Professor Christina Mitchell AO and Professor Jessica Purcell each elected as a 2025 Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science
Distinguished physician-scientist and Executive Dean of Monash Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences Professor Christina Mitchell AO.
Professor Jessica Purcell, a globally recognised expert in low-dimensional topology from the School
of Mathematics, Faculty of Science.
Distinguished physician-scientist and Executive Dean of Monash Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences, Professor Christina Mitchell AO, and renowned mathematician, Professor Jessica Purcell, have each been elected as a 2025 Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science.
Fellows of the Australian Academy of Science are among the nation’s most distinguished scientists, elected by their peers for their outstanding contributions to science and research. From 1954 to 2025, there have been 965 Fellows elected to the Academy.
Professor Mitchell who is a physician-scientist specialising in clinical haematology, has been recognised for her sustained research achievements focusing on the characterisation of the metabolic pathways that regulate phosphoinositide signalling in human cancer. She leads one of the top phosphoinositide research groups worldwide and is the leading researcher in her field in Australia. She has published over 150 papers, has an h-index of 66 and has 11,000+ citations.
Professor Purcell, who is from the Faculty of Science, has been recognised for her research on the geometry and topology of three-dimensional spaces, particularly hyperbolic 3-manifolds and knot theory. Her work explores how geometric structures can be used to understand topological spaces, with implications for both pure mathematics and theoretical physics. She has made significant contributions to the understanding of geometric structures on knot complements and their interactions with quantum invariants.
Professor Christina Mitchell AO and Professor Jessica Purcell are among 26 new Fellows welcomed to the Academy this year.
Professor Mitchell said that it was an honour to be elected as a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science. “I’m deeply grateful to my peers for this recognition and proud to contribute to Australia’s scientific community through both discovery and leadership,” she said.
Professor Purcell said “mathematics is a field driven by curiosity and creativity. I hope this recognition helps shine a light on the beauty and importance of fundamental research, and inspires the next generation of mathematicians.”
Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research and Enterprise) and Senior Vice-President, Professor Robyn Ward AM, congratulated Professor Mitchell and Professor Purcell on their Fellowships.
"Professor Mitchell’s election to the Australian Academy of Science is a testament to her outstanding research, visionary leadership and deep commitment to improving human health. To have led for more than a decade one of Australia’s premier medical faculties through a period of extraordinary growth and excellence while continuing to pursue world-leading discovery research and mentor the next generation of scientists is a truly remarkable achievement,” Professor Ward said.
"Professor Purcell is a world-renowned mathematician whose research in 3D geometry and knot theory is helping shape the future of mathematics and theoretical physics. Her election to the Australian Academy of Science recognises not only her research excellence but also her dedication to mentoring and equity in mathematics."