervision, cross-disciplinary training, research translation and capacity building. She supports allied health students in rural placements as they navigate complex areas such as family violence, homelessness, child health and Aboriginal wellbeing. Her innovative approach equips students to work meaningfully in underserved communities. Her research into family and gendered violence in regional WA led to the development of UWA microcredential courses, co-designed with people with lived experience, Aboriginal knowledge holders and sector experts.

Name: Candice Brooking

Achievement: Senior Industry Engagement adviser Candice Brooking was awarded the Tracy McCabe Future Leader Fellowship. The  fellowship recognises outstanding contributions in international education and acknowledges leadership values through teamwork and collaboration. It provides an up-and-coming leader in Australian international higher education with funds to be used toward a leadership program or other professional development activity that will support their career progression as an international education leader. The annual Fellowship is supported by the Australia Universities International Directors’ Forum.

Name: Izan Izan

Achievement: Emeritus Professor Izan Izan has been honoured with a Lifetime Achievement Award by Monash University's Business School. Professor Izan graduated from Monash with first-class honours in 1973 and completed an MBA and PhD at the University of Chicago. Professor Izan began her academic career at the University of New South Wales. She joined UWA in 1981 and in 1990 was appointed Professor of Accounting and Finance. “I was the first woman in Australia to be appointed as Professor within these disciplines,” she said. Professor Izan was elected a Fellow of the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia (2004), received a national Citation for Outstanding Contributions to Student Learning (2011), and was awarded UWA’s Chancellor’s Medal (2015).  Dr Mark Barnaba, co-chair of the UWA Business School Board, said Professor Izan taught him as an undergraduate in his honours’ year. “The Business School would not be where it is today without a few select people including Emeritus Professors Izan, Ken Clements, Phil Brown and Peter Robertson,” he said.

Name: Yael Perry

Achievement: Dr Yael Perry, an Adjunct Associate Professor with UWA’s Medical School and Head of Youth Mental Health at The Kids Research Institute Australia, has won the Mid-Career Research Award at the 2025 Mental Health & Prevention Outstanding Researcher Awards. Presented by the journal Mental Health & Prevention, the international awards recognise excellence in research on the prevention of mental disorders and the promotion of mental health, as judged by significant publications, innovation in intervention and practical impact within the field. Dr Perry is a national leader in LGBTQA+ youth mental health, with expertise in developing, evaluating and translating preventive mental health interventions and resources. She also has specialised expertise and interest in the use of digital technology to improve engagement, access and uptake of mental health interventions, and is currently developing the first national, digital LGBTQA+ inclusive practice curriculum for medical and psychology students across Australia. After winning the award, Dr Perry accepted an invitation to join the journal’s Editorial Board.

Name: Jessica Buck

Achievement: Dr Jessica Buck, from UWA Centre for Child Health Research and The Kids Research Institute Australia, has received the 2025 University of Newcastle Beryl Nashar Young Researcher Award. The award recognises her leadership, innovation and impact in childhood cancer research. A proud Kamilaroi woman, Dr Buck is leading Australia’s first dedicated program to improve cancer outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children. Her journey – from losing her nan to cancer, to becoming the first Aboriginal Australian woman to earn a PhD from Oxford – has been driven by a deep commitment to equity in childhood cancer outcomes. Now Head of the First Nations Childhood Cancer team at The Kids, Dr Buck is building an outstanding research team, working to Close the Gap in childhood cancer outcomes, and mentoring the next generation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander scientists.

Name: Prue Hart and Minghao Zheng

Achievement: Adjunct Professor Prue Hart, from UWA’s Medical School and The Kids Research Institute Australia, and Winthrop Professor of Orthopaedic Research Professor Minghao Zheng, from the Perron Institute and UWA’s School of Biomedical Sciences, have been elected Fellows of the Academy of Health and Medical Sciences. Fellows are elected by their peers for their exceptional contributions to the advancement of knowledge, translation of research into improved health outcomes, and commitment to mentoring the next generation of researchers and clinicians. Professor Hart, a photobiologist and immunologist, has led landmark research for four decades into cytokine-mediated regulation of inflammatory responses and the effects on ultraviolet radiation (as in sunlight) on human immune functioning. Her work culminated in a world-first, NHMRC-funded clinical trial of UVB-phototherapy in early multiple sclerosis. Professor Zheng's groundbreaking work in orthopaedic and regenerative medicine has driven the development of two medical devices and one cellular product for treating cartilage, bone, and nerve injuries globally. His research has advanced understanding of musculoskeletal diseases by revealing that giant cells in bone tumours are non-tumour cells, enabling non-surgical treatment; uncovering unique pathological features of osteoarthritis in patients with obesity; and discovering mitochondrial transfer between cells – a novel mechanism critical for tissue homeostasis. His innovations are improving treatment outcomes for patients across Australia, the US and Europe. Professor Zheng is co-founder and consultant Chief Scientific Officer of UWA spinout biotechnology company Orthocell.

Name: UWA Oceans Institute

Achievement: UWA Oceans Institute won the 2025 Western Australian Coastal Awards for Excellence in Education, Engagement, Science and Research for its Rising Tides: Imagining Coastal Resilience program. The program was designed to engage and educate students and the community in envisioning future coastlines at Cockburn-Fremantle and Binalup/Middleton Bay. The City of Cockburn’s C.Y. O’Connor Beach Engineered Fringing Reef received the Coastal Management Award in recognition of its positive outcomes in reducing the impact of wave erosion and significantly increasing biodiversity. Preliminary findings from research completed by UWA Oceans Institute indicates the reef has contributed to a 10 per cent reduction in wave height, while also reducing wave energy reaching the shoreline by 20 per cent, since its installation in March 2022.The reef was designed by MMA Offshore and tank tested at UWA. The awards celebrate outstanding achievements in the planning, management, and protection of the State’s diverse and extensive coast.

Congratulations UWA staff, alumni and students.

Image top: Professor Prue Hart, the Emergence Ecotech team. Lindi Pelkowitz, Professor Minghao Zheng and Dr James Ledger .