Seven researchers from The University of Western Australia have been recognised at the 2026 Premier’s Science Awards, with five taking out key awards and another two inducted into the Western Australian Science Hall of Fame.
The awards, which this year celebrate 25 years, recognise and celebrate the outstanding scientific research, teaching and engagement taking place in WA.
Angela Wright Bennett Chair of Autism Research Professor Andrew Whitehouse, from UWA’s Medical School and The Kids Research Institute Australia where he is Deputy Executive Director, was named Scientist of the Year for his internationally recognised research that has reshaped understanding, diagnosis and critical support for autistic children.
Over two decades Professor Whitehouse has pioneered early intervention approaches in Australia and globally and led the development of Australia’s National Clinical Guidelines.
Today, autistic children are identified earlier and receive more effective support, in large part due to his research. Professor Whitehouse’s skill as a science communicator has amplified the impact of his research and science more broadly.
“My main goal is to help understand who these children are, how we can best support them and how they can go on to live the lives that they want to live,” Professor Whitehouse said.
“We do that through science: science is a way in which we can seek to understand and hopefully transform their experience in the world.”
Professor Pat Dudgeon AM, Director of the Centre of Best Practice in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Suicide Prevention at UWA, was named Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Scientist of the Year for her work in Indigenous mental health.
Professor Dudgeon has successfully challenged the dominant clinical view of mental health at a critical time when Indigenous suicide is increasing, building an evidence base for an Indigenous approach to psychology.
With colleagues and community collaborators, she developed an approach to mental health best practice built around social and emotional wellbeing that is now widely used in Aboriginal health services.
“We work with communities to figure out what the issue is and to come up with solutions, and we help implement that,” Professor Dudgeon said.
“We know with suicide for instance, connection to culture is a very important element – it can be a protective factor – so our research is very much community-led and culturally appropriate as well.”
Associate Professor Lea-Ann Kirkham, from UWA’s Medical School and the Wesfarmers Centre of Vaccines and Infectious Diseases at The Kids, was named Mid-Career Scientist of the Year in recognition of her track record of translating infectious disease research into real-world health solutions and measurable improvements for child health.
She leads a multidisciplinary team developing innovative ways to prevent and treat childhood respiratory infections, with her work shaping vaccination policy and clinical practice in Australia and neighbouring countries.
She is the inventor of Spritz-OM, a novel nasal therapy to prevent childhood ear infections, and Founder and CEO of Oto Medicines Pty Ltd, a spin-out company advancing the spray towards global impact.
“We’re taking a discovery from our laboratory and bringing that into the clinic so that one day we can prevent kids from having ear infections,” Associate Professor Kirkham said.
“If we could prevent those kids from ending up in hospital, that would just be a game changer for the kids but also those families that just want to protect their kids’ ears.”
Bradley Roberts, a PhD candidate at UWA and Perron Institute for Neurological and Translational Science, was named Student Scientist of the Year for leading some of the first youth-focused pharmacogenetic research in Australia.
He uses genetics to work out which antidepressant is likely to suit a young person – replacing a process that often relies on clinical trial and error with precision prescribing.
His research aims to tailor prescription medicine to help young people navigate the system and receive more tolerable and effective medication earlier in their mental health journey.
Mr Roberts, who is also a Board Director at grassroots youth mental health charity Kai-Fella, said he hoped his work helped move WA into a more personalised prescription process for mental health care.
“In the future I see pharmacogenetics being pretty well implemented into our clinical system and being able to inform medication prescription,” he said.
UWA Aboriginal Environmental Science and Management student Jasmin Bentink was named Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander STEM Student of the Year in recognition of her excellence in environmental research, leadership and science engagement.
Ms Bentink has worked across government, research, mining and consulting, bringing Indigenous knowledge together with western science.
Her work focuses on environmental sustainability, Indigenous engagement and building stronger connections between communities, industry and science. She has led student–industry initiatives, mentored Indigenous students, and contributed to research on marine ecosystems.
“Our land has been changed, impacted in so many ways, and if I can be a small part that can bring together the western and Indigenous science so we can manage it so it can last for future generations, that’s the impact I want to have,” Ms Bentink said.
“Further to that I want to help the next generation of scientists from rural Indigenous communities to come explore the University and see the different pathways out there, so they can be a part of this long into the future.”
Emeritus Professor David Groves, an economic geologist from UWA’s School of Earth and Oceans, was inducted into the Science Hall of Fame in recognition of his distinguished research career focused on the origins and distribution of mineral resources including gold and ore.
Professor Groves, who started at UWA as a junior lecturer in 1971, taught and researched throughout WA’s nickel and gold booms and in more recent years has become an expert on critical minerals. With his students, and through partnerships with government and industry, his work has guided exploration targeting and had a lasting influence on geoscientific discovery.
He built the research centre that later became the Centre for Exploration Targeting at UWA, which still guides mineral exploration today.
“This is a fantastic achievement for me, because I feel we’re at the forefront of understanding the mineral deposits that are keeping the economy running,” Professor Groves said.
Professor Groves has held senior leadership roles, including President of the Geological Society of Australia and President of the Society of Economic Geologists, and has authored several hundred scientific publications.
His work has been recognised through international awards, including the Penrose Gold Medal of the Society of Economic Geologists, and through his election as a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science.
Adjunct Professor Mark Harvey, a museum scientist specialising in arachnids and other terrestrial invertebrates from UWA’s School of Biological Sciences, was also inducted into the Science Hall of Fame.
“I’m very grateful to be inducted,” Professor Harvey said. “Taxonomy’s often been derided as a separate science, and I like to think that my induction might shine a new light on biodiversity studies.”
Professor Harvey has been affiliated with the Western Australian Museum since 1989, where he has held roles including Curator of Arachnids and Myriapods.
His research focuses on the taxonomy, systematics and biogeography of invertebrates, particularly pseudoscorpions, spiders and related groups. Over his career, he has described more than 1,000 species, contributing to the scientific documentation of biodiversity.
Image top: Emeritus Professor David Groves, Professor Pat Dudgeon AM, Associate Professor Lea-Ann Kirkham, Jasmin Bentink, Bradley Roberts and Professor Andrew Whitehouse.
