The Australian Academy of Science today recognises 22 scientists from across the country in its annual honorific awards, which celebrate the achievements of leading minds and emerging scientific stars working to solve humanity's greatest challenges.
Among those recognised are scientists working to fight breast cancer, antibiotic resistance and climate change, together with efforts to understand the evolution of Earth and how galaxies are formed.
"Our nation boasts distinguished scientists whose research is making great strides towards new scientific discoveries. The annual honorific awards present an opportunity for the Academy to recognise these burgeoning and established researchers and their invaluable research," President of the Australian Academy of Science, Professor Jagadish, said.
"On behalf of the Academy, I congratulate this year's awardees who have all made remarkable contributions in their respective fields."
Our nation boasts distinguished scientists whose research is making great strides towards new scientific discoveries.
The power of fundamental research
The Australian National University's Distinguished Professor Yuri Kivshar FAA, a world-recognised pioneer in optics and photonics, has received one of the most prestigious career awards of the Academy, the Matthew Flinders Medal and Lecture.
The metaphonics research Professor Kivshar is conducting at ANU is revolutionising optical communications, biomedical sensing, and defence systems. For more than two decades, Professor Kivshar pioneered nonlinear optics and metamaterials before transitioning metamaterials into optics, founding metaphotonics - a field yielding artificial photonic materials with unique properties.
Professor Kivshar's curiosity and daily discoveries fuel his pride in creating a globally followed research direction. At ANU, he continues to inspire, blending scientific rigour with practical impact. His contributions not only advance photonics but also shape technologies that enhance security, healthcare and connectivity, demonstrating the power of fundamental research in transforming lives.
Professor Kivshar said receiving the Matthew Flinders Medal is a "very important achievement" for him.
"When I came to Australia more than 30 years ago, I didn't expect I would achieve something like this," he said.
Early-career researchers Associate Professor Amy Cain from Macquarie University and the ARC Centre of Excellence in Synthetic Biology, and Associate Professor Shom Goel from the University of Melbourne and the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre have been awarded this year's Gottschalk Medal. The medal recognises outstanding research in the biomedical sciences by researchers up to 10 years post-PhD.
Potent new antibiotics
Antibiotic resistance is predicted to cause 10 million deaths per year by 2050 - more than all cancers combined as a result of antibiotics no longer working against deadly infectious bacteria. Associate Professor Cain's research bridges a key gap between finding promising drug targets in bacteria and developing potent new antibiotics. She is developing and applying new technologies to the deadliest hospital bacteria to build blueprints of how their genes adapt during treatment with existing antibiotics, revealing hidden weaknesses that can be targeted with new drugs.
"My dad was always a huge supporter of my career, always reinforcing that women can do whatever they put their minds to. A story he told about how he was one of the first civilians to receive antibiotics in the 40s, and how penicillin saved him from life-threatening pneumonia when he was an infant, was always a motivator for me to pursue the development of these miracle drugs (antibiotics)," Associate Professor Cain said.
Associate Professor Cain said she is honoured to receive the Gottschalk Medal. "I deeply respect the Australian Academy of Science and its Fellows are Australia's top scientists that I admire very much.
"Given this chance to even be in their orbit is humbling and I hope I can become an AAS Fellow one day," Professor Cain said.
New approaches
Associate Professor Shom Goel's laboratory research has sought to identify and understand treatments that block cancer cell division, with a focus on breast cancer. He has made seminal discoveries that have changed the way we think about cancer cell division, cancer immunology, and cancer epigenetics. which have led to the design of new approaches to treat breast cancer.
"I am acutely aware of the impact cancer can have on an individual and their family, both in the short and long term, and am driven to discover treatments that can lessen that burden. This motivation, coupled with my love of solving problems with logical thinking, led me to my current career path," Associate Professor Goel said.
"Science has given me the opportunity to work alongside bright and brilliant people all over the world and has instilled in me a true optimism that medical research can drive rapid progress," Associate Professor Goel said.
2025 honorific award recipients
Premier honorific awards
Matthew Flinders Medal and Lecture - Distinguished Professor Yuri Kivshar FAA, Australian National University
Ruby Payne-Scott Medal and Lecture - Professor Jane Visvader FAA FAHMS FRS, Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research
Career honorific awards (for lifelong achievement)
David Craig Medal and Lecture - Professor Alison Rodger FAA, Australian National University
Hannan Medal - Professor Noel Cressie FAA, University of Wollongong
Jaeger Medal - Professor Hugh O'Neill FAA FRS, Monash University
Suzanne Cory Medal - Professor Steven Chown FAA, Monash University
Thomas Ranken Lyle Medal - Professor George Willis FAA, University of Newcastle
Mid-career honorific awards (8-15 years post-PhD)
Jacques Miller Medal - Professor James Hudson, QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute
Nancy Millis Medal - Associate Professor Natasha Hurley-Walker, Curtin University
Early-career honorific awards (up to 10 years post-PhD)
Anton Hales Medal - Associate Professor Stijn Glorie, University of Adelaide
Christopher Heyde Medal - Associate Professor Anita Liebenau, University of New South Wales
Dorothy Hill Medal - Dr Linda Armbrecht, University of Tasmania
Fenner Medal - Associate Professor Katherine Moseby, University New South Wales and Associate Professor Daniel Noble, Australian National University
Gottschalk Medal - Associate Professor Amy Cain, Macquarie University and Associate Professor Shom Goel, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre
John Booker Medal - Associate Professor Qianbing Zhang, Monash University
Le Fèvre Medal - Dr Fengwang Li, University of Sydney
Moran Medal - Professor Margarita Moreno-Betancur, Murdoch Children's Research Institute and University of Melbourne
Pawsey Medal - Associate Professor Claudia Lagos, University of Western Australia and Dr Daria Smirnova, Australian National University
Ruth Stephens Gani Medal - Dr Ira Deveson, Garvan Institute of Medical Research
