The three-year project, entitled ‘Embedding genomics in primary care: using implementation science to design a robust national approach’, will ensure a nationally consistent, ethically robust approach to support GPs offering genetic tests and the consumers considering them.

“While the scientific and technological challenges of genomic testing are being met through rigorous research programs, the practice of genomics is a complex area,” Professor Brathwaite says.

“We will support GPs and consumers by ensuring existing resources and newly created support tools are freely available and useful through a rigorous implementation process with GPs.”

The project will be coordinated by Dr Janet Long, and involves partners Australian Genomics, Human Genetics Society of Australasia, the Royal College of Pathologists Australasia, Cystic Fibrosis Australia, Fragile X Association of Australia, Genetic Support Network of Victoria, and Rare Voices Australia.

Genomics medicine is revolutionising healthcare, particularly for people with rare diseases and cancer, by offering prompt and accurate diagnosis, identifying a patient’s risk based on their genes and providing personalised treatments.

The MRFF Genomics Health Futures Mission has funded 25 projects for a total of $66 million.

Vice-Chancellor Professor S Bruce Dowton praised the tremendous accomplishments of the nominees and also thanked professional staff for their support of the University’s education and research missions.

“It is a great pleasure to recognise the outstanding achievements of the finalists, who have given their time, industry and intellect to solve the big global problems through research excellence and change the livelihoods of students through learning and teaching,” said the Vice-Chancellor.

Congratulations to all the winners.

Vice-Chancellor’s Learning and Teaching Awards

Vice-Chancellor’s Learning and Teaching Student-Nominated Award

Recognises staff for their teaching and support of learning that influences, motivates and inspires students to learn.

Dr Irina Dedova, Department of Chiropractic, Faculty of Medicine, Health and Human Sciences

Associate Professor Richard Garner, School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences, Faculty of Science and Engineering

Dr Ali Lalbakhsh, Macquarie University College

Dr LayPeng Tan, Department of Marketing, Macquarie Business School

Dr Hector Viveros Tapia, Department of Management, Macquarie Business School

Vice-Chancellor’s Learning and Teaching Sessional Staff Award

Recognises sessional staff for their approaches to teaching and support of learning that influences, motivates and inspires students to learn.

Mr Camille Rahme, Department of Chiropractic, Faculty of Medicine, Health and Human Services

Vice-Chancellor’s Learning and Teaching Early Career Award

Recognises staff for their quality teaching and support of learning, and the impact they have on influencing, motivating and inspiring students to learn.

Dr Madeline Taylor, Macquarie Law School, Faculty of Arts

Vice-Chancellor’s Award for Learning and Teaching Innovation

Recognises the development and implementation of innovations that improve learning, teaching or assessment to enable, motivate, support and inspire students to learn.

The team of: Associate Professor Louise Koelmeyer, Dr Belinda Thompson, Robin Blumfield, Professor Catherine Dean, Robbie Blackwell, Dr Kylie Gwynne, Fiona Tisdall Blake, Dr Morwenna Kirwan, Matthew Robson and Chloe Szilas, Faculty of Medicine, Health and Human Sciences

Vice-Chancellor’s Award for Teaching Excellence

Recognises staff for their excellence in teaching and support of learning and the impact they have on influencing, motivating and inspiring students to learn.

Dr Natasha Todorov, School of Psychological Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Health and Human Sciences

Vice-Chancellor’s Educational Leader Award

Recognises educational leadership that has influenced and enhanced learning and teaching and/or student experience.

Associate Professor Josephine Paparo, School of Psychological Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Health and Human Sciences.

Research Excellence Awards

Excellence in Higher Degree Research Awards

Presented for outstanding research undertaken by a current or former higher degree research candidate (in both HASS and STEMM-based disciplines).

HASS

Michelle Bishop, School of Education, Faculty of Arts

Thom Dixon, School of Social Sciences, Faculty of Arts

STEMM

Jaime A. Alvarado-Montes, School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences, Faculty of Science and Engineering.

Dr Ali Lalbakhsh, School of Engineering, Faculty of Science and Engineering

Excellence in Higher Degree Research Supervision – Supervisor of the Year

Recognises our outstanding Higher Degree Research (HDR) supervisors who enable our HDR candidates to achieve their highest potential.

Professor Niloufer Selvadurai, Macquarie Law School, Faculty of Arts

Early Career Researcher of the Year

Acknowledging outstanding performance in research by an early career researcher (in both HASS and STEMM-based disciplines).

HASS

Dr Emlyn Dodd, Department of History and Archaeology, Faculty of Arts

STEMM

Associate Professor Noushin Nasiri, School of Engineering, Faculty of Science and Engineering

Excellence in Research – Five Future-shaping Research Priorities

Winners demonstrate the real-world impact of Macquarie University research in delivering benefits to Australian and international communities.

Healthy People

The team of: Professor Catherine McMahon, Professor Leanne Holt, Associate Professor Boe Rambaldini, Dr Kylie Gwynne, Luke Halvorsen, Kai Nash, Noeleen Lumby, Cara Cross, Dr Yvonne Dimitropoulos, Dr Andrea Salins, Faculty of Medicine, Health and Human Sciences and Faculty of Arts

Resilient Societies

Associate Professor Mark Alfano, Department of Philosophy, Faculty of Arts

Prosperous Economies

The team of: Dr Miles Yang and Dr Candy Lu, Department of Management, Macquarie Business School

Secure Planet

Professor Tina Soliman-Hunter, Macquarie Law School, Faculty of Arts

Innovative Technologies

Professor Tao Gu, School of Computing, Faculty of Science and Engineering

Excellence in Research Integrity

The inaugural Excellence in Research Integrity award recognises outstanding contribution, leadership or innovation in research integrity by an individual or team.

Associate Professor Mianna Lotz, Department of Philosophy, Faculty of Arts

Excellence in Research Innovation, Partnership and Entrepreneurship Award

Recognises and rewards excellence in research innovation, partnership, commercialisation, translation, and entrepreneurship at Macquarie University.

The team of: Distinguished Professor Phil Taylor, Dr Bishwo Mainali, Dr Vivian Mendez, Dr Maciej Maselko, Dr Soo Jean Park, Dr Mary Whitehouse, Dr Piotr Trebicki, Applied BioSciences Insect Biosecurity Team, Faculty of Science and Engineering

The Jim Piper Award for Excellence in Research Leadership

Recognises outstanding and inspiring researchers who are on a path to becoming both a leading researcher and a research leader at Macquarie University.

Professor Helen Rizos, Macquarie School of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Health and Human Sciences

Watch the full Academic Staff Awards ceremony below:

Award for innovative hearing software

Auditory training software developed by Dr Sharon Cameron and Professor Harvey Dillon from the Department of Linguistics has been awarded the prize for Service Delivery – Hearing and Auditory Rehabilitation at the 2023 Hearing Technology Innovator Awards in the United States. The training software, Sound Storm, is an updated version of the LiSN & Learn auditory training software that was developed as part of Dr Cameron’s NHMRC Public Health Training Fellowship and has been proven to reverse spatial processing disorder (SPD) in children after just 10 weeks of use at home. SPD is a type of auditory processing disorder that impacts the ability to understand speech in noisy environments such as classrooms and is a common long-term consequence of protracted otitis media (middle ear disease) in the first five years of life. Development and evaluation of the software was conducted while Dr Cameron and Professor Dillon worked at Australian Hearing Hub partner National Acoustic Laboratories. They have both since moved to Macquarie University, where they are continuing to investigate auditory processing disorders.

Macquarie Business School maintains strong position in 2024 QS Business Master’s Rankings 

The 2024 QS Business Master’s Rankings have been announced and Macquarie Business School has remained in the top two Australian business schools for each business masters ranking.

• Master of Marketing – #1 in Australia (#28 globally)
• Master of Applied Finance – #2 in Australia (#39 globally)
• Master of Management – #2 in Australia (#71 globally)
• Master of Business Analytics – #2 in Australia (#71-80 globally)

Commenting on the result, Professor Eric Knight, Executive Dean of MQBS, said, “This result is a testament to our incredible academic and professional staff in the Macquarie Business School and I would like to extend my gratitude to them for all their hard work and dedication to the school and our students. As a faculty, we work to rethink, reimagine and rewrite the rules of business, so our community of students, staff, alumni and partners can find their purpose and make a difference. This result will certainly energise us for the future.”

Read more here.

Commercialisation award for the Australian Hearing Hub

Macquarie University’s Australian Hearing Hub (AHH) has won the award for Best Knowledge Exchange Initiative in the 2023 Knowledge Commercialisation Australasia (KCA) Awards. The award was accepted on behalf of the AHH by Macquarie’s Dr Kathryn Sunn, Director, Commercialisation, and Katrina Avery, Director, Partnerships, at the KCA Annual Conference on the Gold Coast on 11 October. The KCA Awards recognise excellence in research commercialisation, highlighting its impact on society and the critical role played by technology transfer and research commercialisation professionals in translating publicly funded research into real-world solutions.

2023 Chloe Munro Scholarship recipient

Dr Madeline Taylor, from the Macquarie Law School, is a recipient of the Clean Energy Council’s 2023 Chloe Munro Scholarship for Transformational Leadership. Now in its third year, the scholarship supports women who are emerging leaders in the fields of clean energy, energy management and carbon abatement. As one of four ‘Executive Ready’ winners, Dr Taylor will undertake the seven-month development program for middle to senior leaders. Read more here.

Anneke Rowe Courtemanche, Manager, Global Leadership Program (GLP), and Emma McCullough, GLP Advisor and Sustainability Challenge lead at the Green Gown Awards ceremony earlier this month.

Green Gown Awards nomination for Global Leadership Program

The Global Leadership Program was thrilled to be nominated as a finalist in the 2023 Green Gown Awards Australasia for its online sustainability challenges, under the ‘Creating Impact’ category. The category recognises those who have achieved significant sustainability-related outcomes using minimal and/or limited resources. The sustainability challenges are popular online, self-paced, action-based, co-curricular programs designed to both educate participants in major sustainability issues and to establish long-term behavioural change through small-habit building.

Academy of Social Sciences Fellow announced

Professor Michelle Arrow, from the Department of History and Archaeology, has been elected as a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences in Australia. The fellowship recognises outstanding contributions to the advancement of social science knowledge and impact. Professor Arrow is one of Australia’s leading scholars in Australian postwar political, social and cultural life. Her research has made significant contributions to knowledge of histories of the post-war Australian political and social landscape, popular culture, feminist and gay and lesbian activism, and the depiction of history in the media. Through both sole-authored and collaborative research, she has investigated the ways that activism centred on questions of gender and sexuality have had a transformative impact on the rights and protections of Australian citizenship in the late 20th century.

Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences Fellowship

Professor Johanna Westbrook, Director of the Centre for Health Systems and Safety Research at the Australian Institute for Health Innovation, has been made a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences (AAHMS). Professor Westbrook is recognised internationally for her research evaluating the effects of information and communication technology in healthcare. AAHMS Fellows are elected by their peers, based on their exceptional contributions to the fields of health and medical science.

Google Award for Inclusion

Macquarie University Hearing ECHO Lab researchers, Dr Yvonne Tran and Dr Kelly Miles, have won a prestigious Google Award for Inclusion Research for 2023. The award celebrates academic research in computing and technology that champions the needs of historically marginalised groups across the world. Dr Tran and Dr Miles’ research focuses on the development of sensor-fusion empowerment networks designed to make communicating in noisy environments more accessible for people who use hearing devices – and ultimately to support everyone who finds it challenging to communicate in noisy spaces. Competition was keen, with a pool of international applicants vying for the award and its US$65,000 prize money. Dr Tran and Dr Miles’ project was selected for its unique approach and its potential to instigate substantial societal transformation.

The four Macquarie University academics announced this past week, Professor Xuan Duong, Professor Stephen Foley, Professor Richard McDermid and Professor Bronwen Neil were admitted to the College of Experts for 2024, joining the nine Macquarie researchers confirmed to remain on the College:

• Distinguished Professor Michael Gillings 
• Associate Professor Yijiao Jiang
• Professor Tiffany Jones
• Professor Fei Guo
• Professor Annabelle McIver
• Distinguished Professor Ingird Piller
• Professor Alison Rodger
• Professor Daniela Traini
• Professor Yuling Wang

We spoke with Professor Duong about his appointment and how he plans to take on the responsibility.

Professor Duong, a theoretical mathematician from the School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences, says that his decision to apply for a College of Experts role comes after many years on the other side as a grant recipient.
 
“The ARC College of Experts has a decisive role in the direction and development of research in Australia and I wish to contribute to the process of finding and supporting the best research for Australia,” he says.  

Professor Duong’s research is in the field of harmonic analysis and its applications to partial differential equations.  

“This field of mathematics has a wide range of applications in engineering and technology, for example signal processing, satellite and aviation communications, and medical imaging like CT and MRI scans,” he says. 

He was drawn to the area by a number of fascinating long-standing problems of the field – many of which remain unsolved. 

Professor Duong completed his PhD at Macquarie University in 1991, and after a few years as a post-doctoral researcher at the University of NSW, returned to Macquarie in 1994.  

“In January, I will have been at Macquarie for 30 years,” he says. During that time, he has successfully applied for nine ARC Discovery projects.

Professor Duong says that the main responsibility of the College of Experts is to assess and rank ARC grant applications submitted under the National Competitive Grants Program.

“My experience has all been as an outsider, and after speaking to colleagues who have had a role at the College, I anticipate a steep learning curve and quite intensive work to get up to speed,” he says, adding that he is not fazed by the workload, viewing it both very useful and worthwhile.

“This is an important role, and I take this responsibility very seriously. It is important to do our best in assessing applications which will come from people from all over Australia, many of them from outside my area of research,” he says. 

Professor Duong says he hopes to influence the research landscape of mathematics by bringing some balance between pure mathematics – which is classified as basic research, and applied mathematics – which usually addresses specific problems in industry and technology.

“Both are important for Australia’s research success.” 

Faculty of Science and Engineering

Dr Timothy Ghaly, School of Natural Sciences, for the project ‘Living soil: Harnessing soil microbes for ecological restoration and climate resilience’. Terrestrial ecosystems are becoming increasingly degraded, with significant economic and environmental costs. Ecological restoration practices can mitigate these costs. However, innovative approaches are urgently needed to improve restoration success, particularly under future climate scenarios. Restoration outcomes are strongly influenced by soil microbes, which are intimately linked with plant growth and tolerance to climate stress. The use of soil microbes has significant translational potential that, as of yet, remains unfulfilled. This project will develop novel methods and fill important knowledge gaps to allow the harnessing of soil microbes to encourage ecological restoration and resilience under a changing climate.

Dr Yunlong Luo, School of Natural Sciences, for the project ‘Interactions between micro-/nanoplastics and environmental microorganisms’. This project aims to investigate the interactions between micro-/nanoplastics (MNPs) and environmental microorganisms and to develop innovative biotechnologies for MNP remediation. Understanding MNP-microorganism interactions holds significant importance for studying the environmental impact of emerging plastic pollutants and also allows discovery of new enzymes, development of genetic engineering techniques and design of bioreactor systems. Expected outcomes include improved methods for analysing MNPs and microorganisms in complex environmental matrices and optimised bioreactor systems for eliminating MNPs. This project will provide various benefits through enhancing Macquarie’s research strength in biotechnology and contributing to environmental conservation, technological innovation and public awareness.

Ms Louise Tosetto, School of Natural Sciences, for the project ‘It’s a trap! Exploiting sensory systems of invasive fishes as a tool for control’. The eastern mosquitofish is a global and pervasive invader. It is found across many Australian streams causing extensive stress to habitat and native animals. This study takes an innovative approach to exploiting sensory cues used by invasive mosquitofish that could be applied in multi-sensory traps for control. This project will also provide a clear and methodical framework that can be used to exploit sensory systems in a range of invasive fishes. This work has the potential to provide a cost-effective and environmental approach to controlling invasive fish and will complement current methods used to manage invasive species throughout freshwater streams.

Dr Doudou Zhang, School of Engineering, for the project ‘Direct synthesis of earth-abundant bifunctional catalysts via one-step electrodeposition for efficient seawater hydrogen production’. This project aims to address challenges using seawater-based hydrogen production by developing high-performance, earth-abundant bifunctional catalysts through electrodeposition. Current electrocatalysis technology necessitates additional energy to purify water for hydrogen production rather than utilising seawater directly. Furthermore, the existing methods for synthesising catalysts with bifunctional properties for long-term seawater electrolysis are complex and limited. This project aims to address these challenges by developing high-performance, earth-abundant bifunctional catalysts through electrodeposition. Employing a combination of density functional theory and machine learning, active sites in (hydro)oxide catalysts will be engineered at the atomic scale. The expected outcomes include not only publications but also opportunities for funding and industry partnerships. The scalable electrodes and technology will revolutionise seawater-based hydrogen production.

Faculty of Medicine, Health and Human Sciences

Dr Yuanyuan Deng, Macquarie Medical School, for the project ‘Targeting the synaptic GTPase-activating protein 1 for Alzheimer’s disease treatment’. This project seeks to examine the link between Alzheimer’s Disease (AD), the most common form of dementia, and SynGAP1, a protein essential for brain development. The hypothesis is that the dysfunction of SynGAP1 could contribute to the abnormal neuron (brain cells) connections observed in AD. The project aims to explore how SynGAP1 is involved in AD and to investigate potential gene-therapies that target SynGAP1 protein. The anticipated outcome is the identification of novel approaches to safeguard or mend brain connections by targeting SynGAP1, which could lead to improved prevention or treatment strategies for the millions affected by AD.

Dr Andreea Heriseanu, School of Psychological Sciences, for the project ‘Optimal psychological approaches for cardiovascular risk and depression: Novel factorial randomised controlled trial of digital interventions’. This project will employ a highly-innovative multi-factor randomised controlled trial design to compare two different psychological approaches: (1) enabling critical health behaviour change (e.g. exercise, diet); (2) treating depression and maximising mental health; and their combination, for adults with Cardiovascular Disease [CVD] risk. Depression and CVD are highly co-occuring conditions. Depression increases risk for death from heart disease and is a barrier to self-management behaviours which prevent disease. This project Factors influencing treatment-related outcomes will be comprehensively examined to understand what approach works best for whom. This will improve understanding of effective psychological care for Australians with CVD risk.

Faculty of Arts

Ms Ceridwen Dovey, Department of Media, Communications, Creative Arts, Language, and Literature, for the project ‘The Art of Planet Hunting: The role of artistry and imagination in visualising exoplanets’, which aims to understand what is at stake when astronomical artists synthesise scientific and creative knowledge to depict exoplanets (planets outside our solar system). This research is urgent because the golden age of exoplanet discovery has only just begun, thanks to next-generation advanced telescopes. While artists’ visualisations of exoplanets make an essential contribution to public understanding of the universe, there is little scholarship on artists as co-creators of astronomical knowledge. This project will develop new conceptual frameworks for analysing exoplanet imagery, grounded in both the aesthetics and ethics of how scientific data about exoplanets is creatively interpreted.

Dr Emma Mitchell, School of Social Sciences, for the project ‘Children caring: shadow care infrastructures sustaining low-income families’ uses a child-focused, creative approach to investigate how children’s care activities help sustain low-income families and impact child and family wellbeing. Children in low-income families are more likely to take on caring duties due to lack of income and available supports. The hidden care load children carry intensifies as the pandemic, environmental crisis and economic turbulence disrupt already stretched support infrastructures. Expected outcomes include the development of child-centred care theory and a better understanding of the care capacities and care gaps that shape children’s experiences of poverty. Benefits include refining supports for children and families to improve their quality of life and promote positive health and employment outcomes in the long–term.

Dr Kylie Moore-Gilbert, Department of Security Studies and Criminology, for the project, ‘Reforming Australia’s policy approach to hostage diplomacy and wrongful detention’. This project offers the first comprehensive study of how states respond to the significant international issue of wrongful detention. It aims to analyse the Australian government and partner countries’ existing policies on wrongful detention to identify scope for meaningful domestic policy reform. By examining international best practice, this project will also investigate the broader geopolitical and diplomatic implications of the international growth of hostage diplomacy, and the prospects for tackling this emerging phenomenon through international collaboration. Intended outcomes include multiple peer-reviewed journal articles, a DECRA application, influencing policymaking and improving outcomes for victims and their families.

Dr Kurt Sengul, Department of Media, Communications, Creative Arts, Language, and Literature, for the project, ‘Media populism, democracy, and the public sphere in Australia’. This project aims to provide the first significant study of media populism in Australia across digital and traditional media. Adopting an innovative and interdisciplinary conceptual approach, it will benchmark evidence to help journalists, scholars and policymakers understand the implications of media populism for liberal democracy and an inclusive public sphere. The project will develop a new theory of media populism; inform policymakers on the role of media populism in processes of political polarisation, extremism and the erosion of democracy; and devise recommendations for media practitioners on how to avoid amplifying populist discourses for a more vibrant and multicultural public sphere.

Last week, Professor Eric Knight, Executive Dean of Macquarie Business School, hosted the Dean’s Distinguished Speakers Series to have a meaningful conversation with business and university leaders, policymakers, alumni and advocates about Australia’s economic potential.

The event centred around a panel discussion led by Professor Knight with Dr Martin Parkinson AC PSM, Macquarie University Chancellor, and Professor Jennifer Westacott AO, outgoing Chief Executive of the Business Council of Australia, and Western Sydney University Chancellor, as panellists.

The discussion used the Government’s recent Migration Review, chaired by Dr Parkinson, and the Seize the Moment report, released by the Business Council of Australia (BCA) during Professor Westacott’s leadership, to delve into the challenges Australia has faced and the opportunities for businesses and universities to work together to ensure that the future workforce is skilled and able to deliver the country’s goals, both in terms of economic productivity and as a destination of choice for talent throughout the Asia region.

“From the time of the first inter-generational report (IGR) in 2001, we’ve been telling everybody that the population is aging,” Dr Parkinson explained.

“Dependency ratios are rising. What we didn’t have in that 2001 period was what we’ve seen in the subsequent 20 years, which is the terrible deterioration in our productivity performance. What we also didn’t have at the time of that 2001 IGR report was clear evidence that if the participation rate hasn’t peaked, it’s pretty close to it.”

“Here we are 22 years later, and we’ve done virtually nothing about those things that were identified in that 2001 IGR. And we have just kept repeating and repeating and repeating. These are the challenges that have got to be addressed.”

Professor Jennifer Westacott added to this sentiment by saying, “Without serious reform the country is sleepwalking into lower living standards.”

“When you think about this from the human capital side, the government has only two levers,” said Dr Parkinson. “One is the education and training system, and the other is migration.”

With this context in mind, what resonated with the audience were the wise insights and recommendations for seizing the moment we face as a country.

“I guess our conclusion was we are poised but not ready. So, we need to seize the moment and we need to do that through a comprehensive suite of policy changes,” said Professor Westacott.

Citing the Seize the Moment report, Professor Westacott highlighted a few of BCA’s recommendations, such as diversifying the economy with a focus on industry policy, unleashing the potential of people, and becoming more outward looking to make sure Australia is available for global supply chains.

“This is about skills and capability, innovation and ingenuity. Therefore we have to be more competitive. We argue, of course, as the Business Council, you need to be private sector-led, but you also need effective government,” said Professor Westacott.

So, what’s the role of business schools and universities in all of this? The panel offered its suggestions: Meaningful education that will prepare graduates for the workforce and encourage them to study flexibility and tactically to build the skills they need for now and into the future; and making it as easy as possible for employers to recognise the skills graduates have when they enter the workforce – regardless of country of origin or degree.

Watch the highlights of the event below.

Macquarie University is proud to announce its notable performance in the 2024 Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings, solidifying its position as one of Australia’s top 10 institutions in higher education. The Rankings assess research-intensive universities across their core missions, encompassing teaching, research, knowledge transfer and international outlook.

What sets Macquarie apart in these rankings is its performance in the Research Quality, International Outlook and Industry pillars. These achievements underscore our commitment to disseminating new knowledge and groundbreaking ideas on a global scale.

Macquarie has particularly excelled in the three newly introduced indicators: Research Strength, Research Excellence and Research Influence. While Research Strength provides insights into research quality using percentile-based benchmarks, Research Excellence identifies the top 10 per cent of global research. Research Influence, on the other hand, considers the number of citations on a paper as well as the importance of the citing papers, offering a more comprehensive view of research excellence.

The ranking achievement is intrinsically linked to Macquarie’s strategic vision and long-term strategy of supporting research excellence. This approach is most recently exemplified by the establishment of ten new University Research Centres. These Centres build upon existing and emerging strengths across various academic disciplines to deliver excellence, collaboration, innovation and value creation in the service of significant scientific and social challenges. They are a testament to Macquarie’s commitment to addressing global challenges through consilience and pioneering research and innovation, complementing the strong performance in the research-related indicators of the THE rankings.

Find out more about the World University Rankings 2024 methodology.

Macquarie Business School ranks second for career impact among NSW business schools

Macquarie Business School has ranked in the top five for career impact – second among NSW business schools – in the AFR BOSS Best Business Schools list.

Executive Dean Professor Eric Knight spoke to the Australian Financial Review about the school’s focus on industry engagement and ensuring practical skills and experience in education that meets industry needs. Read more here.

US fellowship for orthopaedic surgeon

Academic orthopaedic shoulder and elbow surgeon, Associate Professor Sumit Raniga, has won a prestigious award from the Shoulder and Elbow Society of Australia (SESA). Presented every two years, the SESA Travelling Fellowship Award has previously provided recipients with a month of travel to visit leading European orthopaedic centres. Associate Professor Raniga is the first recipient to be offered a choice between visiting Europe and the United States. As part of the fellowship, he will receive a full scholarship to visit the Mayo Clinic, Harvard University and the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York, plus two other centres of excellence of his choice. He expects to leave Australia in September 2024. As part of his visit, he will present at the closed meeting of the American Shoulder and Elbow Society in San Antonio, Texas.

Director of Research Training and Senior Lecturer at Macquarie Law School named finalist in Lawyer’s Weekly Women in Law Awards 2023

Dr Madeline Taylor has been named as a finalist in the Academic/Researcher of the Year category of the Lawyer’s Weekly Women in Law Awards 2023. The Women in Law Awards is the most highly regarded awards program across Australia and is the benchmark for excellence, recognising exceptional women in the Australian legal industry. This prestigious national awards program presents an exceptional opportunity for leading women to showcase their achievements and celebrate the recognition they deserve. Winners will be announced on Thursday 23 November at the Crown Melbourne. Read more here.

Four fellowships awarded to Faculty of Arts

Congratulations are in order for the Faculty of Arts’ recipients of the 2024 Macquarie University Research Fellowship (MQRF) scheme.

Ms Ceridwen Dovey, from the Department of Media, Communications, Creative Arts, Language, and Literature (MCCALL), received the fellowship for the innovative project ‘The Art of Planet Hunting: The role of artistry and imagination in visualising exoplanets’, which aims to understand what is at stake when astronomical artists synthesise scientific and creative knowledge to depict exoplanets (planets outside our solar system). This research is urgent because the golden age of exoplanet discovery has only just begun, thanks to next-generation advanced telescopes. While artists’ visualisations of exoplanets make an essential contribution to public understanding of the universe, there is little scholarship on artists as co-creators of astronomical knowledge. This project will develop new conceptual frameworks for analysing exoplanet imagery, grounded in both the aesthetics and ethics of how scientific data about exoplanets is creatively interpreted.

Also becoming a Fellow is Dr Emma Mitchell, School of Social Sciences, for the project ‘Children caring: shadow care infrastructures sustaining low-income families’. Children in low-income families are more likely to take on caring duties due to lack of income and available supports. The hidden care load children carry intensifies as the pandemic, environmental crisis and economic turbulence disrupt already stretched support infrastructures. This project uses a child-focused, creative approach to investigate how children’s care activities help sustain low-income families and impact child and family wellbeing. Expected outcomes include the development of child-centred care theory and a better understanding of the care capacities and care gaps that shape children’s experiences of poverty. Benefits include refining supports for children and families to improve their quality of life and promote positive health and employment outcomes in the long–term.

Dr Kylie Moore-Gilbert, Department of Security Studies and Criminology, also received a MQRF for the project, ‘Reforming Australia’s policy approach to hostage diplomacy and wrongful detention’. This project offers the first comprehensive study of how states respond to the significant international issue of wrongful detention. It aims to analyse the Australian government and partner countries’ existing policies on wrongful detention to identify scope for meaningful domestic policy reform. By examining international best practice, this project will also investigate the broader geopolitical and diplomatic implications of the international growth of hostage diplomacy, and the prospects for tackling this emerging phenomenon through international collaboration. Intended outcomes include multiple peer-reviewed journal articles, a DECRA application, influencing policymaking and improving outcomes for victims and their families.

Finally, Dr Kurt Sengul from MCCALL was successful for the project, ‘Media populism, democracy, and the public sphere in Australia’. This project aims to provide the first significant study of media populism in Australia across digital and traditional media. Adopting an innovative and interdisciplinary conceptual approach, it will benchmark evidence to help journalists, scholars and policymakers understand the implications of media populism for liberal democracy and an inclusive public sphere. The project will develop a new theory of media populism; inform policymakers on the role of media populism in processes of political polarisation, extremism and the erosion of democracy; and devise recommendations for media practitioners on how to avoid amplifying populist discourses for a more vibrant and multicultural public sphere.

Mr Covell (BCom, LLB) joined the University in 2019 as Director of IT for MQ Health, after leading several large, complex and high-profile digital programs in State and Federal Government organisations. He served as the University’s Deputy Chief Information Officer from 2021 until his appointment to the Acting CIDO role in June this year, following the departure of outgoing CIDO Tim Hume.

Nicole Gower, Vice-President Professional Services, says Mr Covell’s proven leadership capabilities and strong track record in delivering positive outcomes within both health and university settings made him a compelling choice.

“Having searched far and wide for our next CIDO, I’m so pleased that the best candidate has come from within our own community,” she says. “It really is testament to the calibre of our people and the exceptional work that IT has delivered over the past five years.

“With his existing knowledge of our digital transformation and IT strategies, Jonathan is ideally placed to lead the University through our next phase of delivering these core programs, providing momentum and stability for our IT team and the whole university.”

Having worked closely with interim Digital Transformation leads Vanessa Tam and Hannah Latham over the past four months (“it has been in good hands”), Mr Covell says he is excited to lead the University towards a new digital future – one where innovative thinking can flourish.

“Having been both a student and staff member at Macquarie, I know our organisation is unique in its appetite for trying new things. It is an ethos that I have come to embrace and, as CIDO, I am keen to empower the IT team to explore new processes and technologies to better suit the needs of our stakeholders,” Mr Covell says.

“We will be leveraging the IT team’s strong foundations, processes and strategic vision to help Macquarie stay agile in our rapidly changing sector and build a strong service delivery culture so we’re partnering to deliver fit-for-purpose solutions.”

Dr Cornelia Sattler from the School of Natural Sciences won the 2023 BMC Ecology and Evolution Image Competition with a striking image (pictured above) of the invasive orange pore fungus (Favolaschia calocera), after spotting the bright orange fruiting bodies growing on dead wood in the rainforest within Nightcap National Park in northern NSW.

This is the third year that BMC has run the international photo competition, which was established to showcase the wonder of the natural world and to celebrate those working to understand it.

Dr Sattler, an ecologist whose own research focuses on insect pests, took the photo while visiting rainforest in Nightcap National Park in northern NSW.

“We were in dense rainforest, and it was almost dark, everything around me was green – and this shiny, bright fungus caught my attention; it was quite beautiful,” she says.

Returning from the rainforest, she found out that the fungus was not native to the area. “The fungus is originally from Madagascar; the spores are quite sticky and have been transported all over the world via animals and hikers.”

National Measurement Institute top honour  

Honorary Professor Mark Taylor was recently awarded the National Measurement Institute’s Barry Inglis Medal for sustained contributions to Australian metrology at the 2023 measurement awards.

Professor Taylor’s research expertise is in environmental contamination in aerosols, dusts, sediments, soil and water, and the potential risks to human health. He has published widely on these topics.

He has developed new techniques to study contamination in a huge range of human environments. This includes blood lead levels in children, firefighter exposure to PFAS chemicals and soil health for residential veggie patches.

Professor Taylor is Victoria’s Chief Environmental Scientist at the Environment Protection Authority Victoria.

Read more about the award here.

Churchill Trust Fellowship awarded

Professor Bronwyn Carlson, Head of the Department of Indigenous Studies, has been awarded a prestigious Churchill Trust Fellowship to investigate community approaches to rethinking colonial commemorations and their wider impacts. In 2023 she co-authored a book entitled Monumental Disruptions: Aboriginal People and Colonial Commemorations in So-Called Australia and coedited and contributed to a global collection entitled, The Palgrave Handbook on Re-thinking Colonial Commemorations. This achievement builds on Professor Carlson’s stellar year, which has seen the release of four books, multiple keynotes, reports and her world-leading expertise across both the online and in-physical community space go from strength to strength. Find out more here.

Almost $1 million grant awarded to develop evaluation framework for high upfront-cost therapies

Professor Wendy Lipworth from the Department of Philosophy is part of a multi-institutional research team that has been awarded $999,541 in funding for the project ‘Development of a generalisable evaluation framework for high upfront-cost therapies: clinical, economic, ethico-legal, social and cultural considerations’.

Gene therapies repair faulty genes and may improve or possibly cure some serious diseases, however there is limited evidence on long-term safety and effectiveness. They can also cost up to $1 million per treatment.

This project, led by the University of Sydney, will develop a new approach to compare costs and benefits of gene therapies that will incorporate patient and stakeholder views and preferences and can be used by government to inform funding decisions. Professor Wendy Lipworth and Honorary Professor Ian Kerridge, also from the Department of Philosophy, will lead the ethics phase of the project at Macquarie.

ISAM Young Investigator Award

Senior Research Fellow Dr Hui Xin Ong of Macquarie Medical School and the Woolcock Institute of Medical Research, has received the International Society for Aerosols in Medicine (ISAM) 2023 Young Investigator Award. The award recognises scientists under the age of 40 who have made significant contributions to the field of aerosols in medicine.

Dr Ong’s research focuses on developing pharmaceutical and medical device technologies that can be used for the treatment of respiratory and infectious diseases, and methodological platforms to help promote the translation of new discoveries to clinical practice. She is currently working on establishing pre-clinical models to predict the effects of inhaled drugs in humans. The award was presented at the 2023 ISAM Conference, which took place in Saarbrücken, Germany in August.

UNICEF funding awarded to study the School Readiness Program in Timor-Leste

Professor Sandie Wong, Professor Rebecca Bull, Professor Linda Harrison, Associate Professor Fay Hadley, Dr Frances Gentle and Honorary Senior Lecturer Dr Kathy Cologon from the Macquarie School of Education have been awarded funding by UNICEF. The aim of the project is to design and conduct a study exploring the effectiveness of the School Readiness Program in Timor-Leste.

The School Readiness Program was developed in response to very low levels of early childhood school attendance in Timor-Leste, resulting in children often being ill-prepared for school and needing to repeat their first year at great expense. Working in collaboration with UNICEF Timor Leste, the Timor Leste Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport, and research colleagues in Timor Leste, the team brings expertise in early childhood, assessment of child development, and rich knowledge of the Timor Leste context. This project will result in the design of a culturally relevant and robust evaluation of the program.

Third place for Macquarie team at national computer hacking competition

Macquarie’s Women in Cyber team placed third in Australia in the female-only category at DownUnderCTF 2023, the national computer hacking competition. Placing third in such a highly-contested competition is a great outcome for Macquarie’s team. CTF – short for Capture the Flag – is a computer security challenge where competitors race to find secret codes in the form of a text string called flags, which have been disguised within a deliberately-vulnerable program or website.

DownUnderCTF is the largest online Australian-run Capture the Flag competition, with last year’s competition fielding more than 4100 registered users and over 1900 registered teams. High school and university students compete for prizes in their categories, but the online game is open for anyone to play with people often joining in from all over the world.

Team members Izabella Lloyd-White, Zahlia Hamer, Yvonne Smith, Vrinda Maini and Evelyn Choukhman were supervised by Dr Natasha Fernandes, and they are all part of the Women in Cyber Computing Club which was formed this year to train female-identifying students in penetration testing and hacking skills.

MindSpot, MQ Health’s free online mental health service, has been named an Employer of Choice in the 2023 Australian Business Awards.

MindSpot provides clinically proven treatments and assessment to Australian adults suffering from depression, anxiety, OCD, PTSD and chronic pain. So far, its team of experienced mental health professionals has supported more than 200,000 people nationwide, online and via telephone.

Professor Nick Titov, MindSpot Executive Director and Macquarie University Professor of Psychology, says the award is a wonderful acknowledgment of the service’s dedication to supporting its staff and providing a healthy working environment.

“To deliver outstanding, world-class care to thousands of Australians every year, MindSpot needs to provide an exceptional workplace and culture,” Professor Titov says.

“When our staff thrive, they perform at their best. This means we aim to support our team across multiple domains including their learning and development, remuneration, psychological and physical wellbeing, promoting good work/life balance and providing work flexibility.

“Our people are the heart of MindSpot, and collectively our team [members] have created and sustained a healthy workplace and culture that not only rewards, but nurtures.”

The Employer of Choice Award recognises organisations that maximise the full potential of their workforce through established policies and practices that demonstrate effective employee recruitment, engagement and retention.

Employers of Choice are required to demonstrate their achievements across the key areas of organisational culture and leadership, employee education, training and development, employee health, safety and satisfaction, performance management, and recognition and remuneration.

Professor Patrick McNeil, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Medicine and Health), congratulated the MindSpot team on its latest achievement.

“This award is testament to MindSpot’s commitment to creating and sustaining an exceptional working environment and culture for the workforce,” Professor McNeil says.

“MindSpot provides an exceptional service that has assisted many Australians over the past 10 years, and its reputation continues to attract staff from across the country in a highly competitive employment market.”

Learn more about MindSpot and the services it provides.