Graduate Research Awards
Excellence in Graduate Research Supervision
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This Award recognises research supervisors who have undertaken exceptional and unique supervision practices to benefit and enrich the experiences of their graduate research students.
The nominees are:
Professor Francine Marques, School of Biological Sciences - Winner
Professor Francine Marques is an international expert on blood pressure and the gut microbiome. She is a dedicated supervisor, coach, and mentor, committed to fostering a positive research culture that empowers students to pursue collaboration and develop independent and creative thinking. Since joining Monash in late 2018, she has supervised nine PhD students who have produced high-quality theses, with one recognised by the 2022 Vice Chancellor’s Commendation for Thesis Excellence. Her PhD students have published 41 papers (93 percent in Q1 journals) and four pre-prints, won or were finalists for 86 national and international awards and travel grants worth more than $30,000.
Professor Tanja Junkers, School of Chemistry
As an outstanding leader in the field of polymer chemistry, Professor Junkers has demonstrated exceptional commitment to graduate research supervision, with a total of 30 graduate research students brought to completion as main supervisor so far. She, founded the Polymer Reaction Design Group and currently leads the innovative group at Monash University. Her guidance has significantly impacted students, fostering academic excellence and ground-breaking research in continuous flow polymerisations and precision polymers.
Associate Professor Oliver Nebel, School of Earth, Atmosphere and Environment
Associate Professor Nebel is a supervisor who provides training, mentorship, and guidance to researchers in the areas of isotope geochemistry and the evolution of Earth's deep reservoirs. His work focuses on mass spectrometric methodology and lab-based research. His approach to hands-on research supervision with advanced technology has had a positive impact on PhD students, contributing to several student-led publications and successful career paths in both industry and academia.
Outstanding Contributions by a GR Student to the Faculty/School Community
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The Award for Outstanding Contribution(s) by a Graduate Research Student to the Life of the Faculty/School Community celebrates outstanding contribution/s to the life of the Faculty of Science/School community, by individuals or teams of graduate research students within the Faculty of Science, that are above and beyond their own research and the expectations of a postgraduate student.
The nominees are:
School of Biological Sciences Postgraduate Committee - Winner
School of Biological Sciences Postgraduate Committee (Shiho Ozeki, Rhiannon Eastment, Jack Manera, Kate Fergusson)
The 2023 School of Biological Sciences Postgraduate Committee, including Rhi Eastment, Jack Manera, Shiho Ozeki, and Kate Fergusson, made exceptional contributions to the postgraduate community at Monash University. They organised a wide range of events such as BBQs, Crafternoons, Bake-offs, Trivia nights, Table Tennis Tournaments, and a memorable trip to Sovereign Hill, enhancing student engagement and well-being. Additionally, the group organised GEMMZ, a conference providing a platform for students to present their research, along with notable guest speakers and panel discussions. Additionally, they successfully planned and executed the inaugural Faculty of Science ball, a significant event for the entire Faculty. The Committee’s dedication, organisational skills, and compassionate support for their peers were instrumental in creating a vibrant and supportive academic environment, making them deserving nominees for their outstanding contributions to the School of Biological Sciences.
Raina Roy, School of Earth, Atmosphere and Environment
Raina is a vibrant PhD student at the School of EAE, known for her dynamic involvement with the Postgraduate Committee (PGC). Since her first year, Raina has been a driving force behind numerous initiatives that enrich the student experience. She has spearheaded events such as weekly soccer matches, cultural dinners, birthdays, farewells, and movie nights, all designed to strengthen Faculty-student relationships and celebrate the School’s diverse cultures. Beyond PGC events, Raina organised weekend activities like ice skating and trampoline outings, fostering a lively and inclusive community. Her enthusiasm extends to actively participating in and promoting these events, encouraging her peers to join in and enhance the collective experience. Her exceptional ability to blend organisation with genuine engagement makes her a standout leader and a central figure in the vibrant academic community at EAE.
Alexandre Magueresse, School of Mathematics
A polyglot, Alexandre is fluent in several languages (French, English, Spanish, Mandarin, German, Esperanto, Breton, Dutch, Russian, and Latin). Alexandre’s ability to communicate with the School of Mathematics culturally and linguistically diverse group of students has had an unprecedented positive impact on the School of Mathematics HDR student community post-pandemic. Alexandre has been consistently involved in every aspect of the HDR life of the School and has been the most proactive HDR student representative in recent years.
Norris Family Award for Outstanding Author Contribution by a GR Student
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The Norris Family Award for Outstanding Author Contribution by a Graduate Research Student to a published ‘Quality’ Scholarly Research Output recognises an outstanding contribution by a graduate research student to the authorship of a quality scholarly research output (ie. book, book chapter, journal article, conference proceeding).
Elliot Marshall, School of Mathematics - Winner
Elliot is a third-year PhD student in the School of Mathematics researching the behaviour of fluid-filled cosmologies in Einstein’s theory of general relativity. In the study of cosmology, the FLRW (Friedmann-Lemaître-Robertson-Walker) solution is the foundation of the standard model, describing a fluid-filled, spatially homogeneous, and isotropic universe. However, recent observations have cast doubt on whether this simple model can fully explain the complex structures we see in the universe, such as galaxies and cosmic voids. Elliot uses numerical methods to study the global non-linear stability properties of the FLRW spacetime. As part of this work, in collaboration with his supervisors, Elliot’s numerical experiments revealed that small variations in the fluid density can grow uncontrollably under certain conditions, simultaneously providing numerical evidence for a long-standing conjecture of Alan Rendall and demonstrating a potential mechanism for the formation of large-scale structures in the universe.
Rhiannon Eastment, School of Biological Sciences
Rhiannon is a final-year PhD candidate studying the evolution of parental care. Rhiannon’s fascination with parental care began during her time at the University of Melbourne, where she obtained her Masters of Science in pre-clinical research in human reproduction and obstetrics. Since joining Monash in 2021, she has used a novel combination of fieldwork, laboratory, and bioinformatic techniques to unravel the genomic basis of extreme forms of parental care. Her interest in novel reproductive traits, coupled with her unique research background and newly acquired bioinformatic skillset, presented an exciting opportunity to tackle important questions in evolutionary biology, such as why such complex forms of parental care have arisen so many times, in such a diverse array of vertebrates. This thus led to the conception of this paper, which provides the first comprehensive, genome-wide analysis of the evolution of pregnancy in vertebrates.
Thuong Tran, School of Earth, Atmosphere and Environment
Thuong is a dedicated researcher and PhD candidate in the School of Earth, Atmosphere and Environment, Monash University, specialising in remote sensing and GIS applications in environmental monitoring. His research focuses on the spatiotemporal distribution of mangroves using advanced spectral indices and geospatial techniques, contributing valuable insights to the field of environmental science. Thuong has published 36 papers, with his work cited over 300 times, demonstrating his significant impact on the academic community. His research has been instrumental in informing conservation strategies and environmental policies at both local and global levels. Thuong’s commitment to excellence is further reflected in his role as a reviewer for high-impact journals and his active participation in international conferences. He is nominated for the Faculty of Science Graduate Research Awards for his outstanding scholarly contributions, leadership in collaborative research, and dedication to advancing the field of environmental science through innovative methodologies.
Chamodini Thilakarathna, School of Science, Monash University Malaysia
Chamodini is a PhD candidate at the School of Science, Monash University Malaysia, under the supervision of Dr Lee Yee Ying and co-supervision of Associate Professor Dr Siow Lee Fong. Her research focuses on the extraction of Mahua (Madhuca longifolia) seed oil and its modification for potential application as a cocoa butter equivalent in chocolate products. She was awarded Best Presenter and received the Student Travel Grant from the American Oil Chemistry Society Australian section (AAOCS) at their November 2023 conference in Newcastle, Australia. To date, she has published two Q1 research articles and one Q1 review article based on her findings. Given the limited research on advanced extraction techniques for mahua seed oil, she was the first to explore ultrasound-assisted extraction. Her results show that this method co-extracts antioxidant and bioactive compounds more effectively than conventional methods like Soxhlet extraction. She hopes her research provides insights into adopting sustainable technologies in the edible oil industry.
Mollie Holman Doctoral Medal for Science
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The Mollie Holman Medal was established in 1998 and is named after the late pioneering physiologist, Emeritus Professor Mollie Holman AO, in honour of her significant contributions to science and education. Each year, a maximum of 10 medals are awarded to doctoral students, who have fulfilled their degree requirements and presented their faculty’s best thesis of the year.
The nominees are:
Dr Samantha Piper, School of Chemistry - Winner
Samantha completed her PhD in 2023 under the supervision of Professor Doug MacFarlane, Professor Jenny Pringle and Dr Karolina Matuszek. Her research focused on the application of organic salts as phase change materials (PCMs) for renewable energy storage applications. As part of a linkage project, Samantha’s research was both fundamental and applied. She used a variety of analytical techniques to probe the structure-property relationships governing the thermal properties of PCMs and used the findings to guide the design of new high-performing materials. Working closely with an industry partner, Samantha developed methods for accelerated thermal stability testing of the top-performing materials to indicate their possible lifetimes in renewable energy storage systems. Samantha currently works as an Associate Research Fellow at the Institute for Frontier Materials, Deakin University, where her research focuses on the development of organic ionic plastic crystals for green energy applications.
Dr Jack Brand, School of Biological Sciences
Jack completed his PhD under the supervision of Professor Bob Wong. His thesis was titled 'Behavioural variation and environmental change: Understanding how ecological conditions mediate animal personality traits. Jack's PhD research program made a major contribution to our understanding of the development and evolution of animal behaviour, and provided key insights into how changing environmental conditions can influence behavioural variation in a wide variety of species. Jack currently works as a Postdoctoral Researcher in the Department of Wildlife, Fish and Environmental Studies at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences.
Dr Yousef Zoleikhaei Bardehzardi, School of Earth, Atmosphere and Environment
Yousef completed his PhD under the supervision of Professor Peter Cawood in 2023. Yousef’s research focuses on tectonic reconstruction using the sedimentary archive of sedimentary basins from the Archean to the present. He uses detrital minerals and bulk-rock geochronology and geochemistry to unravel the links between the source region and depositional basin of sediments. His thesis was titled 'Application of multi-mineral detrital provenance to unravelling sediment recycling, tectonic events, and palaeogeography in northern Gondwana'. Yousef is currently a postdoctoral researcher in the School of Earth, Atmosphere and Environment.
Dr Benjamin Amiet, School of Mathematics
Ben completed his PhD under the supervision of Andrea Collevecchio. Ben's research lies at the intersection between probability, analysis and mathematical physics. He worked on problems related to long-memory processes, systems of interacting particles, mixing time for Markov chains, Potts models, and the geometry of Nash Equilibria in random games. Ben’s thesis contains a novel connection between game theory and statistical mechanics. This bridge between the two subjects is far-reaching and, in the short term, attracted the attention of eminent mathematicians.
Dr Mike (Yui Ming) Lau, School of Physics and Astronomy
Mike completed his PhD under the supervision of Ilya Mandel. His thesis was titled ‘ Interactions in Stellar Binaries’. Mike’s research at Monash displayed remarkable breadth and depth and made a very significant contribution to our understanding of common-envelope evolution. Mike currently has a fellowship at the Heidelberg Institute for Theoretical Science in Germany.
Dr Ru Wei Chua, School of Science, Monash University Malaysia
Ru Wei completed her PhD under the supervision of Professor Adeline Ting Su Yien. Her thesis was titled 'Profiling the bioactivities of fungal endophytes from Orcidaceae'.
Award for Research Impact by a Graduate Research Student
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This award recognises research by a graduate research student that is creating real-world impact in sectors and society beyond academia.
The nominee is:
Rupany Selvam, School of Science, Monash University Malaysia - Winner
Rupany Selvam is a final year PhD student at Monash University Malaysia, dedicated to advancing antibacterial drug development through innovative molecular approaches. Her recent achievements include winning the Best Poster Presentation Award at Graduate Research Week and a Gold Award at the International Invention, Innovation, Technology Competition and Exhibition for her aptamer discovery. She has also participated in the 3-Minute Thesis competition, securing first place at the Faculty level and first runner-up at the campus level. Rupany has published her aptamer research article in Scientific Reports and filed a patent application for the aptamers. She was also involved with the Monash PhD Global Mobility scheme, which gave her the opportunity to work at the Monash Biomedicine Discovery Institute, Australia. Her entrepreneurial venture in drug screening services won the People’s Choice Award at The Validator 2-Minute Pitch Competition.