Commencing in 2012, the Royal Society of Victoria offers four prestigious competitive prizes open to post-graduate, doctoral students at Victorian universities in all areas of the Biological Sciences (Non-human), Biomedical & Health Sciences, Earth Sciences and Physical Sciences. This page records our annual first prize winners – the current year’s details are available at https://rsv.org.au/awards-and-prizes/young-scientist-research-prizes/.

The Biological Sciences (Non-human) prize and Earth Sciences prize are supported by donations from the families of previous Royal Society Presidents Edmund D Gill and Neil Archbold respectively. From 2018 – 2019 we gratefully acknowledge the support of Dr Maxwell and Mrs Margaret Williams.

2022

Biomedical & Health Sciences
Daniel Urrutia Cabrera, University of Melbourne: Using Cellular Reprogramming and CRISPR Technologies to Regenerate the Retina and Treat Vision Loss.

Biological Sciences (Non-human)
Michelle Xu, RMIT University: Protective cultures as natural antimicrobials for fresh meat shelf‐life extension: their application and consumer acceptance.

Earth Sciences
Pui Kwan Cheung, University of Melbourne: Measuring the micro-climactic impacts of turf irrigation in a temperate summer season.

Physical Sciences
Mahshid Sadeghpour, RMIT University: Developing a Privacy-preserving Retinal Biometric Recognition System.

2021

Biomedical & Health Sciences
Lauren Bleakley, University of Melbourne: Cation leak underlies neuronal hyperexcitability in an HCN1 developmental and epileptic encephalopathy.

Biological Sciences (Non-human)
Sarah McDonald, University of Melbourne: Metal contaminants in urban stormwater runoff: composition, dynamics and potential threat to local aquatic species.

Earth Sciences
Kimberley Reid, University of Melbourne: The Impacts of Atmospheric Rivers over Australia and New Zealand.

Physical Sciences
Mark Vidallon, Monash University: Smart hybrid micro- and nanomaterials for next generation ultrasound imaging.

2020

Biomedical & Health Sciences
Lakshanie Wickramasinghe, Monash University: Granulocyte colony-stimulating factor: A new target in neonatal lung disease.

Biological Sciences (Non-human)
Charlene Trestrail, RMIT University: Foaming at the mouth: how eating floral foam microplastics harms animals’ health.

Earth Sciences (joint winners)
Megan Withers, Monash University: Investigating the development of the Marlborough Fault System, by recreating a
tectonic plate boundary in a sandbox

Hayden Dalton, University of Melbourne: Temporal and geochemical evolution of kimberlite magmatism in Finland

Physical Sciences
Adelle Goodwin, Monash University: On the nature of neutron stars in accreting systems.

2019

Biomedical & Health Sciences
Annie Cox, Monash University: Protecting women with preeclampsia and their babies: Could sulforaphane, a broccoli sprout extract, be the answer?

Biological Sciences (Non-human)
Emily Roycroft, University of Melbourne & Museums Victoria: Phylogenomics, adaptation and extinction in the evolution of native rodents.

Earth Sciences
not awarded

Physical Sciences
Avanthi Isaka Badulla Liyanage, Monash University: Application of supercritical carbon dioxide in enhanced geothermal systems.

2018

Biomedical & Health Sciences
Aidan Kashyap, Monash University: A bundle of care for congenital diaphragmatic hernia: bigger lungs, better vessels, and a smoother transition

Biological Sciences (Non-human)
Axel Newton, University of Melbourne: Investigating the mechanisms that contribute to convergent skull evolution

Earth Sciences
Anindita Samsu, Monash University: Do fractures have ancestors?

Physical Sciences
Victoria Coyle, RMIT University: Nickel–gold bimetallic monolayer colloidal crystals fabricated via galvanic replacement as a highly sensitive electrochemical glucose sensor

2017

Biomedical & Health Sciences
Sarah Larcombe, Monash University: New insights into the pathogenesis of diverse bacterial species in non-C. difficile antibiotic-associated diarrhoea

Biological Sciences (Non-human)
Perran Ross, University of Melbourne: Environmental impacts on the use of Wolbachia for arbovirus control

Earth Sciences
Alexander Norton, University of Melbourne: Observing photosynthesis from space: A novel technique using plant chlorophyll fluorescence measurements and a carbon cycle model

Physical Sciences
Guoping Hu, University of Melbourne: Novel promoters for carbon dioxide absorption in potassium carbonate solutions

2016

Biomedical & Health Sciences
Chi Hai Ly, University of Melbourne: Metabolism regulates asymmetric division and commitment to the myogenic lineage in skeletal muscle stem cells

Biological Sciences (Non-human)
Yang Chen, Monash University: Modelling forest litter-bed fuel load using LiDAR

Earth Sciences
Mathias Egglseder, Monash University: Iron oxide nanocrystals: Tiny minerals building huge iron ore deposits

Physical Sciences
Rebecca Leane, University of Melbourne: Searching for dark matter in the sky and at the Large Hadron Collider

2015

Biomedical & Health Sciences
Eamonn Fahy, University of Melbourne: Glaucoma and the Road to Recovery

Biological Sciences (Non-human)
Anna Flanagan-Moodie, Deakin University: Prescribed Burning Decreases Den Site Habitat of the Yellow-footed Antechinus (Antechinus Flavipes)

Earth Sciences
Stefan Vollgger, Monash University: Understanding the Relationship Between Deformation & Mineralisation – a 3D Geological Modelling Approach

Physical Sciences (Joint Award)
Catherine de Burgh-Day, University of Melbourne: Direct Shear Mapping: Measuring Weak Gravitational Lensing Directly for the First Time & Edward Nagul, University of Melbourne: Ultra-Trace Determination of Orthophosphate in Waterways using Polymer Inclusion Membranes & Flow Injection Analysis

2014

Biomedical & Health Sciences
Bevan Main, University of Melbourne.  Targeting type-1 interferon signalling is neuroprotective in the MPTP mouse model of Parkinson’s disease

Biological Sciences (Non-human)
Kylie Soanes, University of Melbourne.  Bridging the road-gap for wildlife

Physical and Earth Sciences
Jacqueline Delaney, La Trobe University.  Low cost sensing for everyone

2013

Biomedical & Health Sciences
Annie K. McAuley, University of Melbourne.  Novel Proteomic Biomarkers in Diabetic Retinopathy

Biological Sciences (Non-human)
Katrin Hug, University of Melbourne.  Microbial Arsenic Resistance in Champagne Pool, New Zealand

Earth Sciences
not awarded

Physical Sciences
Hua Zhou, Deakin University.  Super Durable, Robust Superhydrophobic Fabrics

2012

Biomedical & Health Sciences
Stephanie Simonds, Monash University.

Biological Sciences (Non-human)
Daniel Ohlsen, University of Melbourne. 

Earth Sciences
Jozua van Otterloo, Monash University.

Physical Sciences
Sivacarendran Balendhran, RMIT University.