2022 Research Australia Health and Medical Research Awards

Nominations for the 2022 Awards now closed – Thank you to all those who have nominated.

General Criteria

  • To nominate you must identify a primary nominating organisation and a secondary nominating organisation.
  • The primary nominating organisation must be a current financial Research Australia member.
  • The secondary nominating organisation does not need to be a Research Australia member.
  • You can nominate across as many categories as you choose and submit multiple nominees under one/each category.
  • A nominee may also be nominated across more than one category
  • A person/individual can only be contact of the primary nominating organisation across a maximum of 2 award categories (more allowed only if internal protocol absolutely dictates they must be the key signatory/approver of the nomination) ie  If you are submitting multiple nominations then please vary the primary nominator/contact where possible.

How to Nominate

You can download the Criteria and Nomination form here. Once you are familiar with all the criteria and questions to answer, you simply click on the link to the Nomination portal at the bottom of each Award below. You then fill in the form with all the details and submit your nomination.

Nominations will close Friday 26th August 2022

If you have any questions you can email deirdre.campbell@researchaustralia.org or call 0414 587 348.

Peter Wills Medal

The Peter Wills Medal was created in honour of Research Australia’s Deputy Chairman, Peter Wills AC, a great leader whose work led to the inception of Research Australia. The Peter Wills Medal is the Ceremony’s flagship award and recognises someone who has made an outstanding, long-term contribution to building Australia’s international reputation in areas of health and medical research and fostering collaboration for better health.

Nominations should not be regarded as being limited to researchers. We welcome submissions for individuals who have made an outstanding contribution in the area of health and medical research, for harnessing government, research, industry and philanthropic collaborations – all to promote a healthier community.

Questions for the nominators to address – please keep your submission to 700-800 words:

  1. Please tell us about the person you are nominating and why you believe their work should be recognised and rewarded.
  2. Provide specific examples of the nominees work that highlights the reason why they deserve the award.
  3. What are the major contributions to the health and medical research sector this work has achieved?
  4. How has the nominee contributed to building Australia’s international reputation?

Great Australian Philanthropy Award

This award profiles philanthropy that is outstanding in its generosity, effectiveness, vision, high impact and transformative quality. The Award recognises and encourages personal or professional philanthropic donations over a period of time by an individual(s), partnership, family or business to Australian health and medical research.

The Awards Committee will consider nominees that can display evidence of:

  1. Achievements of a philanthropic individual, couple, family or organisation;
  2. Engendering leadership and advocacy to give with impact, offering examples of good practice for others in the philanthropy sector;
  3. Scale of financial contribution made or generated; and
  4. Recognition of philanthropic achievements in at least the last five years (since 2017).

Health Services Research Award 

Embedding research in Australia’s health system can ultimately deliver safer, more effective, evidence-based and efficient health care. Translating research findings efficiently and in a timely manner into changes in clinical practice is one of the keys to improving patient management; reducing adverse events and readmissions; and reducing wasted spending on unnecessary tests and treatments.

This Award is for an individual or team who has provided leadership and made an outstanding contribution to health services by driving research that has led to a significant improvement in healthcare; and/or has championed the development of the health services research field.

Questions for the nominators to address – please keep your submission to 700-800 words:

  1. At what stage of their career is the nominee?
  2. How has the nominee contributed to the development of the health services field?
  3. Please detail how the nominee has provided leadership in health services research (including positions held etc).
  4. Please provide information, including examples, of how and where the nominee’s research has been translated and the resulting improvement in health systems and/or healthcare delivery.

Data Innovation Award  

Change is the only constant in data, with new sources and uses emerging all the time. Research Australia is a passionate advocate for promoting the value of data as a national resource, both within the sector and externally. The Data Innovation Award recognises an individual or team whose innovation is considered to represent one of the most impactful new data innovations in the HMR sector within the past five years. Nominees from all fields of HMR are eligible, not just those specialising in data. Innovations that provide new methodologies for research or have increased the availability and accessibility of data for research are also encouraged to nominate.

Questions for the nominators to address – please keep your submission to 700-800 words:

  1. Describe how the nominee has demonstrated innovation in the management, design and development or use of data.
  2. How has this data innovation been applied or translated; or if it has not yet concluded, what is the research’s intended application?
  3. How did the nominee differentiate the innovation from existing data practices being used in the HMR sector?
  4. How has the nominee disseminated or promoted the innovation to the relevant end users? 

Griffith University Discovery Award 

The health and medical research sector is committed to support and develop early career researchers. This award recognises an early career researcher (anytime from qualification but no more than 5 years past PhD) whose paper/patent/discovery has already demonstrated its importance or impact. Please confirm that the nominee has no more than five years post-doctoral experience.

Questions for the nominators to address – please keep your submission to 700-800 words:

  1. Outline the intended impact of the nominee’s project.
  2. Provide details of the nominee’s paper, patent or discover.
  3. Describe the importance/impact of the nominee’s work in the research field.
  4. What is the actual or potential for translation of this research, and the broader impact on health outcomes?

Advocacy Award Sponsored by AbbVie

This award recognises and congratulates champions of health and medical research that raise community awareness and understanding about the importance of health and medical research.

The Awards Committee will be looking for examples and evidence of corporates, individuals or teams who have exhibited excellence in supporting or enabling Australian communities through the championing of health and medical research.

The application may explore the personal strengths of an individual, the corporate commitment of an organisation or the innovative approach of a group of people who have made a difference and inspired others to contribute to their community through the support of health and medical research.

Questions for the nominators to address – please keep your submission to 700-800 words:

  1. How has the nominee raised awareness in supporting and promoting health and medical research?
  2. How has the nominee championed change in their community to positively benefit the health and medical research sector?
  3. How has the nominee inspired and motivated others?
  4. What are the future goals and objectives of the nominee – what is the longevity of their advocacy project(s)?

Frontiers Award Sponsored by ANU

The Frontiers category showcases Australia’s potential to extend beyond existing knowledge and boundaries to transformative practical application. Australia is already a global leader in health and medical research excellence, the challenge is to leverage this advantage through bold leadership and game changing innovation.

This category recognises transformative research by an individual, team or corporate that could revolutionise health outcomes within Australia and potentially internationally.

A frontier outcome could be, but is not limited to, applying emerging capabilities in areas such as machine learning, artificial intelligence or robotics; understanding how humans function in extreme environments; reducing healthcare costs without compromising patient outcomes; or ground-breaking transformative medicine.

Questions for the nominators to address – please keep your submission to 700-800 words:

  1. What are the potential impacts (societal and economic) of this research?
  2. What specifically makes this research ‘Frontiers’?
  3. What makes it different from existing practice or application?
  4. How could this be globally competitive?

Frequently asked questions