Year: 2026

Dr. Brianna Le Busque is trying to make Australia a more Ocean Literate Society. Many Australians are not connected to the ocean which means they are not getting the benefits of blue spaces or caring for our oceans.

Brianna Le Busque explores peoples’ relationship with the ocean and marine species, including how biophobia (dislike/fear of the natural world) and biophilia (positive connections to the natural world) impact how people engage with the ocean and ocean conservation. Some projects she has worked on recently include understanding children’s fear of sharks, evaluating benefits of ocean retreat experiences, and exploring eco-anxiety caused by the Harmful Algal Bloom event in South Australia. She brings a psychological lens to marine science, and likes to say she studies the most complicated species- people!

Australia is one of the most biodiverse countries on earth with unique environments that exist nowhere else in the world. However, serious threats such as climate disasters, invasive species and land clearing mean that many of Australia’s environments are at risk of being lost. National and state governments have recognised that we need stronger, clearer and more future-focused laws and policies to address these threats.

Phillipa works at this crucial intersection between conservation science and practical legal reform, helping to design laws and policies that can keep environments safe, now and into the future.

Phillipa’s research focuses on translating biodiversity science into ambitious legal reform to help protect nature. Collaborating with government, scientists and the community, she examines how cutting-edge conservation research can inform new ways of writing, and putting into practice, future-focused nature laws. In particular, her research focuses on embedding climate adaptation strategies into laws and policies such as the new Biodiversity Act 2025 in South Australia.

Phillipa is also passionate about equipping the next generation of scientists to understand how laws – when they are working well – can help nature and people to flourish. In her activities with schools, she works to help students to advocate for better climate education and to help shape the next generation of climate and nature warriors.

Ensuring that older people receive high-quality care is a critical societal challenge that affects individuals, families, and communities across Australia. As the population ages and increasing numbers of older adults access aged care services, there is a growing need to ensure that care is informed by high-quality evidence. However, older people accessing aged care are frequently underrepresented in many research studies, limiting the evidence available to guide their treatment and care.

A/Prof Harrison uses large, linked national datasets to better understand the health of older people and the care they receive. By examining information that is already collected through health and aged care systems, she identifies ways to improve care, safety, and health outcomes for older people. Her research provides important evidence that helps policy makers and aged care providers make decisions to improve services for older people.

Her work has led to real-world improvements in aged care policy and practice. For example, her research on the use of psychotropic medicines helped shape national policy, improving the safety and quality of care for more than 400,000 people living with dementia. She has also contributed to the expansion of the Australian Government’s National Aged Care Quality Indicator Program, which helps monitor and improve the quality and safety of aged care.

A/Prof Harrison is currently leading research to improve access to long-term care for older people after stroke and to understand how recent aged care reforms are affecting people living with dementia. She is also leading a large program of research examining how factors such as where people live, their income, social support, and cultural background influence access to aged care services. This work aims to reduce inequalities and ensure that all older people can access the care and support they need, when they need it.

Dr Yohannes Melaku studies two things everyone does every day: eating and sleeping. Poor diet and poor sleep are very common and can contribute to serious health problems, but there is still a lot we do not know about how these behaviours work together and which changes can make the biggest difference to long-term health. His work aims to better understand these links so that people can make healthier choices and reduce their risk of chronic disease.

Dr Melaku uses large population studies and advanced data methods to understand how diet, sleep and other lifestyle behaviours affect health. His research has helped show, for example, that healthier plant-based diets are linked with a lower risk of obstructive sleep apnoea. He is now building on this work to identify practical ways to improve diet, sleep and overall wellbeing, while also working directly with communities to turn research findings into clear and useful health information. A particular focus is making this information accessible to culturally and linguistically diverse communities, so that the benefits of research reach people who may otherwise be missed.

A/Prof Kotarba’s research examines how climate change affects cultural heritage and the communities for whom that heritage is part of living culture, identity and connection to place and Country. Culture and heritage are non-renewable resources. Once a site, cultural landscape or associated knowledge is lost, that loss can be permanent.

Sea-level rise, coastal erosion, flooding, fire and other climate-driven hazards are already affecting culturally significant places across Australia and the wider Asia-Pacific. In many cases, we still do not have adequate ways of identifying what is most at risk, understanding what those losses mean for communities, or incorporating cultural heritage into climate adaptation.

This is particularly important for Indigenous communities, where environmental change can affect not only physical places but the cultural knowledge, practices and relationships connected to Country. A/Prof Kotarba’s work addresses this gap by looking at culture and heritage as an important part of climate risk, adaptation and resilience.

A/Prof Kotarba’s research develops practical and scientifically robust ways to predict, document and respond to climate impacts on cultural heritage. She works with Indigenous communities, archaeologists, climate scientists and other researchers to combine cultural and community knowledge with environmental monitoring, GIS and spatial analysis, drone and satellite mapping, 3D documentation, underwater survey, and coastal and climate modelling.

A major focus of her current research is using these different forms of evidence to understand how landscapes and coastlines are changing, identify which cultural places are most vulnerable, and monitor those changes over time. This includes my work with Traditional Owners in Zenadth Kes (Torres Strait), where we are combining cultural knowledge with mapping, seasonal calendars, environmental data and monitoring to understand the impacts of sea-level rise, erosion and other coastal hazards on cultural heritage and develop practical approaches for responding to them.

A/Prof Kotarba also works at the policy level to improve recognition of culture and heritage in climate adaptation, disaster risk reduction and climate loss and damage, so that cultural impacts are considered alongside environmental, social and economic ones.

Dr Shervin Kabiri’s research addresses one of the most pressing environmental challenges of our time: PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances), often referred to as “forever chemicals.” These highly persistent chemicals have been widely used in industrial and consumer products and are now found in soil, water, biosolids and ecosystems around the world. Their persistence and mobility make PFAS extremely difficult to remove once they enter the environment, creating long-term risks for environmental and human health.

A major challenge is that conventional treatment methods are often expensive, energy-intensive, or ineffective for some of the PFAS. Dr Kabiri’s work aims to develop practical and scalable approaches to remove, destroy or immobilise PFAS, particularly from contaminated soils, water and biosolids. Her research combines environmental chemistry, materials science and engineering to develop innovative treatment technologies and understand how PFAS behave in real-world environments.

Through strong collaboration with industry, government and research organisations, her work seeks to move beyond laboratory discoveries and translate scientific knowledge into practical solutions for managing PFAS contamination.

Dr Shervin Kabiri’s research is developing practical and scalable solutions to manage PFAS contamination by focusing on three complementary approaches: removing, destroying and immobilising PFAS. Her work has demonstrated that carbon-based materials, including activated carbon and biochar, can significantly reduce the mobility and leaching of PFAS from contaminated soils, helping to prevent their movement into water and food systems. She is also investigating innovative technologies, including high-shear mixing and foam-based processes, to rapidly remove PFAS from contaminated water.

More recently, Dr Kabiri has expanded her research to PFAS in biosolids, investigating how PFAS behave during wastewater treatment and the risks associated with applying biosolids to agricultural land. Her research combines laboratory experiments, field studies and modelling to understand PFAS transfer through soil, plants, livestock and water.

Her current research is focused on developing treatment technologies that can be translated from laboratory-scale experiments to practical, large-scale applications. By working closely with industry, government and research organisations, she aims to develop solutions that are not only scientifically effective but also economically and environmentally sustainable.