Awards
2025
Dr Jai Carmichael received the MERRC award for excellence in research and the School of Psychological Sciences ECR award for excellence in honours supervision with Prof Jennie Ponsford at the annual School Awards ceremony.
Prof Jennie Ponsford has been appointed a Sir John Monash Distinguished Professors. This is awarded to professors of exceptional distinction and who have made high-level, sustained contributions to their discipline, university and community.
Post Doctoral student Halima Nalaye won first prize at CCN student research symposium where she presented the results of ‘The Experiences, Perceptions and Beliefs of Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) Australians following Traumatic Brain Injury.
Jai Carmichael received the International Neuropsychological Society Student Liaison Committee Research Award.
Alyxandra Cazanis received the International Neuropsychological Society Graduate Student Research Award.
2024
MERRC student Amber Ayton was awarded the Luria prize for best doctoral presentation at the conference on ‘Mental and Physical Health Comorbidities in Traumatic Brain Injury: A Comparison with Non-TBI Controls.’
Dr Jennie Ponsford received the Australian Psychological Society’s award for Distinguished Contribution to Psychological Science.
Yash Bedekar was awarded a grant at the Epworth Mackenzie Dinner. The funding was awarded for the project "Mapping current vocational rehabilitation practice and evaluating the effectiveness of vocational rehabilitation training for allied health clinicians working in traumatic injury'- a pilot study."
Dr Kate Gould received the Research Talent Accelerator Program Fellow, Deputy Vice Chancellor, Monash University.
Dr Kate Gould received the Research Accelerator Award, The Turner Institute, Monash University
2023
Notably, Dr Kate Gould was awarded Honourable Mention for the Early Career Investigator Award at the 14th Biennial World Congress on Brain Injury conference organised by the International Brain Injury Association (IBIA).
Professor Jennie Ponsford was awarded the Jennett Plum award for Clinical Achievement in Brain Injury Medicine at the conference. This award is given to a clinician/researcher who has made a substantive and historical research contribution to the field of traumatic brain injury as related to clinical, translational or basic science research.
Dr Kate Gould received the Monash-Epworth Rehabilitation Research Centre Award, School of Psychological Sciences, Monash University.
2022
Amber Ayton was awarded the Prize for the best Datablitz presentation for her paper on the Utility of the Cognitive Reserve Index in chronic traumatic brain injury. (NR-SIG-WFNR Conference October 2022, which was held in Maastricht, The Netherlands).
The Australian has recognised Prof Jennie Ponsford as being the Top Researcher in Australia for Rehabilitation Therapy. This recognition is based on the number of citations for papers published in the top 20 journals over the past five years. Find the article here
Kimberly Chew was announced winner of the Influencer Award for Digital Health Week 2023. Kimberly’s ePoster, which had the highest twitter engagement from the conference, presented her work from the CyberAbility project. She identified key themes surrounding scam vulnerabilities and impacts which will be used to co-design a cyberscam psychological recovery intervention with people with an Acquired Brain Injury.
Dr Amelia Hicks has received the Turner Institute Early Career award for her project titled ‘AgeWell TBI: Characterising Dementia Risk Factors & Promoting Healthy Aging after Moderate-Severe TBI.’
At the 2022 ASSBI Conference, Vanessa Sharp was announced the winner of the Travel Award, in recognition of the best abstract submitted with her presentation entitled ‘Perspectives of Major Traumatic Injury Survivors on Accessibility and Quality of Rehabilitation Services in Rural Australia.’
2021
Ms Amelia Hicks (PhD Candidate) was awarded the ASSBI Luria Prize for most outstanding oral presentation by a Doctoral Student at the 6th Pacific Rim Conference for her presentation “Does ongoing cognitive decline occur decades after a moderate to severe traumatic brain injury? A prospective controlled study”.
Dr Laura Connolly received the INS award for her presentation: “Home-Based Light Therapy for Fatigue Following Acquired Brain Injury: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial.”
Ms Diana Ramirez (PhD Candidate) was awarded the INS best research presented in the area of memory or memory disorders for her presentation on “The experience and acceptability of smartphone reminder app training for people with ABI: A mixed methods study”.
Honours student, Ms Jill Hwang, was awarded the Australian Psychological Society’s Prize for academic excellence in psychology at the fourth-year level.
2020
In December 2020, MERRC staff Dr Kate Gould and Amelia Hicks were awarded the Helen Powell Award for Health and Wellbeing, for their work in developing and delivering training on Suicide prevention and risk management, as part of Monash University’s Vice-Chancellor’s Excellence Awards.
In September 2020, Professor Jennie Ponsford was nominated as the field leader for research in Rehabilitation Therapy by The Australian newspaper (determined by the highest number of citations from papers published in the last five years in the 20 top journals in their field).
2019
MERRC doctoral student, Penny Analytis was awarded a travel bursary from the Neuropsychological Rehabilitation Special Interest Group of the World Federation for Neurorehabilitation (NR-SIG-WFNR) to attend their conference in Granada, Spain in June.
In May, MERRC 2018 honours student, Jai Carmichael (pictured right), received the Kevin Walsh award at the ASSBI conference in New Zealand, for best Honours/Masters abstract for his paper: Readiness of community ABI therapists to learn and implement Positive Behaviour Support: A mixed-methods study.
MERRC doctoral student, Penny Analytis was awarded a Conference Travel Grant by Australasian Society for the Study of Brain Impairment (ASSBI) to attend and present at their Annual Conference held in New Zealand in May. Penny presented on the topic of: The Experience of Attending a Camp for Families with a Child with Acquired Brain Injury: Perspectives of Children and Young People with Acquired Brain Injury and their Siblings.
In April Professor Jennie Ponsford and DPsych student Laura Connolly were awarded funding through the Monash Institute of Cognitive and Clinical Neurosciences (MICCN, now Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health) Strategic Project Grant Scheme for an innovative project investigating in-home light therapy to reduce fatigue, sleepiness and sleep disturbance following TBI and stroke.
In March, Dr Jess Trevena-Peters was the recipient of the Franz Gerstenbrand award by the World Federation of Neurorehabilitation (WFNR) for her work establishing the efficacy of ADL training in PTA. The WFNR stated that ‘the findings of her study ‘Commencing rehabilitation early: activities of daily living retraining during post-traumatic amnesia’ challenge current thinking about the timing of rehabilitation in individuals with post-traumatic amnesia (PTA).
In February, Dr Dana Wong (pictured left) was award the Early Career Teaching Award by the Australian Psychological Society (APS). Dana has been driven by learner-centred approaches to training top scientist-practitioners to develop engaging skill-based teaching and assessment techniques (including neuropsychology objective structured clinical examinations; OSCEs), with consistently excellent teaching evaluations across both Monash and La Trobe Universities.
2018
MERRC Honours students Elinor Fraser and Sarah Carrier both received awards for exceptional effort within their year. Elinor Fraser (pictured right), won the Tom Triggs Prize which is awarded to the student with the highest aggregate marks in the BPsych (Hons) cohort. Sarah Carrier won the Ross Day medal for the student who exhibited exceptional achievement in the Psychology honours program.
In November 2018, Professor Jennie Ponsford was presented with the APS College of Clinical Neuropsychologists (CCN) Award of Distinction . This award recognises the importance of Professor Ponsford’s significant contributions to the CCN, and the field of Neuropsychology. Specifically, this award was in recognition of Professor Ponsford’s past and current activities in mentoring existing and aspiring members of the College, as well as her significant and long term contribution to the field of Neuropsychology.
Gould, K. R. "From victim to survivor to advocate: Neuropsychological intervention to enable recovery from an online dating scam after brain injury." Paper presented at the 41st Annual Australasian Society for the Study of Brain Impairment Conference, Adelaide, Australia (May 3rd – 5th, 2018). Kate Gould won the ASSBI Early Career Clinical Innovation Award this year. This award recognises innovation in the field of brain impairment consistent with the ASSBI mission to improve the lives of individuals and families affected by progressive and non-progressive neurological conditions across the lifespan.
Associate Professor Dean McKenzie was awarded a 25 year service medal at Blackwood Hall, Monash Clayton 9 October 2018 (A/Prof McKenzie – Back left, green hood)
Kate Gould received the 2018 Allan Martin Scholarship from the Summer Foundation, sponsored by the Rotary Club of Kew and Robinson Gill Lawyers. The scholarship will sponsor Kate’s project: “CyberABIlity: Understanding, preventing and treating cybercrime after acquired brain injury”. This pioneering exploratory and capacity building evaluation study will form the foundation of both clinical knowledge and practice in this new area of vulnerability to cybercrime after ABI. Understanding, preventing and effectively treating cybercrime has the potential to enhance quality of life for people with ABI.
Kate Gould receiving her scholarship from the Summer Foundation
In August 2018, doctoral student Amelia Hicks, received the Donders-Monash travel award. This provided funding for Ms Hicks to visit the Donders Institute for Brain Cognition and Behaviour in Nijmegen, The Netherlands, where she met with experts in the fields of traumatic brain injury and Alzheimer’s Disease.
2017
MERRC DPsych student Laura Connolly was awarded the Allen Martin Research Scholarship in late 2017 for her research into the effects of in-home light therapy on fatigue following TBI and stroke. Fatigue is one of the most common and disabling symptoms following TBI and stroke. This innovative research aims to test the impacts of in-home light therapy to combat symptoms of fatigue, sleepiness and sleep disturbance.
Trevena-Peters, J., McKay, A., Ponsford, J. Efficacy of activities of daily living retraining during posttraumatic amnesia: A randomised controlled trial. Paper presented at the 40th Annual Brain Impairment Conference of the Australasian Society for the Study of Brain Impairment (ASSBI). Melbourne 1-3 June, 2017. Awarded the Luria Prize for the best oral presentation by a doctoral student.
Kempnich, C., Wong, D., Georgiou-Karistianis, N., and Stout, J. Feasibility and efficacy of brief computerized training to improve emotion recognition in premanifest and early-symptomatic Huntington's disease. Paper presented at the 40th Annual Brain Impairment Conference of the Australasian Society for the Study of Brain Impairment (ASSBI). Melbourne 1-3 June, 2017. Awarded the Mindlink Brightwater award for interdisciplinary research.
McKay, A., Trevena-Peters, J., Ponsford, J. Agitation during posttraumatic amnesia: Characteristics, predictors, and impact on therapy. Poster presented at Epworth Research Week, 5-9 June 2017. Awarded 2017 Allied Health research poster award.
Professor Jennie Ponsford was awarded Epworth Research Leader of the Year 2017 at Epworth Research Week.
Professor Jennie Ponsford was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) in the 2017 Queen's Birthday Honours List. This award was made in recognition of her distinguished service to medical research in the field of neuropsychology, and through seminal advances in the diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation of patients with traumatic brain injuries.
Vice Chancellor's Award for Teaching Excellence awarded to Dana Wong.
2016
Purple Unit Award for Semester 2, 2016 at Monash University for units taught which received outstanding student evaluations awarded to Jennie Ponsford and Adam McKay.
The 2016 Australasian Society for the Study of Brain Impairment (ASSBI) Clinical Innovation Award awarded to Dana Wong.
Finalist for the Monash Postgraduate Association Postgraduate Supervisor of the Year Dana Wong.
2015
The Paul Satz Career Mentoring Award. Awarded to Jennie Ponsford at the 5th Pacific Rim conference of INS/ASSBI, Sydney, 1-4 July.
Spitz, G., McKenzie, D., Attwood, D., Ponsford, J. Predicting costs of care following traumatic brain injury. Paper presented at the 5th INS/ASSBI Pacific Rim Conference, Sydney, 1-4 July, 2015. Awarded the Nelson Butters Award for the best research presented by a postdoctoral fellow.
Alway, Y., Gould, K., Johnston, L., McKenzie, D., & Ponsford, J. Psychiatric disorders in the first 5-years following traumatic brain injury. Paper presented at the 5th INS/ASSBI Pacific Rim Conference, Sydney, 1-4 July, 2015. Awarded the Student Liaison Committee Research Award for best research submission by a student.
Gooden, J. R., Ponsford, J., Charlton, J. L., Bedard, M., Marshall, S., Ross, P., Gagnon, S. & Stolwyk, R. Self-Awareness and self-regulation of on-road driving after traumatic brain injury. Platform paper presentation at the International Neuropsychological Society Mid-Year Meeting, Sydney, 2015. Awarded the Student Liaison Committee Research Award for best research submission by a student.
Dymowski, A.R., Ponsford, J.L., Willmott, C. A comparison of computerised attention training and individualised strategy training after traumatic brain injury: a single-case series. Paper presented at the 5th INS/ASSBI Pacific Rim Conference. Sydney, 1-4 July, 2015. Awarded the Luria Prize for the best oral presentation by a doctoral student.
Grima, N. Ponsford, J., St Hilaire, M., Mansfield, D., Rajaratnam, S. Circadian Melatonin Rhythms and sleep dysfunction following TBI. Poster presented at Epworth Research Week, 15-19 June, 2015. Awarded Epworth Research Institute New Researcher Poster Award.
Best Poster for an Experienced Researcher, ‘The distribution of positive work and power generation amongst the lower-limb joints during the stance phase of walking normalises following recovery from traumatic brain injury.’ Epworth Research Week. Gavin Williams.
Churchill Fellowship Award to travel to Netherlands, France, Switzerland, USA and Canada, to investigate driving simulator use in assessment and rehabilitation of disabled and older drivers. Pam Ross
Rene Stolwyk receiving his scholarship
RACV Sir Edmund Herring Memorial Scholarship. Rene Stolwyk
2015 for 2016-19: NHMRC Early Career Research Fellowship (for 4 years). Gershon Spitz.
2015 for 2016: NHMRC Translating Research Into Practice Fellowship. Gavin Williams.
2014
CETBIR Research Fellows Dr Cally Richardson (0.4 EFT) and Dr Kelly Sinclair (0.4 EFT).
Kelly Sinclair awarded the World Federation of NeuroRehabilitation’s FRANZ GERSTENBRAND AWARD for a non-pharmacological intervention that has had an impact on symptoms experienced by people with acquired brain injury, for her research evaluating the efficacy of light therapy for fatigue and sleepiness following TBI. This award was made at the Eighth World Congress for NeuroRehabilitation, Istanbul, Turkey, April 8-12, 2014.
Gershon Spitz receiving his Brain Foundation grant
Brain Foundation Grant awarded to Gershon Spitz in the category of Neurotrauma: Return of memory following traumatic brain injury. Funded by the Peter Winder Hill Estate and the Bruce Wall Trust, 13 October.
Alway, Y., Ponsford, J., Johnston, L.,Mckay, A., Gould, K. Posttraumatic stress symptoms following moderate to severe traumatic brain injury: a prospective study. Paper presented at the 37th Annual Brain Impairment Conference, Perth, 8-10 May,2014. Awarded the Luria Prize for the best oral presentation by a doctoral student.
Gooden, J. R., Ponsford, J., Charlton, J. L., Bedard, M., Marshall, S., Ross, P., Gagnon, S. & Stolwyk, R. Self-awareness, self-regulation and return to driving after TBI. Poster presentation at the 11th Conference of the Neuropsychological Rehabilitation Special Interest Group of the World Federation for Neurorehabilitation, Limassol, Cyprus, 2014. Award received in recognition of the best poster presentation.
Gooden, J. R., Ponsford, J., Charlton, J. L., Bedard, M., Marshall, S., Ross, P., Gagnon, S. & Stolwyk, R. Self-Awareness of on-road driving after traumatic brain injury. Platform paper presentation at the CCN Victoria Postgraduate Research Symposium, Melbourne, 2014. Award received for best platform paper presentation.
Monash Postgraduate Association Supervisor of the Year. Awarded to Jennie Ponsford.
School of Psychological Sciences Award for Excellence in Research Leadership. Awarded to Jennie Ponsford.
School of Psychological Sciences Award for Excellence in Doctoral Teaching. Awarded to Jennie Ponsford.
2013
Jennie Ponsford receiving the Robert Moody Prize
Robert L. Moody Prize for Distinguished initiatives in Brain Injury Rehabilitation, Robert Moody Foundation, University of Texas Branch. Awarded to Jennie Ponsford.
Caroline Roberts comes 1st in Honours year in 2013 and was awarded the APS Prize.
Richardson, C., Ponsford, J., & McKay, A. Self-awareness following traumatic brain injury. Paper presented at the 36th Annual Brain Injury Impairment Conference, Tasmania 2-4th May. Awarded the Kevin Walsh Award for the best submitted abstract by a graduate student.
Best Poster for Novice Researcher ‘Which factors influence the physical activity levels of people with traumatic brain injury when they are discharged home from hospital?’ Epworth Research Week. Gavin Williams supervisor of Masters by Research Megan Hamilton.
Best Paper at ASSBI conference, Hobart 2-4th May. Which factors influence the physical activity levels of people with traumatic brain injury when they are discharged home from hospital? Authors Hamilton, M., Williams, G., Bryant, A. & Clark, R.
2012
NHMRC Australian Based Health Professional Research Fellowship – Gavin Williams.
2012-2013: CETBIR funds Research Fellow Dr Kate Gould (0.4 EFT).
2011
Best Poster for Established Researcher ‘Reduced ankle power generation at push off leads to slow gait following TBI’. Epworth Research Week. Gavin Williams.
Dahm, J., Wong, D., Schonberger, M., Ponsford, J. Utility of the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales in assessing anxiety and depression following traumatic brain injury. Paper presented at the Eighth Conference of the Neuropsychological Rehabilitation Special Interest Group of the World Federation for NeuroRehabilitation (WFNR), Rotorua, New Zealand, 11th-12th July 2011. Awarded prize for best datablitz presentation.
Gould, K., Ponsford, J., Johnston, L., Schönberger, M. Psychiatric disorders following traumatic brain injury. Poster presented at the Eighth Conference of the Neuropsychological Rehabilitation Special Interest Group of the World Federation for NeuroRehabilitation (WFNR) , Rotorua, New Zealand , 11th-12th July 2011. Awarded prize for best poster presentation.
CETBIR funds Research Fellow Dr Michele Grant (0.5 EFT).
Phillip M. Rennick award for best paper by a postgraduate doctoral student at the mid-year meeting of the International Neuropsychological Society, Oslo, Norway. Dr Gershon Spitz.
Best Poster for Established Researcher ‘Mobility following TBI: relationships with joint power generation and motor skill level’. Epworth Research Week. Gavin Williams.